Namibia selects Hyphen for $9B green hydrogen project
Once fully developed, Southern Africa’s first gigawatt-scale green hydrogen project will provide a major economic boost to Namibia.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy has been declared a preferred bidder by the Namibian government to develop the country’s first large-scale vertically integrated green hydrogen project in the Tsau //Khaeb national park.
The project, which is estimated to be around US$9.4 billion, will produce 300k tonnes/year of green hydrogen, which can be supplied in the form of pure green hydrogen or a derivative form such as green ammonia. Once fully developed, the project will provide a major boost to Namibia in terms of foreign direct investment and job creation.
The announcement comes as a result of a formal tender process. Once the feasibility study and sign-off from the Government agreements are completed Hyphen would be given permission to build and operate the project for 40 years.
The first phase, which would be completed by 2026 at an estimated capital cost of US$4.4 billion, would see the development of 2 GW of renewable electricity generation capacity to make green hydrogen for conversion into green ammonia. Later on, in the late 2020s, the capacity of the combined renewable generation capacity and electrolyser capacity would reach 5 GW and 3 GW, respectively, taking the combined total investment to US$9.4 billion.
Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen, said, “The Tsau //Khaeb national park is among the top 5 locations in the world for low-cost hydrogen production, benefiting from a combination of co-located onshore wind and solar resources near the sea and land export routes to market.”
Nangula Uaandja, CEO of the Namibian Investment Promotion and Development Board, added, “This is a milestone project that will enable the country to create on average 15,000 direct jobs over the four years of combined construction and 3,000 permanent direct jobs over the 40-year operational period while contributing to other efforts to stimulate economic recovery.”
H2 Bulletin understands that, interestingly, Namibia total GDP was US$ 10.7 billion in 2020, nearly the same amount as the required investment for the project.
Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz, Hyphen director, explained that the consortium comprised shareholders and technical partners that are world leaders in their respective fields.
