Morocco is considering collaborating with Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, on a massive hydrogen project as part of a push for renewable energy to meet demand both domestically and in Europe.
According to Moroccan Energy Transition Minister Leila Benali, the government is considering signing final investment agreements for “at least two competitive industrial projects” in 2023. One company with an interest in the Moroccan hydrogen proposal, according to Benali, is the Indian private conglomerate Adani Group.
Given its proximity to the EU and free trade agreement with it, Morocco, one of Africa’s largest consumers of fossil fuels, is gaining more attention from investors looking to sell green fuel to the EU. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Europe has been using other energy sources from all around the world to make up for a shortage of Russian pipeline gas.
We had some specific meetings with Adani, and they came up with some excellent suggestions that we are considering because they are in line with the Moroccan vision in some particular ways, according to Benali.
In addition to countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, Morocco would be one of several countries in North Africa and the Middle East to invest heavily in hydrogen research. With the long-term objective of eliminating its position as the leading importer of ammonia in the world, Moroccan fertilizer giant OCP SA unveiled plans over the weekend to access green hydrogen in order to manufacture green ammonia.
Following a multi-billion dollar investment during the late 2000s in solar and wind power generation projects, the kingdom is embracing green hydrogen. After a crucial project called Midelt has not advanced for more than a year, Moroccan officials want to make sure that hydrogen ambitions do not repeat the mistakes of its solar energy development, according to Benali.
The project, which was spearheaded by Electricite de France SA and the UAE’s Masdar, was described as having “aspects that were hindering the growth of that initiative,” according to Benali.
