Hyphen partners with DBSA to fund Namibian green hydrogen project

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have partnered up for a funding facility to be used to advance the development of Hyphen’s green hydrogen project in Namibia.

According to Hyphen, the Project Preparation Facility from the DBSA will go towards the partial funding of engineering, environmental, and socio-economic development workstreams on the process of developing the project up to the final investment decision.

The total project capital investment amounts to $10 billion, which is roughly equivalent to Namibia’s annual GDP.

At full-scale development, anticipated before the end of this decade, the project will produce 2 million tons of green ammonia annually for regional and global markets, and envisages 15,000 employees during the construction phase and 3,000 employees once fully operational.

Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, said: “The Southern Africa region has a crucial role to play in the global green hydrogen race, not only through the leverage of the regions renewable resource, but in the regions participation in the financing of the energy transition. The finalization of this funding commitment demonstrates the belief of DBSA in the Hyphen project. We look forward to walking the journey with DBSA to financial close, where we hope that both these organizations will be significant providers of debt funding to the project.”

Hyphen, a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited and ENERTRAG SE, was appointed the preferred bidder by the Namibian government to develop the first green hydrogen project in Namibia for export.

One potential destination for Namibian ammonia is a terminal for green ammonia in Brunsbüttel, Germany, which RWE aims to complete by 2026.

To support this project, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy also signed a partnership agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers.

Under the agreement, ILF will provide project management services and technical expertise to drive Hyphen’s project in Namibia, as well as procurement and contract advice. Furthermore, it will provide implementation expertise in support of Hyphen’s socio-economic development goals.