Staff Reporter
HYPHEN Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) recently announced the closure of a €5 million project preparation funding facility intended to propel the development of Hyphen’s groundbreaking green hydrogen project in Namibia.
This is equivalent to N$ 102,118,328.50.
This facility, as described by Hyphen, will play a key role in partially funding various aspects such as engineering, environmental considerations, and socio-economic development related to the project. Catherine Koffman, DBSA’s Group Executive for Project Preparation, highlighted that this partnership aims to facilitate the creation of a new asset class within the energy sector, bringing about substantial positive impacts on Namibia’s economy, society, and environment.
“Green Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that is vital for decarbonising key sectors of the economy, including hard-to-abate industries like steel and chemicals. The investment emphasizes the bank’s commitment in accelerating the transition to net zero and looks forward to a successful completion of the project,” Koffman added.
According to Hyphen, this collaboration not only emphasizes the significance of development finance institutions collaborating with private developers in Africa to drive green energy initiatives but also signifies DBSA’s confidence in the transformative potential of the Hyphen project for Namibia and its economy.
“Hyphen estimates that the project will create up to 15,000 new jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 permanent jobs during its operation on completion of both phases, with the target for 90% of these jobs to be filled by Namibians with 20% specifically targeted for youth,” Hyphen said.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hyphen, Marco Raffinetti, said that partnerships with African lending institutions will be critical to the success of the Hyphen project, stressing that this funding facility serves as a testament to the practical implementation of such collaborations.
“This funding facility shows these partnerships in action. It will provide crucial funding for the development and integration of the project, and subsequently, the socio-economic development of Namibia. Hyphen and the DBSA are aligned with the common purpose to drive the future of renewable energy in Namibia and beyond, and we look forward to working together to achieve this,” Raffinetti added.
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