Niël Terblanché
The Government officially signed a pioneering N$200 billion Feasibility and Implementation Agreement on Friday, thereby announcing the development of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest Green Hydrogen Project.
President Hage Geingob officially witnessed the signing of the agreement with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Proprietary) Limited.
“I thank Hyphen for trusting the Governance Architecture of Namibia with their investment. By signing the Feasibility and Implementation Agreement, a crucial step has been taken to unlock the potential of Green Hydrogen to create jobs for the prosperity of the people of Namibia,” Geingob said at the signing ceremony at State House.
Pohamba Shifeta, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Iipumbu Shiimi, the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises and John Mutorwa, the Minister of Works and Transport signed the agreement on behalf of the Namibian Government while Marco Raffineti, Hyphen CEO, Simon Hagedorn and Tobias Bischof-Niemz signed on behalf of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Proprietary) Limited.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Proprietary) Limited will govern the development, implementation, and operation of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and only fully vertically integrated, green hydrogen project.
The decision to commit Namibia to the development of the green hydrogen project was taken by the Cabinet last Wednesday. Geingob said that the transformative impact of the project on Namibia and its economy will be considerable. Over 18 000 local jobs will be created. The total project capital investment is roughly equivalent to the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product.
At full-scale development, anticipated before the end of the decade, the project will produce two million tonnes of green ammonia annually for regional and global markets. “The government and Hyphen believe that the FIA will set a new global benchmark, creating a template for the sustainable and equitable development of other green hydrogen projects,” the President said.
President Geingob said the feasibility of incubating a synthetic fuels industry in Namibia, is a key transforming agent of Namibia’s economy.
