With Namibia’s burgeoning oil and gas sector set to take the spotlight during the continent’s premier energy event, African Energy Week (AEW) (https://AECWeek.com) 2022 – taking place from October 18-21, 2022, in Cape Town – recent speaker confirmations by industry leaders across the Namibian energy space consolidate the event’s position as the primary platform for gathering information, securing investment and making deals that serve to further drive Namibian energy growth. Joining a strong delegation of Namibian professionals, James Mnyupe, Presidential Economic Advisor for the Namibian Government and Hydrogen Commissioner, Namibia, will be coming to Cape Town to discuss the intersection of energy investment and socioeconomic development as well as the role green hydrogen will play in Namibia’s energy and economic future.
With experience in a wide variety of sectors across the Namibian economy, Mnyupe is considered a multidisciplinary financial professional. Having previously worked in asset management, accounting and wealth management, and now serving as the Economic Advisor of the President of Namibia, Mnyupe is focused on driving Namibia’s economic and developmental agenda. Despite having only served as Presidential Economic Advisor since September 2020, Mnyupe has already made significant progress to help develop Namibia’s high potential economy, leading to his selection as the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader for 2022.
In his capacity as advisor, Mnyupe has helped shape Namibia’s economic developmental agenda, with the country kickstarting a growth plan centered around five key sectors. At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, Namibia announced that the country will be targeting the development of the steel industry, transportation industry, power sector, agriculture industry and hydrogen industry with major developments already underway across all these sectors.
Specifically, Namibia’s hydrogen sector has seen significant investment commitments that have kickstarted large-scale project developments across the country. Backed by significant renewable energy potential and a favorable regulatory environment, the country is well positioned to become a green hydrogen economy, and Mnyupe has been an instrumental facilitator of this objective. The country’s biggest hydrogen project, the $9.4 billion green hydrogen project located in the Tsau//Khaeb National Park in southern Namibia, represents a turning point for the country’s energy sector. Following a competitive tender process in 2021, the government of Namibia announced the selection of project development company Hyphen Hydrogen Energy as the preferred bidder for the construction of the vertically integrated project. With capacity estimated at 300,000 tons per year of green hydrogen and green ammonia, the project is set to transform the country’s economy while emphasizing Africa’s potential as the next global hydrogen producer.
“James Mnyupe represents a key figure in Namibia’s energy and economic space. As Economic Advisor and Hydrogen Commissioner, he is responsible for a lot of the success seen in the country, particularly regarding socio economic development, investment and green hydrogen growth. He has done a lot to convince me and many at the Chamber on Hydrogen playing a role in Africa’s energy mix. We have toured Europe together on Hydrogen thanks to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the EU commission and the German government. At the African Energy Chamber (AEC), we firmly believe in the role hydrogen will play in transforming African economies. As the continent moves to transition to cleaner sources of fuel in its own strategic manner, green hydrogen will play a central role in improving energy security, driving socioeconomic growth and making energy poverty history by 2030, while at the same time decarbonizing the energy sector,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
Despite the continent’s potential, particularly in countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Egypt, hydrogen remains a largely underutilized and unexploited resource in Africa. To address this, AEW 2022 will hold a dedicated Green Hydrogen Summit, whereby emerging hydrogen economies such as Namibia will play a leading role in shaping dialogue around this critical resource. The summit represents the official platform, not just for a discussion on the challenges and opportunities across Africa’s future hydrogen market, but for global investors and international private sector companies to be introduced to African opportunities. In this sense, AEW 2022 aims to integrate private sector know-how with public sector opportunities and will do so through forums such as this.
In Cape Town, Mnyupe will be participating at the event alongside industry professionals from Namibia, all focused on promoting Namibian energy and Namibian green hydrogen. In 2022, Namibia has made a name for itself as both a hydrocarbon hotspot and emerging green hydrogen market and during AEW 2022, the successes seen across the country as well as future project pipelines, announcements and deals will be brought to the table. Under the theme, “Exploring and Investing in Africa’s Energy Future while Driving an Enabling Environment,” AEW 2022 unites the entire African energy sector including public and private sector executives, government representatives and ministers, and policymakers and financiers for four days of networking and insight on the future of African energy.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Week (AEW).
Contact details:
For sales related inquiries please contact sales@aecweek.com
For attendance related inquiries contact registration@aecweek.com
For speaker related inquiries contact speakers@aecweek.com
For media related inquiries contact media@aecweek.com
About AEW 2022:
AEW 2022 is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2022 unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments. Key organizations such as the African Petroleum Producers Organization, as well as African heavyweights including Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, have partnered with AEW, strengthening the role the event will play in Africa’s energy future.
