Morocco eyes huge hydrogen projects for export to Europe – Bloomberg

Morocco is considering partnering with Gautam Adani — Asia’s richest person — on a large-scale hydrogen project amid a renewable energy push to meet demand at home and in Europe.

Authorities are thinking of signing final investment decisions for “at least two competitive industrial projects” in 2023, Moroccan Energy Transition Minister Leila Benali told Bloomberg in an interview over the weekend.

Benali cited Indian private conglomerate Adani Group as among the firms interested in the Moroccan hydrogen proposition, confirming a Bloomberg report in October.

Actually, Adani wants to make his empire the world’s largest producer of clean energy by the end of the decade thanks to the great potential of countries in North Africa and parts of the Middle East that are increasingly identified as poles attractive for green hydrogen, for many reasons, namely the climate, the sunshine and the abundant wind, in addition to their strategic geographical position close to the main export markets, including Europe.

Meanwhile, Morocco, which is one of Africa’s biggest fossil fuel importers, is attracting growing interest from investors seeking to export the green fuel to the European Union, given its geographical proximity and free trade agreement with the bloc. Europe has been tapping alternative sources of energy from across the world since the Russia-Ukraine war flared up earlier this year to make up for a shortfall in Russian pipeline gas.

“With Adani, we had some specific discussions and they came up with some very good ideas that we are looking at because they are aligned with the Moroccan vision on some specific aspects,” Benali told Bloomberg.

Morocco would be one of several nations in North Africa and the Middle East to go big on hydrogen development, next to countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Moroccan fertilizer giant OCP announced plans over the weekend to tap green hydrogen in order to produce green ammonia with the long-term goal of ending its status as the world’s top importer of ammonia.

OCP unveiled an investment program for 2023-2027 worth $13 billion, aiming to fully rely on renewable energies within the next four years and said it will reach carbon neutrality before 2040.

The targets were announced by OCP chief Mostafa Terrab who was speaking before King Mohammed VI at a ceremony to sign the investment deal with the government.

This investment would also enable the group- the world’s first ammonia importer- to break free from dependence on imports by developing green hydrogen and green ammonia.

In this connection, Benali said the kingdom is taking on green hydrogen after a multi-billion dollar push since the late 2000s in solar and wind power generation projects. Moroccan authorities want to ensure that hydrogen plans do not repeat the missteps of its solar energy development, after a key project known as Midelt has not progressed for over a year.

Benali said authorities are seeking to fix “aspects that were blocking the development of that project”, which was led by Electricite de France SA and the UAE’s Masdar.

Many European countries are eying Morocco for being the most promising clean energy exporter in the region. Promising projects and partnerships with nations such as the Netherlands and Germany have been announced recently, particularly in the green hydrogen field.

Private companies of various origins are already working for the development of green hydrogen in the Kingdom.

With its expansive and highly promising southern region, Morocco is weaving partnerships to realize its clean energy ambitions, which have been at the forefront of the kingdom’s interests.