Hyphen: project for green hydrogen

Namibia

ENERTRAG is realising the Hyphen project in the Tsau/Khaeb National Park on an area of approx. 4,000 km² : Namibia's first fully vertically integrated green hydrogen project on a gigawatt scale.

Namibia is uniquely placed to become one of the world's largest producers of green hydrogen: It is one of the most resource-rich locations in the world for the combined use of wind and solar energy, offers significant land availability as well as the geographical proximity of renewable resources to the coast and harbour connections to global markets.

International milestone for green hydrogen

The Hyphen project, with an investment volume of around ten billion US dollars, is expected to produce 350,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually when fully developed, replacing five to six million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year. Before the end of this decade, two million tonnes of ammonia are to be produced annually and shipped worldwide.

At full scale and with the commissioning of further projects, the surplus electricity generated by the hydrogen industry can be used to decarbonise the entire Namibian power grid, drive Namibia's energy independence and make the country a net exporter of low-carbon energy.

Hyphen will demonstrate the leading role Africa can play in the global energy transition. The project is the first step in implementing a government strategy to develop a green hydrogen industry in various regions of Namibia to support both economic growth in Namibia and achieve global decarbonisation goals.

Project profile

Gross Area
~4,000 km²

Renewable energy capacity
Phase 1: 3.5 GW renewable energies and 1.5 GW electrolysers
Phase 2: 3.5 GW renewable energies and 1.5 GW electrolysers

Hydrogen Production
Phase 1: 175,000 tons per year
Phase 2: 350,000 tons per year

Ammonia production
1,000,000 t ammonia per year

Investment costs
10 billion US$

Jobs during the construction phase 15,000 (4 - 5 years)

Permanent jobs
3,000

Feasibility period
2 years

"Hyphen shows: Africa has a leading role in the global energy transition. Even more: it emphasises the importance of international energy partnerships and requires a common understanding of democracy."

Dr. Tobias Bischof-Niemz

ENERTRAG Board Member Projects International & Technology

Technologies of the project

Wind power & photovoltaics

Wind turbines utilize the power of the wind to drive rotor blades and, via these, a generator. In this way, electrical energy is generated. Incident sunlight is used to generate electrical energy in solar cells.

Electrolysis

Electrolyzers split water into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity from local wind and solar power plants.

Ammonia synthesis

In ammonia synthesis using the Haber-Bosch process, ammonia is produced from the starting materials atmospheric nitrogen and green hydrogen.

Fair energy transition: Hyphen is on the way to receiving the status of a strategic foreign project of the German government.

Hyphen is becoming global best practice for the sustainable development of large-scale green hydrogen projects that are ethically and socially responsible, enable a fair energy transition and protect the environment. The German government recognized this and paved the way for Hyphen to be given the status of a strategic German foreign project.

Together with the Namibian government, the project is collaborating with local communities, environmental groups and other stakeholders to position Namibia's green hydrogen industry for rapid scalability and long-term sustainability.

About ENERTRAG

ENERTRAG develops, builds and operates energy solutions from wind, photovoltaics and hydrogen to drive forward the energy transition worldwide - and to completely replace fossil fuels in the energy supply.

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