Namibia approves feasibility deal for USD-10bn green H2 project

The government of Namibia has greenlit the signing of a Feasibility and Implementation Agreement (FIA) for a USD-10-billion (EUR 9.2bn) green hydrogen project with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Pty) Ltd in a move that enables it to co-invest in the huge development.

The agreement will be officially signed on May 26, Hyphen Energy said on Wednesday. The company, a joint venture of Nicholas Holdings Ltd and Germany’s Enertrag SE, was selected in 2021 as the preferred bidder to develop and operate the project in the Tsau //Khaeb national park.

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According to the statement, the government has the option to take an equity interest of up to 24% during the preliminary FIA phase, which will last up to six months. Once this phase ends, Hyphen will undertake a two-year feasibility study.

Under the FIA’s terms, Hyphen will take care of the technical, financial, environmental, social and commercial aspects of the project. The government, on its part, will provide land and will facilitate the legal, fiscal and regulatory environment so that the scheme can be realised.

The project, set to create sub-Saharan Africa’s first fully vertically integrated green hydrogen complex, calls for the installation of 5 GW to 6 GW of renewable energy capacity to power 3 GW of electrolysers. The site is expected to go online by end-2027 and produce one million tonnes of green ammonia annually, with its capacity to be doubled by the end of the decade.

The hydrogen output will be supplied to regional and global markets. Over the past year, Hyphen signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with potential European customers envisaging the supply of up to 750,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year. The company previously said it aims to make the first deliveries to Europe by early 2028.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.930)