FlyNamibia September 2023

A monthly wrap-up of News Worth Knowing

HYPHEN PICKS ILF AS CONSULTING ENGINEERS FOR NAMIBIA GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECT

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) has entered into a partnership agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers (ILF), a global engineering and consulting firm, to facilitate the successful execution of its US 10 billion green hydrogen project.

Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, announced that ILF will provide project management services, technical expertise, procurement, and contract advice for Hyphen's project in Namibia.

The international consultancy firm will also offer implementation expertise to support Hyphen's socioeconomic development objectives.

"Boasting strengths in large-scale energy and pipeline projects, ILF has extensive global experience in supporting hydrogen initiatives. They have managed Canada's inaugural green hydrogen project, engineered a hydrogen pipeline system in Finland, and designed a hydrogen plant in Austria," Raffinetti said.

He emphasised that the collaboration with ILF is a significant step toward positioning Namibia as a leader in the green hydrogen sector.

"Leveraging ILF's worldwide hydrogen project experience will be invaluable in meeting project timelines and Namibia’s developmental goals. This partnership, combined with our engagement with potential consortium partners, highlights massive interest in Namibia as a destination for investments in cutting-edge, large-scale green hydrogen projects. We eagerly anticipate our close collaboration with ILF in delivering this transformative project,” the Hyphen CEO said.

Michel Kneller, Director of Hydrogen at ILF, expressed excitement about the partnership with Hyphen and its role in delivering one of the largest global green hydrogen projects.

He highlighted ILF's contribution to Namibia's energy decarbonisation and hydrogen export to international markets.

"We take pride in participating in this significant lighthouse project. Through our engineering and project management consultancy (PMC) services for this unique venture, we contribute to the energy transition. Hydrogen plays a pivotal role in reshaping our energy landscape and is a key to a sustainable future," Kneller said.

Hyphen aims to achieve an annual production capacity of one million tonnes of green ammonia by 2027, with plans to increase this to two million tonnes by 2029, thereby reducing annual CO2 emissions by 5-6 million tonnes.

At full scale, Hyphen’s project could produce 350,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.

The Tsau //Khaeb National Park project will serve as a blueprint for future global green hydrogen initiatives.

The project is estimated to create up to 15,000 new jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 permanent jobs during operation, with a goal of filling around 90% of these positions with Namibians.

Hyphen aims for 30% local procurement of goods, services, and materials throughout both construction and operational phases.

ILF is an internationally operating, independent engineering and consulting company with over 45 offices worldwide on five continents, employing more than 2,600 professionals.

Hyphen is a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited and ENERTRAG, with the Namibian government set to hold a 24% equity stake in the project.

NAMIBIA SET FOR N$ 600M GREEN IRON PRODUCTION PLANT

One of the first industrial production of iron with net-zero emissions, based on HyIron technology, is set to be established in Namibia with an initial investment of N$600 million.

The Oshivela project, scheduled to commence in late 2024, is being initiated by HyIron with support from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection. The project aims to achieve an annual output of 15,000 tonnes of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) in its initial phase, generating approximately 60 employment opportunities.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the project, facilitated by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), is scheduled for November 6th, 2023, in

Arandis. Renewable energy will replace fossil fuels in the conventional production process, powered by a solar and wind energy plant.

"In the initial phase, a 20 MW solar photovoltaic installation will provide carbon-free electricity to the plant. As production scales up, an additional 18 MW of wind energy and 140 MW of solar energy will be integrated. This power plant will primarily supply energy for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, the reduction agent. The hydrogen will then be transported to the furnace, where it will react with the iron ore's oxygen at ambient pressure, ultimately forming water. This water will be reused within the process."

When operational, the Oshivela project is anticipated to become one of the largest primary green iron production sites globally. At this stage, it is projected to reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 27,000 metric tons, equivalent to 50% of Namibia's power industry emissions, as per the developers' estimates.

"The Oshivela project, boasting an annual production potential of 1 million tonnes of iron, is forecasted to mitigate 1.8 million tonnes of CO₂e/year. If applied to the necessary additional production capacities of 300 million tonnes by 2030, this could result in a yearly reduction of 540 million tonnes of CO₂e, making a substantial contribution to the fight against climate change."

According to the developers, the project is poised to address the growing global demand for iron, which is projected to rise from the current 1.9 billion tonnes annually to 2.2 billion tonnes by 2030, necessitating an increase in production capacities by 50 million tonnes each year.

ROADS AUTHORITY COMPLETES N$ 300M WINDHOEKREHOBOTH ROAD

The Roads Authority says it has completed the first phase of the Windhoek-Rehoboth Road and the Windhoek-Hosea Kutako Road, at a cost of N$ 300 million, over a duration of two years.

According to Roads Authority’s CEO Conrad Lutombi, the development aims to improve connectivity between Windhoek, the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) road, and the southern-link to the Police Roadblock on the Windhoek-Rehoboth Road.

"The newly opened route is set to bring relief from congestion as this link allows traffic to traverse freely, bypassing the police checkpoint without passing windows. This diverts from our current route and alleviates traffic congestion,” said Lutombi.

He highlighted the complexities involved in acquiring land for such infrastructure projects. "We had to gauge the landowners. And we are happy that the government finalised the process," he said while addressing the challenges faced during the project.

The expansion of the road is expected to alleviate traffic congestion and provide easier access to key locations, including the military base and residential areas.

Lutombi noted that the Roads Authority is set to complete phase 2B next year. "Phase 2B, around 21km long, concludes by November 2024. Our aim is to extend the road to align with the Rehoboth freeway and phase 2B which includes completing the entire road up to the airport,” he said.

The Roads Authority expects to complete its Freeway Project by May 2024 while the Windhoek-Okahandja Road, which has been under construction since January 2016, is expected to be operational by the end of August 2023.

This includes the current road Windhoek-Rehoboth freeway and other phases of the project include OmuthiyaOndangwa freeway, and Walvis Bay-Swakopmund freeway and Ondangwa-Oshakati freeway.

Earlier this year the Roads Authority launched a N$ 15 billion five-year Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP), which seeks to expand the national road network as well as upgrade gravel roads to bitumen standards.

The authority plans to construct and upgrade 700km to bitumen standard, 215km of gravel road, rehabilitate 715km, and re-gravel 2,800km, as well as rejuvenate 635 km to low seal bitumen standard.

The ISBP funds will be sourced from the Road Fund Administration (RFA) which will provide N$ 10.27 billion, and an additional N$ 1.22 billion through loans and grants, whereas the government will provide funding of N$2.78 billion over the five-year duration ending in 2026/27.

According to the RFA, Namibia’s road network is valued at N$ 101 billion, of which about 83% is unpaved.