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 socio-economic 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 emphasized 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 decarbonization 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.
