Africa's Leading Green Iron Project Finds German Buyer

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Africa's leading green iron project has signed its first major offtake deal with German steelmaker and car parts manufacturer Benteler (Paderborn, Germany).

HyIron Green Technologies (Erongo, Namibia), with its initial Oshivela plant located near Arandis in Namibia, has struck a deal to supply up to 200,000 tonnes of direct reduced iron (DRI) annually, produced using green hydrogen technology. The company unveiled its 12-megawatt (MW) electrolyser, which is the largest in southern Africa and will produce 15,000 tonnes of DRI annually in its initial phase. It will rely on the output from its 25-MW solar plant and 13.4-MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to operate during the day with the goal of boosting both power input and storage in later phases to enable round-the-clock production. The project, which began construction in 2023, will be commissioned next year. Almost half of the first phase of funding--$13.7 million--was provided by the German government with the rest coming from private backers. Last year, HyIron launched what it claimed was the world's largest hydrogen DRI plant for the production of green iron using hydrogen in Lingen, Germany, with partners Benteler and power major RWE AG (Essen, Germany). The project in Namibia promises to be a much larger endeavour.

"About a year ago, we embarked on a journey to build something completely new," said co-founder of the HyIron-Oshivela project Johannes Michels at a recent site visit with Namibia's Minister in the Presidency Christine Hoebes. "Despite the uncertainties, we felt safe in the hands of people who value Namibia's youth as our greatest treasure. It's one thing to build something new and to have a vision for green industrialisation. Today, we announced our first off-take agreement for a Namibian green product, sold for the long term and with the potential to justify the next development phases."

Hoebes said: "Imagine Namibia emerging as a leading producer of green iron by 2030. The Erongo Region is transforming into a hub of opportunity and innovation powered by Namibians' strength and skill. HyIron envisions a workforce exceeding 1,500 individuals, as they operate a facility with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum right here in the mighty Erongo Region, sourcing iron ore from Opuwo and the Northern Cape, all while producing 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen utilising Namibia's abundant solar and water resources--what an extraordinary prospect."

The project is expected to offset 27,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, which is equivalent to 50% of the annual CO2 emissions of Namibia's power industry. Work is already underway on phases 2 and 3, which will expand production capacity to 200,000 tonnes and 2 million tonnes of green DRI per annum, respectively. Around US$210 million is earmarked for Phase 2 while Phase 3 is expected to cost more than US$2.6 billion. Industrial Info is tracking five related active projects worth more US$600 million. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).