The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors has cleared a US $10 million loan for Hyphen Hydrogen Energy to advance one of the world’s largest planned green hydrogen and ammonia projects. Valued at more than US $10 billion, the development aims to transform Namibia into a frontrunner in the global green hydrogen economy. The funding is sourced from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), a multi-donor facility designed to unlock private investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The SEFA loan will finance front-end engineering design studies for solar and wind generation, battery energy storage, electrolyser capacity and desalination systems. These pre-investment activities are intended to de-risk the project and attract the substantial capital required for full-scale development. SEFA supports such initiatives by providing technical assistance and concessional finance to build strong pipelines of bankable clean-energy projects.

Large-scale renewable vision and transformative impact

The first phase of the project will leverage Namibia’s exceptional solar and wind resources and includes 3.75 gigawatts of renewable-energy generation, battery storage, 1.5 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity and major supporting infrastructure. This infrastructure spans desalination plants, pipelines, transmission lines and upgraded port facilities, all designed to meet high environmental and social standards.

Once operational, the facility is expected to produce two million tonnes of green ammonia annually for export to international markets. It will play a central role in Namibia’s socio-economic development plan embedded in a 40-year concession agreement. The project will also avoid around five million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year — equivalent to removing over one million cars from the road — while deploying 7.5 gigawatts of renewable generation, more than ten times the nation’s current installed capacity. An additional benefit is the supply of three million litres of desalinated water daily to the water-scarce region of Lüderitz.

AfDB Country Manager Moono Mupotola described the initiative as a demonstration of Africa’s capacity to lead the global energy transition, create quality jobs and drive sustainable growth. Hyphen CEO Marco Raffinetti said the Bank’s support reflects strong confidence in both the project and Namibia’s broader ambitions. SEFA Director Daniel Schroth highlighted the catalytic role of the loan in unlocking billions in future investment.

Source: 

https://www.techinafrica.com/african-development-bank-approves-10-million-to-catalyse-namibias-large-green-hydrogen-project/