Reuters reports that Hyphen Hydrogen Energy and the Namibian government have signed a Feasibility and Implementation Agreement (FIA) for a planned $10 billion green hydrogen project, Hyphen said in a statement.

Hyphen, a Namibian registered green hydrogen development company whose shareholders include Germany-headquartered Enertrag, said the partnership is the first step in Namibia’s journey to unlock the potential of becoming the world’s leading green hydrogen production hubs.

At full-scale development, the project is expected to produce around 2 million tons of green ammonia annually before the end of the decade for regional and global markets from 7 GW of renewable generation capacity and around 3 GW of electrolyzer capacity.

Hyphen and the Namibian government are aiming to begin construction in January 2025 and commission the first phase by the end of 2026.

Total investment over the two-phased development is around $10 billion, roughly the equivalent to Nambian’s annual GDP, the company said.

During the construction phase, it is estimated that the project will create around 15 000 new job opportunities and 3000 permanent positions during the operational phase.

Under the FIA, Hyphen is responsible for the technical, financial, environmental, social and commercial delivery of the project while the Namibian government is responsible for providing the land on which the project will be established and developing and implementing the required legal, fiscal and regulatory environment necessary for the establishment and sustainable operation of Namibia’s green hydrogen industry, Hyphen said.

“Today’s agreement is a major step for the production of green hydrogen in Namibia,” President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a tweet following the signing of the FIA.