By Benjamin Wickham
WINDHOEK, MARCH 9 — Namibia is preparing to sign an implementation agreement for its $10 billion green hydrogen project in the second quarter of 2023, according to a senior official at the Africa Energy Indaba 2023 summit. The project, which is being promoted by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, will commence feasibility studies once the agreement is signed. Hyphen recently signed two memorandums of understanding with a major chemical company and South Korean hydrogen producer Approtium for a total annual offtake of 750,000 million tonnes of green ammonia. The completed project is set to produce 300,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually from 5-6 GW of renewables and 3 GW of electrolyser capacity.
Namibia has six green hydrogen projects underway, with the HDF Energy project in an advanced stage and aiming to obtain an offtake power purchase agreement and a generation license. HDF Energy is building an 85 MW solar power plant and a green hydrogen production unit in Swakopmund along the Namibian coast and has secured financing from the European Investment Bank at COP27. Namibia is also running four German-funded pilots worth €30 million for hydrogen dual-fuel locomotives, refuelling stations, and agriculture and port applications.
Namibia is swiftly moving towards setting up an implementation office to provide a conducive environment for investors, with stakeholder engagements underway to frame a Synthetic Fuels Act. The Act will outline details regarding incentives, corporate tax, royalty, and competitive advantages with other jurisdictions. A local content policy draft is also ready, which aims to promote investments, value creation, skill creation, and knowledge transfer.
Namibia is working to substitute power imports with local generation, with 214 MW of wind and solar power projects in the pipeline that is anticipated to be commissioned by 2025-2026. The country is looking at a number of projects powered with heavy fuel oil or gas for baseload electricity supply to be developed with IPPs and some by the state. The electricity market has also been reformed to allow private sector participants to buy directly from IPPs and permitted exports, with export licenses for 300 MW issued so far. – Namibia Daily News
