Hyphen green hydrogen project (Namibia)
- Up to 3,000 people died.Nama and Herero killed on Shark Island, 1904–1908, near the planned port.
- Researchers German-ministry-backed report (October 2023): One litre of treated water needs two to three litres of seawater and leaves one to two litres of brine.
- Standard-setters and registries Existing environmental assessments (authors not named): Assume the brine volume to be small, according to the same report.
A planned green hydrogen and ammonia export project inside the Tsau //Khaeb National Park near Lüderitz, in which the Namibian state holds 24%. Its final investment decision was postponed to the end of 2027.
The Namibian, 6 October 2026.
Status As of October 2026: final investment decision postponed to the end of 2027; the state holds 24%.
- Project partners — No returns yet; the project has not reached a final investment decision. The Namibian
- Nama community — Representatives objected to a port near Shark Island, a genocide memorial site.
What happened
Hyphen is a green hydrogen project, to produce hydrogen with renewable electricity, usually converted to ammonia for export. Its site is inside the Tsau //Khaeb National Park around Lüderitz, Namibia. The project was valued at $10 billion, and promoters said it would create 15,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs. A study announced in December 2022 with German backing said Namibia planned to start exports before 2025.
The tender, run between 2020 and 2023, was exempted from public procurement rules, and the bids and the reasons for the selection were not disclosed. Namibia's green hydrogen commissioner, James Mnyupe, defended the exemption. One partner, Nicholas Holdings, is registered in the British Virgin Islands and holds its stake through Mauritius. In December 2023 the state took a 24% stake. Germany declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024. The European Investment Bank announced a loan of up to €500 million, and the African Development Bank provided a grant and loan.
A port is planned near Shark Island, where up to 3,000 Nama and Herero were killed in the German genocide of 1904–1908. Nama representatives objected in April 2024, saying the memorial site could be damaged.
A report backed by a German ministry stated that producing one litre of treated water needs two to three litres of seawater and leaves one to two litres of brine, and that existing environmental assessments assume this volume to be small.
In October 2026 the final investment decision was postponed to the end of 2027. Opposition shadow minister Rodney Cloete said that, with the state a part-owner, the costs of every delay were now partly the state's own.
- 2020Tender begins around Lüderitz (2020–2023); exempted from public procurement rules
- 2022December: German-backed study announces Namibia plans to start exports before 2025
- 2023December: the Namibian state takes a 24% stake
- 2024April: Nama representatives object to the Shark Island port plan; Germany declares Hyphen a strategic foreign project
- 20266 October: final investment decision postponed to end of 2027
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Defended the exemption from public procurement rules.
Bids and the reasons for selection were not disclosed.
One litre of treated water needs two to three litres of seawater and leaves one to two litres of brine.
Assume the brine volume to be small, according to the same report.
Namibia planned to start exports before 2025.
The final investment decision was postponed to the end of 2027; shadow minister Rodney Cloete said the state, as part-owner, now shares the cost of delay.
The NamibianConcerned that the memorial site, where up to 3,000 Nama and Herero were killed in 1904–1908, would be harmed (April 2024).
How it looked
Shown
- The project would create 15,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs.Promoters of the project
- Namibia would start exporting green hydrogen before 2025.German-backed study announcement, December 2022
Recorded
- The tender was exempted from public procurement rules; bids and selection reasons were not disclosed.
- The final investment decision was postponed to the end of 2027; the state holds 24%.
- The site lies inside the Tsau //Khaeb National Park.
- A German-ministry-backed report says each litre of treated water leaves one to two litres of brine and that current environmental assessments assume a small volume.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Namibia's green hydrogen commissioner, James Mnyupe (2020–2023): Defended the exemption of the tender from public procurement rules.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed Is the brine from desalination for the project small enough to ignore?
Accounts
- Disputed Was the tender properly run?
- Disputed Did the 2022 export timeline hold?
- Disputed Will the port near Shark Island damage the memorial site?
- None on record Namibian authorities: Bids and the reasons for selection were not disclosed.
Record
- None on record Tender documents have never been disclosed, and the bids and reasons for the selection are not public.
- None on record The grantor of the €40 million grant listed with the postponement is not identified in the sources reviewed.
- None on record A response from the Hyphen consortium to the Nama objection to the port is not on record in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not report an independent ecological assessment of the site.
Did the harm stop?
The project had not reached a final investment decision as of October 2026.
Who paid?
Not established; the state holds 24% and public lenders were announced.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Hyphen delay raises questions on promises madeThe Namibian · 2026-10-06
Connected cases
- Germany agreed €2.6bn and €1.75bn coal exit payments to RWE and LEAG Germany · 2019–2023
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024; there: agreed to pay the compensation
- Germany pays 317 million euros in premiums to 11 coal plants, including Moorburg Germany · 2015–2020
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024; there: Government that paid the closure premiums
- Namibia landed thousands of tonnes of pilchard as bycatch under moratorium Namibia · 1994–2024
- Government of Namibia (Government) — here: 24% shareholder since December 2023; granted the tender; there: Set the moratorium and quota; the minister commented on bycatch
- Olkaria geothermal projects (Kenya) Kenya · 2013–2017
- European Investment Bank (Bank) — here: Announced loan of up to €500 million; there: Financier
- Only Ghana has an announced Global Shield guarantee as 17 countries wait Global · 2022
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024; there: Contributor (about 170 million euros)
- Poland takes Germany to EU court over 35,000 tonnes of illegal waste Poland · 2023–2024
- Government of Germany (Government) — here: Declared Hyphen a strategic foreign project in 2024; there: defendant