Namibia has moved from demonstrating the potential of green hydrogen to operating an integrated production and refuelling facility at Walvis Bay, marking a significant step in the country’s effort to build a renewable-energy-based industrial economy.
The Cleanergy Solutions Namibia facility combines solar generation, battery storage, hydrogen production, refuelling infrastructure and technical training within a single site. The project is operated through a joint venture between Namibia’s Ohlthaver & List Group and Belgian company CMB.TECH, and was officially inaugurated in September 2025. Its subsequent commissioning and operation have established it as one of the continent’s most advanced operational green-hydrogen demonstration facilities.
The facility incorporates a 5MWp solar installation, a 5MW proton exchange membrane electrolyser and a 5.9MWh battery energy-storage system. It is designed to operate off-grid, with solar electricity powering the electrolyser, which uses an electrochemical process to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The 6.5-hectare solar park currently contains about 7,000 panels. The hydrogen produced at the site is being directed towards practical applications in transport and industry, including dual-fuel trucks, off-road equipment and power-generation systems. Hydrogen-powered rail applications are also part of the development programme, with the project intended to support the introduction of hydrogen technology into Namibia’s logistics and transport networks.
The significance of Walvis Bay lies partly in its geography. The port is one of Namibia’s principal gateways to regional and international markets, connecting the country to inland markets in Southern Africa. Locating hydrogen production near a major logistics corridor provides an opportunity to test whether renewable fuels can be integrated directly into freight, port and industrial operations rather than being developed solely as an export commodity.
That distinction matters. Green-hydrogen projects across Africa have frequently been presented primarily through the lens of future exports to Europe and other international markets. The Walvis Bay model provides a somewhat different starting point: creating domestic demand alongside developing the infrastructure that could eventually support regional and international trade.
CMB.TECH is itself an initial consumer of the hydrogen produced at the facility. This gives the project an identifiable off-taker and allows the company to test hydrogen applications within its own industrial operations. Siemens supplied the electrical, automation and safety systems required for the facility, with the integration of generation, storage, electrolysis and end-use forming a central part of its operating model.
That commercial dimension is potentially as important as the technology. Hydrogen projects can require substantial capital before a market for the resulting fuel has been established. By creating an initial user for the hydrogen, the Walvis Bay facility provides a practical testing ground for the relationship between production capacity, infrastructure and demand.
The project also points towards a wider industrial strategy. Hydrogen can be used directly in some industrial and transport applications, while it can also serve as an input into other energy carriers. At Walvis Bay, the longer-term plan includes producing green ammonia by combining hydrogen with nitrogen. Ammonia is already widely used in industry and agriculture, while its potential use as a maritime fuel has attracted growing international interest.
Future development is expected to include infrastructure for ammonia production, storage and maritime applications, with longer-term ambitions to supply hydrogen and ammonia to markets within Southern Africa and beyond.
For Namibia, the prospect is therefore broader than the production of a new fuel. The country is attempting to use renewable electricity and its natural advantages in solar and wind resources to build new industrial capabilities, including processing, logistics, engineering and technical services.
The economic implications will ultimately depend on how much of that value chain is retained within Namibia and the wider Southern African region. Producing hydrogen for export could generate foreign exchange, but a model centred largely on exporting unprocessed energy products would reproduce some of the limitations associated with traditional commodity economies. The development of local manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, research and technical services would provide a stronger basis for long-term industrial diversification.
Skills development is already incorporated into the Walvis Bay project through its Hydrogen Academy. The facility is intended to train Namibian engineers, technicians, operators and other workers in hydrogen-related technologies. The academy forms part of an effort to ensure that the emerging hydrogen industry generates domestic capabilities rather than relying indefinitely on external expertise.
The project’s employment footprint is currently modest compared with the scale of the ambitions surrounding Namibia’s hydrogen economy. The pilot phase represents an investment of about N$500 million, while the broader commercial expansion has been valued at approximately N$3.5 billion and is projected by the project partners to create thousands of jobs if fully developed. Those figures should be understood as projected outcomes rather than jobs or investment already realised.
The proposed expansion is substantial. CMB.TECH has indicated an intention to increase the facility from its present 5MW-scale configuration towards 250MW and ultimately 500MW. Such an expansion would transform the site from a demonstration and early commercial facility into a much larger energy-production platform.
Whether those ambitions materialise will depend on several factors, including the cost of renewable power, electrolyser costs, infrastructure requirements, access to water, demand for hydrogen and ammonia, transport economics and the availability of long-term financing. Export projects will also be exposed to developments in international regulation, including emerging rules governing the carbon intensity of fuels used in shipping and industry.
There are also questions about how the development of Namibia’s hydrogen industry will interact with local communities, land, water resources and existing economic sectors. Green hydrogen is not automatically environmentally or socially neutral simply because the electricity used in electrolysis comes from renewable sources. The sustainability of large-scale production depends on the full production chain, including water management, land use, infrastructure and the eventual destination and application of hydrogen-derived products.
These considerations will become more significant as Namibia moves beyond demonstration projects towards industrial-scale production.
The country’s strategy is nevertheless notable within the African energy landscape. Namibia has historically depended significantly on imported energy despite possessing substantial solar and wind resources. Developing renewable electricity, hydrogen and associated industrial infrastructure could allow the country to address domestic energy requirements while establishing new export industries.
The regional dimension is equally important. Namibia’s proximity to South Africa and its position on the Atlantic coast give it potential links to Southern African industrial and transport networks. Hydrogen-derived fuels could eventually serve mining, heavy transport, ports and other sectors across the region, provided infrastructure and commercial arrangements develop alongside production.
The Walvis Bay facility therefore represents neither the arrival of a fully established hydrogen economy nor proof that large-scale green hydrogen exports are already commercially viable. Its more immediate importance is that several elements of a hydrogen value chain — renewable electricity generation, storage, electrolysis, refuelling and end-use — are operating together in an African industrial setting.
That makes the project significant beyond its headline capacity.
For Namibia, the central question is now whether the technical demonstration can be translated into a competitive domestic industry that creates durable employment, develops local expertise and supports manufacturing and logistics. For Southern Africa more broadly, the experience could provide lessons about whether the continent’s renewable-energy resources can be converted into industrial capacity and regional value chains rather than simply exported as commodities.
Namibia’s green-hydrogen experiment is therefore entering a more demanding phase. The challenge is no longer only to demonstrate that hydrogen can be produced from the country’s abundant renewable resources. It is to demonstrate that the resulting industry can be economically viable, environmentally responsible and sufficiently rooted in African economies to deliver lasting value beyond the boundaries of the projects themselves.
