Lüderitz is a town in southern Namibia where the hard desert meets the pale ocean but the town has suffered from high unemployment and deteriorating infrastructure. In response to this, a projected green hydrogen project will be “the third revolution of LüDeritz,” says Mr. Balhoa, a local council member.

Balhoa hopes that the project will train and employ local people, or “Buchters” as they affectionately call themselves – bringing down the town’s 55% unemployment rate. “For a town that’s really been struggling economically over the past 10 or 15, maybe longer, years, this is something that people are really very excited about,” he says. Solar and wind energy will be used to extract hydrogen molecules from desalinated water. The project will be located in Tsau /Khaeb National Park. The company claims that throughout the four years of building, 15,000 direct employment will be created and 3,000 more would be created during full operations, with 90 percent of the jobs being filled by locals.

Mr. James Mnyupe is the presidential economic advisor and hydrogen commissioner for Namibia’s government. He says the country’s location is excellent because of abundant solar and wind resources. “The idea is to turn Namibia into not just a green hydrogen hub, but into a synthetic fuels industry powerhouse,” he says.