President Hage Geingob has emphasized that the second round of scholarships for studies in Green Hydrogen and related fields would pay specific attention to the ||Kharas and Hardap regions.

Dr. Geingob addressed a community meeting at Luderitz on Friday, where he clarified that he requested a review of the process to ensure inclusivity.

Last month, the government, through funding from the German government, awarded more than 90 scholarships to deserving Namibians to study Green Hydrogen and related fields at institutions of higher learning in Namibia and Germany.

President Hage Geingob has commended the youth of Luderitz for their keen interest in the ongoing discussion about Namibia's ambition to become an energy-producing country.

The head of state made this observation during a town hall engagement with the community of Luderitz on the development of a Green Hydrogen industry in the county.

Dr. Geingob stressed that tribalism and regionalism are hampering development progress noting that young people need to continue playing their part in the development of the country. 

China is the latest country to express interest in Namibia's renewable energy industry, particularly the development of Green Hydrogen.

Administrator at the National Energy Administration of China, Zhang Jianhua paid a courtesy call on President Hage Geingob at the State House.

Dr. Geingob says Namibia remains open to investors from across the world for the development of the new green hydrogen and synthetic fuels industry.

China has already approved more than 455 gigawatts of wind and solar PV projects, to be located in desert regions.

Over 90 Namibian students received scholarships to study various related courses in the green hydrogen industry, availed through grant funding from Germany.

Sixty awardees will undertake Master's Degree courses, while 30 will undertake their studies at the local Vocational Training Centres.

The awarding ceremony took place at the State House.

The scholarships are part of the Namibian Youth for Green Hydrogen Scholarship Programme and attracted 1 128 applicants after the applications were opened in March last year.

President Hage Geingob says Namibia counts on Germany's expertise to develop the new Green Hydrogen and related industries.

Dr. Geingob today received a courtesy visit by visiting German Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger at State House.

Namibia and Germany have a joint communique of intent in place in 2021 in which the BMBF availed grant funding of N$786 million. 

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Namport will jointly build a green hydrogen supply chain between Namibia and Europe via the Port of Walvis Bay. 

A new hydrogen project, at Daures Green Hydrogen Village, was launched in the Erongo Region.

The new renewable energy venture will produce hydrogen and ammonia to be used in agricultural and research activities as well as job creation.

The Daures Green Hydrogen Consortium is a group of various stakeholders working together to run this massive renewable energy project.

The project will have its village some 60 kilometers south-west of the Brandberg Mountain, and its development is scheduled to start in March next year (2023).

A Dutch development financing institution, Invest International, is confident that every cent of the multi-million dollar grant to Namibia will be accounted for under the country's SDG1 Fund.

Invest International's Chief Executive Officer, Joost Oorthuizen, said €40 million, equivalent to N$779 million, would help kick-start financing for green hydrogen and infrastructure projects under the newly launched SDG1 Namibia Fund.

The company has lauded the government's transparency towards development financing and says it has no reservations on how the grant will be deployed.