The German government has given a major boost to Namibia’s first gigawatt scale green hydrogen project — the $10-billion Hyphen development scheme — by confirming the suitability of the project to be designated as a strategic foreign project.
According to Miningweekly.com, last week, Berlin presented a letter of intent to German energy company Enertrag, confirming the designation of the Hyphen development scheme as strategic foreign project, which renders it eligible to receive targeted support ¬– a status reserved for high-priority global projects of strategic interest to Germany.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy is a Namibian-registered joint venture between Enertrag and Nicholas Holdings. Observers and experts see the project as paving the way for the development of a large-scale green hydrogen industry across Namibia to support both economic growth in the Southern African country itself and to assist the world in achieving its decarbonization goals.
Hyphen and the Namibian government, which plans to take up a 24% equity stake in the project, aim to start construction in January 2025, with commissioning of the first phase by the end of 2026. When completed, Hyphen is expected to produce 350 000 t of green hydrogen and two-million tons of green ammonia a year, mostly for export.
“Germany is supporting the development of a green hydrogen economy in Namibia that is sustainable for the population through hydrogen and Power-to-X cooperation. The Hyphen project is committed to this in a similar way,” German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, said in a statement.