Source: Namibia Economist
Theopolina Kapani, head of technical construction at the Namibia Green Hydrogen programme shares her aspirations and journey that led to her transition into the Green Hydrogen field.
Born and raised in Dordabis, Kapani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from NUST and a Master’s in Civil Engineering, and an MSc in Management and Engineering in Risk Management of Industrial Facilities from FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences. Additionally, an MSc in Economics, Finance, and Management from the University of Bristol, as well as a PhD in Sustainable Infrastructure Investment and Finance from Swansea University.
After gaining experience in Europe, Kapani returned to Namibia to contribute her expertise to the Green Hydrogen sector. Much of her career has been in the oil and gas industry where she worked on refineries for BP; Shell; Worley, an engineering consulting firm, and at HUAWEI in the ICT infrastructure space, leading several major projects.
Her transition into the Green Hydrogen field was inspired by her work in Europe, particularly in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where she worked on a 200-megawatt Shell electrolyzer plant, which involved the design and layout of electrolyzer stacks.
It was during this time she first encountered the concept of Green Hydrogen when she conducted research and found the field fascinating. Her PhD research on energy infrastructure is seamlessly aligned with her work in the Green Hydrogen sector.
Kapani noted that she has not experienced challenges typically associated with gender bias in the workplace. However, she acknowledged that there are unique challenges within the sector, such as a general lack of awareness and knowledge but she praised the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme for its gender equality.
“In our office, we have eight executives, five of whom are female, which shows how liberal and welcoming our sector is to women. I encourage women to take up space in the Green Hydrogen industry because it’s a sector that offers equal treatment. As long as you have the capacity, opportunities will be available for you to seize,” Kapani encouraged.
Kapani’s aspirations for Namibia’s Green Hydrogen sector are high as she aims to serve her country and do her best to ensure that the Green Hydrogen industry and the broader green industrialization blueprint are fully implemented.
“One of my greatest hopes is to see Namibia become self-sufficient across all sectors, primary, secondary, and tertiary. That’s the Namibia I hope to see,” she shared.
She urges youth keen on joining the green hydrogen sector to be proactive and look for opportunities that exist within the sector and stresses the need for unity saying, “This is a new industry which is going to take a collective effort from everyone so let’s see best how everyone can get involved and how we can drive the sector forward,” she remarked.
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