Namibia has chosen a number of hydrogen projects to move ahead in the Erongo Valley while Hyphen Hydrogen Energy has flagged up its progress on a $10 billion project.
Namibia hosted a hydrogen conference this week, during which the government announced winners of the German backing.
Germany signed on to provide 40 million euros ($40.6mn) to back Namibian projects in August 2021. Namibian Hydrogen Commissioner James Mnyupe said four projects would go forward: Daure, Namport, Cleanergy and TransNamib.
Mnyupe said this initial cash was intended to start them on their journey towards commercial projects. The four Erongo Valley plans, halfway down Namibia’s coast, will now seek industry support for the next step.
The Namibian government intends to hand out more funds than the German grant covers, he continued.
The Daure project will produce green ammonia for fertilisers. Namport’s project will produce hydrogen for local tugs. Cleanergy aims to build an electrolyser and refuelling station, in order to supply mines and ports, with this project receiving the largest share of funds. The TransNamib plan will involve producing hydrogen for dual-fuel locomotives.
Mnyupe said there had been more than 20 applications for the pilot project support grant. The government has chosen to focus on Erongo, in order to create a second hydrogen hub.
While these projects are initially domestically focused, Namibia has plans to export green hydrogen around the world – particularly to Europe.
TransNamib is developing its project with partners including CMB.Tech, the University of Namibia and Hyphen Technical. The last of these is affiliated with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, which is developing its own project in the Tsau Khaeb area, in Namibia’s southwest.
Hyphen plans
Hyphen said it had made “material progress” on its plans, including with the Namibian cabinet approving a negotiation team in June. This will lead talks on the implementation agreement, the signing of which would trigger front-end engineering and design (FEED) work.
The southwestern Hyphen plan would involve the production of 350,000 tonnes per day of green hydrogen before 2030. The company has said it, and the government, hope to begin construction in January 2025, with commissioning by the end of 2026.
The total investment for the Hyphen plan is around $10 billion.
“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,” said Hyphen CEO Marco Raffinetti.
“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.”
