Namibia– Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN), Namibian Ports Authority (NamPort), NamPower, the Port of Rotterdam (PoR), Gasunie and Invest International to create a partnership to drive the delivery of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest, and only, fully vertically-integrated, green hydrogen project.
The agreement comes on the same day as GRN announced it would exercise its right to take up a 24% equity interest in the Hyphen project at historical cost. The investment will be held through SDG Namibia One a bespoke blended financing infrastructure fund, which will look to raise money from local institutional investors and investors from around the world to develop Namibian green hydrogen projects and related infrastructure. The establishment of Namibia SDG Namibia One will see Namibia’s Environment Investment Fund partnering with two Dutch organisations, Climate Fund Managers and Invest International in the establishment of NH2 Fund Managers as the fund manager of SDG Namibia One. 100% of the initial funding of €40 million (~N$850 million) is being provided as grant funding by Invest International and will be housed by the fund. The European Investment Bank and the Government concluded a letter of intent at COP27 for the raising of €500 million, a portion of which is to be proposed to be designated for investment via SDG Namibia One.
Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, said: “The MoU we signed today and Government’s commitments to the green hydrogen industry show that Namibia is moving at pace to establish itself as a leader in the global green hydrogen race. We are now focused on working with all partners to design the infrastructure and services needed in Namibia to meet the projects timelines and meet Namibia’s development objectives.
“Government taking up its equity interest in the project and establishing a blending finance fund as innovative as SDG Namibia One is another huge step forward for a country that is ensuring all its people benefit from this project in a sustainable and just way. This comes just weeks after Hyphen and Government signed a landmark agreement that will govern how the project will be delivered. I believe that Namibia is setting the global benchmark for the development of large scale sustainable green hydrogen projects.”
The MoU builds on the existing relationship between NamPort, PoR and Hyphen in the development of the new master plan for the port of Lüderitz which had been underway for over a year and will be completed in the coming months. Under the MoU the parties will work together, sharing their collective knowledge and expertise in the design of the infrastructure necessary to deliver on Namibia’s green hydrogen production ambitions.
NamPower and Hyphen are also investigating the possibility of the supply of excess electricity generated by the project to NamPower and how this could assist NamPower in improving Namibia’s energy security whilst simultaneously contributing to the decarbonising its electricity system.
GRN also announced today the establishment of the Implementation Authority Office to facilitate and accelerate the development and implementation of Namibia’s synthetic fuels industry with funding for the office being provided by grants from Invest International and the EU.
These announcements coincided with GRN hosting Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark, and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, on a joint working visit to Namibia yesterday (Monday 19 June). Namibia’s developing green hydrogen industry was top of the agenda for the leaders, as they discussed how their countries could work with Namibia to broaden economic partnerships, given the key role Europe plays as the demand centre for much of the world’s green hydrogen.
About Hyphen
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Ltd is a Namibian registered green hydrogen development company, specifically formed to develop green hydrogen projects in Namibia for international, regional and domestic supply. Hyphen is a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited and ENERTRAG SE.
Hyphen’s project is being developed as the first step in the implementation of the Government’s strategy for the development of a large-scale green hydrogen industry in various regions in Namibia to support both economic growth in Namibia and assist the world in achieving its decarbonisation goals. At full scale development, the project will produce 2 million tonnes of green ammonia annually before the end of the decade for regional and global markets, from ~7GW of renewable generation capacity and ~3GW of electrolyser capacity, cutting 5-6 million tonnes (annually) of CO2 emissions, with Namibia’s annual 2021 emissions totalling 4.01 million tonnes.
During the construction phase, it is estimated that the project will create around 15,000 new job opportunities and 3,000 permanent positions during the operational phase. Hyphen is striving for 90% of these jobs filled by Namibian talents, with a specific focus on the youth (18 – 35) of 20%. The project is targeting 30% local procurement for goods, services and materials throughout both the construction and operational phases.
About ENERTRAG SE
ENERTRAG is one of the largest renewable-energy companies in Germany. The company develops, builds, owns and operates utility-scale integrated energy plants that produce reliable electricity and green hydrogen exclusively from wind and sun. ENERTRAG produces 2 Terawatt-hours of electricity per year from 1 Gigawatt of own assets and has more than 10 Gigawatts of wind, solar and green-hydrogen projects under development in ten countries across the globe.
About Nicholas Holdings Limited
Nicholas Holdings Limited is a strategic investment and infrastructure project developer and operator with a 30-year track record of investment and project development in Africa and Europe, mainly through its subsidiary company, Principle Capital.
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