Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) has signed two new agreements this month in its effort to drive forward sub-Saharan Africa’s largest, and only, fully vertically integrated green hydrogen project with a multi-billion-dollar value.
The first agreement saw a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Itochu Corporation (ITOCHU) to explore areas for potential collaboration between the pair. Hyphen and ITOCHU, one of Japan’s largest general trading and investment companies, will now enter into talks on areas of potential collaboration on this landmark multi-billion-dollar green hydrogen project.
Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen, commented on this agreement: “Hyphen expects Japan to emerge as one of the key demand centers for green ammonia globally and we are delighted to have the opportunity to explore areas for collaboration with ITOCHU to unlock supply into this critical market. I firmly believe that Namibia has the potential to become a long-term strategic partner to Japan for the supply of green hydrogen, well beyond the scale of Hyphen’s project, given Namibia’s unique competitive advantages in green hydrogen production. Combined with the support of the Government of the Republic of Namibia that is progressively advancing the development of its green hydrogen economy.”
The second deal saw the signing of a partnership agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers (ILF), a leading independent international engineering and consulting firm with broad experience supporting hydrogen projects globally, to assist in the delivery of Hyphen’s ground-breaking green hydrogen project.
As part of an integrated team, ILF will provide project management services and technical expertise to drive Hyphen’s project in Namibia, as well as procurement and contract advice. ILF will also provide implementation expertise in support of Hyphen’s socio-economic-development goals.
Commenting on the deal, Marco Raffinetti, stated: “Our partnership with ILF marks an exciting step towards establishing Namibia as a world leader in the green hydrogen sector. ILF’s experience working on hydrogen projects across the world will be invaluable and will help Hyphen meet the project timelines and Namibia’s development objectives.
“This appointment, combined with our engagement with potential consortium partners, shows there is massive interest in Namibia from those looking to invest in one of the world’s lowest cost and most advanced large scale green hydrogen projects. We look forward to working closely with ILF in the delivery of this transformative project.”
Hyphen’s project is one of the largest green hydrogen projects globally, and will supply and decarbonise Namibia’s energy systems, as well as exporting to international markets. Hyphen is targeting annual production of one million tonnes of green ammonia by 2027, with plans to increase annual production to two million tonnes by 2029, cutting 5-6 million tonnes in CO2 emissions every year. Operating at full scale, Hyphen’s project could produce 350,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
The project in Tsau // Khaeb National Park will act as a blueprint for future green hydrogen projects globally. It is being developed as the first step in the implementation of the Government’s strategy to develop a large-scale green hydrogen industry in various regions in Namibia to support economic growth in Namibia with a total investment of $10 billion – roughly the equivalent of Namibia’s annual GDP.
It is estimated that the project will create up to 15,000 new jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 permanent jobs during its operation, with a target for around 90% of these jobs to be filled by Namibians. Hyphen is targeting 30% local procurement for goods, services and materials throughout both the construction and operational phases.