Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution: Namibia Sets the Pace

Namibia has made history this May and officially opened the HyIron Oshivela Plant in Windhoek – the world’s first facility to produce iron with zero emissions using green hydrogen. This is a massive milestone for the green industrial revolution and the global green economy, and it’s happening right here in Africa.

This project places Namibia at the forefront of sustainable industrialisation and sets a powerful example of Africa’s potential to lead the global green transition. By reimagining iron production through renewable energy, the plant represents a transformative step toward cleaner, more responsible industrial growth.

But, this is more than just a clean energy achievement: It’s a story of innovation from a continent charting a bold new path – one that could redefine global industrial norms. With five green hydrogen projects in Namibia alone approaching final investment decisions, the momentum is building fast.

The Challenge and Opportunity of Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution

As global energy demand soars, driven increasingly by non-traditional sources including climate change and artificial intelligence (AI), energy security has never been more disrupted. Geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, and supply chain volatility have converged to pose stark challenges. But for Africa, these challenges also offer an exceptional opportunity to reimagine its industrial development pathway while creating jobs, fostering innovation, and preserving its rich natural ecosystems.

Africa is taking bold steps to build green industries that will scale green economies across the continent, marking a transformative shift toward climate-resilient development, inclusive growth, and long-term prosperity. With an emphasis on green energy, circular economies and sustainable industrial practices, governments, private sector actors and international partners are collaborating to catalyse green industrialisation and unlock the continent’s potential.

Key Frameworks: African Union’s Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA

At the heart of Africa’s green transformation is the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), both of which provide a blueprint for sustainable industrialisation, intra-African trade, and value chain development. Building on these frameworks, African leaders are embedding green principles into national and regional industrial policies to ensure economic growth does not come at the cost of environmental degradation.

“African countries have a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional, carbon-intensive industrial models by investing in green industries that are climate-smart, resource-efficient, and future-proof,” states Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, “We are not just responding to the climate crisis – we are turning it into an engine of innovation, resilience and inclusive development.” Renewable energy is at the heart of Africa’s green industrialisation strategy. By harnessing its diverse natural resources through the increased adoption of renewable energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower, Africa can sustainably bring an end to energy poverty whilst unleashing large-scale green industrialisation.

Renewable Energy and Hydrogen: Catalysts for Green Industrialisation

The continent has a tremendous opportunity to harness its diverse natural resource mix to establish energy security to its 1.5 billion inhabitants, provide energy access to over 900 million inhabitants, enable clean cooking to those 600 million without, and become a global leader in green energy generation.

Hydrogen is a key to fuelling Africa’s green industrial revolution. From decarbonising oil & gas, mining operations and heavy industry including cement, steel and heavy haulage, to transforming power generation, clean cooking and transportation, hydrogen and its derivatives are unlocking a new era of sustainable growth across Africa.

Stimulating economic development through inclusive education and employment, and empowering societies to become more sustainable, equitable and resilient, hydrogen is more than energy; it is a catalyst to building green industries that can scale green economies.

Namibia’s Leadership in Hydrogen

Namibia remains a trailblazer in the hydrogen space with up to five Final Investment Decisions (FID) scheduled to be made in 2025 / 2026. At the recent Oshivela grand opening celebration, Her Excellency Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, President of the Republic of Namibia, inaugurated the HyIron project which achieved the world’s first zero-emission iron breakthrough. From ambition into action the HyIron team have fired up a game changer by showcasing how the Oshivela project can produce green hydrogen and use it to refine iron ore, setting a carbon-free standard for steel production.

In a world hungry for sustainable solutions, Namibia’s HyIron is not only a first for Africa but a world first, where project off-take was key. “The biggest thing we can do is to become competitive to grey iron. So iron produced at emissions at the same prices. And that’s where we work very hard towards. So we optimise the supply, we optimise power prices or the generation prices of our power. We do a lot of these things, a lot of this work now in preparation to reach this goal, because then off-take will not be a question, because if you can choose for the same price, a grey or a green product, the choice will be obvious,” reflected Johannes Michels, Managing Director of HyIron on stimulating demand and end-use over the coming years for the project.

Global African Hydrogen Summit 2025

As a champion of fuelling Namibia and Africa’s green industrial revolution, the sequel edition of the Global African Hydrogen Summit will take place from 9 – 11 September 2025, in Windhoek, Namibia, will aim to unlock the challenges and fast track the opportunities.

Held under the theme ‘Ambition in Action: Fuelling Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution’, the Summit will provide a continuity of leadership and dialogue to drive partnerships for, and critical investments and financing into, bankable green energy projects of strategic and national importance across Africa. Welcoming over 1,500 global attendees, the Summit sits at the heart of Africa’s green industrialisation conversation to convene global heads of government, policymakers, industry leaders, innovators, investors and end users.