Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, the preferred bidder for Namibia’s first-ever large-scale vertically integrated green hydrogen project, has secured an agreement with Koole Terminals to use its infrastructure to import green ammonia for the European market.
According to a statement released yesterday, Hyphen signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Koole Terminals. With these and many other developments falling into place Namibia’s ambitions of becoming a significant player in the green hydrogen industry keeps on moving closer to fruition.
“This covers the proposed import of green ammonia into north-western Europe with Hyphen planning to supply its customers using the import terminal being developed by Koole Terminals, located in the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands,” the statement reads.
Koole Terminals is a leading and independent storage, processing, and logistics company. It has 21 strategically located terminals in Europe and a total volume of 5.4 million cubic metres.
Namibia took the first step in 2021 to position herself at the forefront of worldwide aspirations for green hydrogen production by setting in motion plans to develop the country’s first vertically integrated green hydrogen project in the Southern Corridor Development Initiative.
Over the past year, Hyphen has signed agreements with a number of potential European customers, targeting the annual supply of up to 750 000 tonnes of green ammonia.
Hyphen is also targeting annual production of one million tonnes of green ammonia to come on line by the end of 2027, expanding to two million tonnes of green ammonia by 2029.
Namibia’s green hydrogen aspiration is premised on Harambee Prosperity Plan II, which is a fast-tracked action plan towards economic recovery and inclusive growth in which Namibia aspires to provide growth stimuli to its economic sectors.
Additionally, the green hydrogen ambition is Namibia’s response to socio-economic challenges, such as income inequality, and enables the country to explore green growth pathways with the aim to become Africa’s first carbon–neutral nation.
In actualising the objective, Namibia cast hand to wheel to implement the national green hydrogen and green ammonia strategies. This is to be achieved by harnessing the country’s abundant renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, and hydro for renewable power production.
Furthermore, once fully developed the US$10 billion project is expected to employ an estimated 3000 people, with 15 000 construction jobs supported over the four-year period. It is estimated that over 90% of the construction jobs are to be filled by Namibians.
Commenting on the recent agreement, Hyphen CEO Marco Raffinetti said the agreement represents another key milestone in ambition of enabling Namibia’s rise as a global leader in green hydrogen production.
“The Port of Rotterdam is a critical hub servicing north-western Europe and has moved rapidly to support the establishment of new green hydrogen import capacity to facilitate this region’s energy transition. Koole Terminals is one of the most advanced import terminals under development and we look forward to working with them to meet first supply of ammonia from our project into Europe by early 2028,” said Raffinetti.
John Kraakman, CEO of Koole Terminals, said the cooperation will allow their company to further scale up their multi-million tonne facility.
Meanwhile, Namibia’s green hydrogen commissioner, James Mnyupe on Monday told this publication that a green hydrogen strategy from the World Bank was received and is being scrutinised by relevant stakeholders before it becomes public information. Thus, he couldn’t share any more details.
Namibia’s Green Hydrogen Council launched its green hydrogen strategy at COP27 in Egypt. The strategy supports the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change, with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050.
The strategy also allows Namibia to become a net exporter of energy by unlocking its potential to meet global demands of 10 million metric tons by 2030 while playing a pivotal role in energy security for the region.
– mndjavera@nepc.com.na