Development funding for green ammonia plant

NAMIBIA

Development funding for green ammonia plant

The African Development Bank has approved a $10 million loan to Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a Namibian green hydrogen development company, to support a green ammonia project valued at more than $10 billion, and with the potential to position Namibia as a pioneer in the global green hydrogen economy. The loan, sourced from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), will support front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for solar and wind generation, battery energy storage systems, and electrolyser capacity and desalination infrastructure, aiming to de-risk the project and attract the financing required for its realisation.

The project aims to leverage the country’s world-class solar and wind energy resources, The first phase includes 3.75 GW of renewable energy generation, battery storage, 1.5 GW of electrolyser capacity, and supporting infrastructure such as desalination facilities, pipelines, transmission lines, and enhanced port facilities. Once completed, the project is projected to produce 2 million t/a of green ammonia for export to key markets, while contributing to local economic development under a comprehensive socio-economic development plan embedded in the project’s 40-year concession agreement. It will avert annual emissions of 5 million tons of CO2, as well as supplying 3 million litres of clean water through desalination daily to the water-scarce region of Lüderitz in southern Namibia.

Moono Mupotola, African Development Bank Country Manager for Namibia and Deputy Director General for Southern Africa, said: “This is about far more than energy infrastructure,” said. “This is about demonstrating Africa’s capacity to lead the global energy transition, create quality jobs for our youth, and build prosperity while protecting our planet. Namibia is showing the world that Africa is not just participating in the green economy – we are defining it.”