NAMIBIA: Japanese investor Itochu sets its sights on the green hydrogen market

Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a company based in Windhoek, Namibia, and Itochu Corporation, a Japanese trade and investment company, are keen to explore opportunities for cooperation in the green hydrogen megaproject under development in Namibia.

After South Africa, Itochu Corporation is now interested in Namibia’s nascent green hydrogen industry. The Japanese investment and trading company has just signed an agreement with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy to evaluate its participation in a green hydrogen megaproject under development in Namibia. The project is led by Hyphen, which intends to invest 9.4 billion dollars over the next few years.

The first part of this investment, i.e. 4.4 billion dollars, will be used to develop 2,000 MW of clean energy capacity. The electricity will be generated from solar and wind power stations. The joint venture between German energy company Enertrag and investor Nicholas Holdings then aims to increase its electrolysis capacity to 5,000 MW by 2030. These investments will enable Hyphen to produce one million tonnes of green ammonia a year by 2027.

Exports to Japan

“Hyphen expects Japan to become one of the world’s major demand centres for green ammonia and we are delighted to have the opportunity to explore areas of collaboration with Itochu to unlock supply to this critical market,” says Marco Raffinetti, Hyphen’s Managing Director. Through this partnership, Itochu aims to use green ammonia, one of the by-products of green hydrogen, to decarbonise several areas of the Japanese economy.

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“With this collaborative development of green ammonia in Namibia, Itochu will aim to create a wide range of ammonia value chains in various existing industrial applications as well as for future energy use, and support our customers and industries in achieving decarbonisation goals by focusing on Japan, Asia and its surrounding markets,” says Shinya Ishizuka, general manager of Africa Bloc at Itochu.

In addition to Namibia, the Japanese company is also exploring opportunities for cooperation in the field of green hydrogen in South Africa. A year ago, the group headed by Masahiro Okafuji signed an agreement with South African chemical giant Sasol to assess Itochu’s potential involvement and participation in Sasol’s green ammonia export projects, including the purchase of products as well as Japanese financial support for studies and grants relating to projects in South Africa.