The past few months have seen a raft of development deals for Morocco’s hydrogen sector.

Rabat has taken a systematic approach to development of the fledgling industry. Long-term strategic planning started with the creation of the National Hydrogen Commission in 2019 and was followed by a detailed green hydrogen roadmap unveiled by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment in December last year.

This blueprint projects domestic and export demand for green hydrogen and derivatives produced by the country reaching a respective 4TWh and 10TWh by 2030, 22TWh and 46TWh by 2040 and 40TWh and 115TWh by 2050. The investment required to meet this production was estimated at MAD90bn ($8.5bn) by the end of the decade and MAD760bn by 2050.

4TWh – Hydrogen production targeted by 2030

The government has also taken more practical steps to boost the sector. In December 2021, state-affiliated solar and new energy research institute Iresen, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and local phosphate and fertiliser giant OCP Group established Green H2A—a technology platform for hydrogen and power-to-X research and development.

The three organisations agreed to establish a 4MW pilot plant to produce 4t/d of green ammonia at OCP’s Jorf Lasfar complex, west of Casablanca, for which Rotterdam-based ammonia specialist Proton Ventures signed the construction contract in July. OCP is the main domestic consumer of hydrogen to produce ammonia fertilisers and currently imports c.2mn t/yr of grey hydrogen. Meanwhile, in September, Iresen and UM6P started up Morocco’s first hydrogen production project, a 20kW solar-based micro-pilot at the university’s Benguerir campus.

Increasing investment interest

Increasing numbers of investors are eyeing the country due to  its track record in developing renewable resources—with 2.2GW of solar and wind onstream at the end of 2021—the size of the domestic hydrogen market and its proximity to European customers.

An International Renewable Energy Agency study published in June projected the North African country will become the third-cheapest green hydrogen producer in the world after China and Chile by 2050, at $0.7–1.4/kg.

In November, Israeli startup H2Pro signed an agreement with local renewables developer Gaia Energy to trial the former’s proprietary electrolyser technology while exploring its potential use in a gigawatt-scale project under consideration by the domestic firm. In the same month, UK-based Chariot Energy—which is leading one of the few upstream hydrocarbons developments in Morocco—and compatriot Oort—a hydrogen technology startup—agreed to collaborate with UM6P on pilot projects (including one at OCP’s Jorf Lasfar site) testing Oort’s proton-exchange-membrane electrolyser system for use in large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production. Chariot has also announced plans to develop a 10GW complex in Mauritania.

This activity comes at a time when the EU is beginning to line up import deals to meet its 10mn t/yr by 2030 target. Excluding an interruption due to diplomatic tensions last year,  Berlin has been involved throughout the evolution of Morocco’s hydrogen plans, and in late October extended a €38m ($40mn) loan for the kingdom’s first green hydrogen plant. Earlier that month, the EU-Morocco Green Partnership agreement was signed—the first of its kind by the bloc—as a framework for wide-ranging collaboration in various areas, including green hydrogen.

European companies are behind many of the large-scale schemes launched so far. In February, France’s Total Eren, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, announced plans to invest MAD100bn in a 10GW green hydrogen and ammonia scheme in the southern region of Guelmim-Oued Noun, with production scheduled to start in 2027. In July last year, Ireland-based Fusion Fuel became the first to take the plunge with a proposed $850mn scheme producing 31,000t/yr of green hydrogen and 183,000t/yr of green ammonia targeting the fertiliser sector, with Switzerland-based trading giant Vitol managing offtake.

India’s vast Adani Group conglomerate—which aspires to become an international clean energy powerhouse—is also reported to be in discussions to develop 10GW of renewables in the country, some for use in hydrogen production.

 

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Author: Clare Dunkley