The African Development Bank has approved a US$10 million (about N$190 million) loan to Hyphen Hydrogen Energy to support a green ammonia project valued at more than US$10 billion.
The loan, provided through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, will finance front-end engineering design for solar and wind generation, battery storage, electrolyser capacity and desalination infrastructure to help de-risk the project.
According to the Bank, the first phase will include 3.75 GW of renewable energy, battery storage, 1.5 GW of electrolyser capacity and supporting infrastructure such as desalination plants, pipelines, transmission lines and expanded port facilities.
The project is expected to produce two million tonnes of green ammonia annually. It is also projected to avert five million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year, deploy 7.5 GW of renewable energy — more than 10 times Namibia’s current installed capacity — and supply three million litres of desalinated water a day to Lüderitz.
“This is about far more than energy infrastructure. 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,” Moono Mupotola, AfDB Country Manager for Namibia and Deputy Director General for Southern Africa, said.
“The African Development Bank’s approval of this pre-investment facility represents a strong vote of confidence in Hyphen’s project and in the broad ambitions of Namibia to develop one of the world’s most transformative green hydrogen projects,” Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, said.
“SEFA’s intervention is catalytic. By supporting these essential pre-investment activities, we are unlocking billions in project financing,” Daniel Schroth, AfDB Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, added.
The project is expected to create 15,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent positions, with 90% reserved for Namibians and 20% specifically for youth.
