This is your 1 News posts out of 3 that you are entitled to as a guest.

Please sign up for one of our PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTIONS to continue your access to Global Energy Infrastructure.

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Progresses Its Planned US$10 bn Namibian Green Hydrogen Project

8/18/2022

Press Release - Hyphen Hydrogen Energy

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy’s discussions with Namibian Government progressing positively
Appointment of key strategic advisors, Boston Consulting Group and Lazard
Hyphen’s sister company selected to develop hydrogen powered locomotive prototypes
New office to be opened in Windhoek, Namibia; Hyphen adds five new Namibian team members

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) is making positive progress on its discussions with the Namibian Government as it moves towards signature of the Implementation Agreement before the end of the year for its planned USD 10 billion Namibian green hydrogen project. Material progress has been made since Hyphen’s last announcement at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in May this year, when it laid out an ambitious timeline to realise this transformative project.

During the Namibian Government’s Cabinet meeting on 12 June 2022, Cabinet endorsed the composition and appointment of the Government Negotiations Team assembled to finalise the Implementation Agreement as well as the proposed timeline of its signature. The signing of the Implementation Agreement will trigger the commencement of the front-end engineering and design phase in the development of this ambitious green hydrogen project.

The Company has onboarded Boston Consulting Group and Lazard as its international strategic and financial advisors respectively, complementing its existing legal advisory team comprising of Slaughter and May and ENS Africa. Hyphen and its broader advisory team are working closely with the Government and its advisors to ensure that Namibia’s potential as one of the top three locations in the world for green hydrogen production is realised.

Hyphen is rapidly building its team in Namibia as it looks towards the next phase in the development of the project, with the appointment of five Namibian nationals, including Toni Beukes the new Environment, Sustainability and Governance Leader who will ensure this is an equitable project that benefits the people of Namibia. Hyphen has leased space in Nedbank’s newly completed flagship Courtside office development in the centre of Windhoek, to house its growing team with occupation set for early October on completion of the office fitout.

At full scale development, the Hyphen project is expected to produce ~350,000 tons of green hydrogen per annum before the end of the decade for regional and global markets, from 5-6 GW of renewable generation capacity and ~3 GW of electrolyser capacity. Hyphen and Government are targeting the commencement of construction in January 2025, with commissioning of the first phase by the end of 2026. The total investment in over both phases is ~USD 10 billion, roughly the equivalent of Namibia’s annual GDP.

Hyphen’s sister company, Hyphen Technical, together with partners TransNamib, CMB.TECH and the University of Namibia has recently (Tuesday 16 August) been officially selected to develop a hydrogen powered locomotive with two hydrogen-diesel dual fuel locomotive prototypes with a hydrogen fuel tender wagon. The H2 locomotive conversion project, at a cost of EUR 7.63 million, is being part funded by grant funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), through the Namibian Government, supported by Southern African Science Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL). This is intended to act as the first step in the journey of the conversion of TransNamib’s locomotive fleet, that uses 11 million litres of diesel a year, to ultimately operate on green, carbon-free fuel and demonstrates the commitment by the Namibian Government to develop the entire green hydrogen value chain in the country, including hydrogen use applications.

Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, said: “We’re very pleased at the commitment and rapid pace of progress that the Namibian Government has shown as we move towards concluding the Implementation Agreement to enable us to start the next phase of the project. It demonstrates the Government’s belief in Hyphen’s vision and capability to execute this ambitious and transformative project. Our project will put Namibia’s green hydrogen industry firmly on the global energy and decarbonisation map and position Namibia for rapid green hydrogen scalability. I would like to thank the Government for their support to date as we move forward together to deliver this important project for the country.

I would also like to warmly welcome our new employees to the Hyphen team.”

Martha Murorua, Nedbank Namibia’s Managing Director, said: “Having just recently inaugurated our Nedbank Campus in Windhoek’s CBD, and achieving a 5-star rating from the Green Building Council to further cement our green credentials, we take great pride in welcoming Hyphen as our neighbours, as we look to catapult Namibia’s green hydrogen ambitions into absolute fulfilment.”