Govt not risking its own money on Hyphen project
The government is not spending any of its own money or taking any financial risk on its 24% equity stake in the Hyphen Green Hydrogen Project, according to Hyphen Hydrogen Energy chief executive Marco Raffinetti, who sought to dispel what he described as widespread misconceptions about the state's participation in the multi-billion-dollar development.
Raffinetti said the government's equity stake, held through the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) on behalf of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, has not been financed from the national budget. Instead, the government's share of the project's development costs has been covered through grant funding from development partners, including the governments of the Netherlands and European partners.
"All the money that the government is spending on its share of the project's development costs is being funded by the Dutch government and the European Union. At this stage, the government is not spending any of its own money or taking any financial risk on the Haafen project, other than the costs of supporting the green hydrogen industry and the programmes it is implementing for the benefit of the entire sector," Raffinetti said briefing parliament's Standing Committee on Natural Resources.
He added that the financing structure allows Namibia to participate as an equity partner while limiting its financial exposure during the development phase.
"This is a very important point and one that is widely misunderstood. If there are any financial experts in the room, this is what we call having someone else take the risk. In other words, you use someone else's money to invest in the project and create value for your people," he said.
The briefing comes as questions continue to be raised about the pace of Namibia's flagship green hydrogen project and the government's commitment to the sector.
Three months ago, industry players dismissed suggestions that political support for green hydrogen had weakened following the resignation of former Green Hydrogen Programme commissioner James Mnyupe and the expiry of the Green Hydrogen Council's mandate, insisting the project continued to enjoy government backing.
However, parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources chairperson Tobie Aupindi said lawmakers are increasingly concerned by what appears to be a slowdown in the project's progress.
"I must also say that we are seeing that there seems to be now a little bit of a slowness, whether that is true or is just a perception, it's of a serious concern to us because our strategic intent and objective is to ensure that you succeed because if you succeed Namibia succeeds economically," Aupindi said.
He stressed that Parliament's role is not only to hold stakeholders accountable but also to strengthen the legislative framework to support investment while ensuring broad-based economic participation.
Aupindi said the committee is particularly concerned about local content, warning that Namibians, especially previously disadvantaged black-owned enterprises, must meaningfully participate in the project's supply chain rather than being sidelined.
"We have to be very systematic and very intentional in including local people. When we say local, it's not just a Namibian-registered company, it's actually black enterprises because those were the people who were deprived of economic opportunities by past colonial laws," he said.
He added that parliament would continue advocating for a more inclusive economic model while working with project developers to ensure Namibia fully benefits from its emerging green hydrogen industry.
Three months ago, Network Media Hub (NMH) reported that amid concerns about the government's perceived waning political support for Namibia’s green hydrogen sector, industry players said progress is nevertheless continuing.
However, industry players insist that confidence in Namibia’s burgeoning green hydrogen remains intact.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy’s Toni Beukes said the company has no concerns about governance or political backing.
"The Namibian green hydrogen strategy talks about Hyphen as the first sort of catalyst project in the first green hydrogen valley, which is the Southern Corridor Development Initiative." she told NMH.
She added: “There is a lot happening in the background… all of that should tell you that we are not concerned about political support, because it is there.”
Beukes acknowledged that government restructuring has slowed progress, but not to a level of concern.
“Naturally there is a bit of a slowdown in movement, but certainly not at a worrying level or at a level where we are not enjoying support from our ministries,” Beukes said.
