Leila Benali: ‘Morocco welcomes the cooperation and alliances that are beneficial for all in the green energy trade’
The Moroccan Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has given an exclusive interview to Atalayar in which she discusses ‘Morocco's Offer’ in the field of green hydrogen, in which Spanish companies such as Acciona and Cepsa/Moeve are participating
On 6 March, the Steering Committee that supervises ‘Morocco's Offer’ met under the direction of the Moroccan head of government, Aziz Akhannouch. The Committee selected five international consortia, including the Spanish companies Acciona and Cepsa, to develop six projects related to green hydrogen in the three southern provinces of Morocco, with a joint investment of 319 billion dirhams (just over 30.24 billion euros).
To learn more about Morocco's future plans in the field of green hydrogen and the participation of Spanish companies in them, Atalayar has interviewed Leila Benali, Morocco's Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.
Morocco aims to become the producer of 4% of the world's total green hydrogen by 2030, allocating a good part of this production to export to the EU. What investments are necessary in the renewable energy, infrastructure and logistics sectors to achieve this ambitious goal?
For our country, this interest can be explained by several major assets:
- Its geostrategic position (the only African country interconnected to Europe for electricity, gas and logistics),
- It’s 3 decades experience in attracting private investments in the energy space and it’s expertise in developing large scale projects,
- A well-developed logistics infrastructure (ports, desalination projects, piplines,…),
- Significant potential in renewable energies and ambitious programs in this field,
- An advanced industrial fabric.
These factors enable Morocco to play a key role in the production of hydrogen energy and its derivatives.
In accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, the “Morocco Offer” in the field of green hydrogen has been drawn up. It covers the entire value chain of this sector in Morocco, as well as the regulatory and institutional framework, in addition to a plan for the necessary infrastructure.
The “Morocco Offer” is based on a comprehensive, pragmatic and transparent approach, offering investors a clear vision. One million hectares of land have been identified, including 300,000 hectares made available to investors in the first phase.
To date, several dozen national and international investors have expressed strong interest in the sector.
A detailed selection process has been developed to assess the credibility, financial strength, and technical capabilities of investors. (their expertise in renewable energy and associated infrastructure, (batteries, storage ...)
With a Focus on the strategic infrastructure necessary for the development of green hydrogen, including ports, electrical grids, gas pipelines, hydrogen pipelines, and desalination plants.
The process is based on risk diversification:
- Market risk: By integrating various sectors (industry, electricity, green fuel, etc.).
- Technological and country risk: By involving investors from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, along with Moroccan stakeholders.
The year 2024 was marked by several key milestones in the implementation of the “Morocco Offer”, including the launch of preliminary support for investors and the submission of applications.
This year also saw, under the presidency of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, and in the presence of the President of the French Republic, the signing of the first land reservation contract.
At the latest meeting of the Morocco Offer Steering Committee, held on March 6th, six strategic projects presented by national and international investors in three regions in the Kingdom, These initiatives, with a total investment of 319 billion dirhams,
In addition to the projects supported by the national operator, the Office Chérifien des Phosphates group to produce hydrogen and green ammonia as part of its development program to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, should position Morocco as a key player in the field of green hydrogen.
In terms of renewable energy, we are going to exceed 52% renewable energy in our electricity mix before 2030, with large-scale solar, wind, and hydro projects. Our installed electrical capacity reached 12 GW by the end of 2024, including 5,4 GW in renewable energies, i.e. around 45,3% of total installed capacity.
Morocco has adopted a green electricity investment plan to 2030, which provides for the realization of additional electricity capacity of over 15 GW at a total investment cost of around 12 billion dollars US in the period 2025-2030, including 80% to be developed from renewable sources.
This is our business as usual means low risk investment opportunities.
And we are currently working to triple investment in renewable energies and increase investment in strengthening the electricity grid fivefold by 2030.
This offer will give a strong boost to investments in renewable energies, water desalination, the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as in the development of accompanying infrastructure, notably ports, transport and storage facilities.
Two Spanish companies, Acciona and Cepsa, are included in the international consortia selected within the "Morocco Offer" to participate in green hydrogen development projects. Spain is one of the countries that has invested most in green hydrogen in the EU, with more than 40% of the projects presented. What can Spain contribute to the development of green hydrogen in Morocco, given its geographical proximity and close trade relations?
Energy is an important vector for boosting cooperation and Morocco welcomes to all win-win cooperation and alliances at green energy trade.
In accordance with the Royal Vision, the Kingdom of Morocco plays a very active role in the development of international and regional cooperation in the field of energy.
Due to its strategic geographical position, Morocco continues its active role in accelerating the integration of energy markets connecting the two shores of the Mediterranean, while striving to strengthen its electricity links with its neighbors by developing new electricity links and strengthening existing ones.
Strengthening regional integration through opening up to regional energy markets and harmonizing energy regulations and standards are among the priority areas of Morocco's energy strategy.
As one of the global 5 connectors, Morocco is uniquely positioned to capitalize on its abundant renewable resources, our advanced technological capabilities, our strategic geographic location, our 3 decades experience in attracting private investments in the energy space.
These factors enable Morocco to play a key role in the production of hydrogen energy and to be a major player in the export of hydrogen products.
Morocco has made significant progress since 2021. For example, in terms of the number of authorisations issued for the development of renewable energy projects, a total of 60 projects have been approved, compared to only 14 between 2011 and 2020, representing a fourfold increase. Furthermore, the authorised capacity for renewable energy has reached 2.13 GW, compared to 1 GW authorised between 2011 and 2020, which represents an increase of 75%.
Morocco is the only African country that is bidirectionally interconnected with Europe in terms of electricity, gas and logistics, mainly through Spain. It already has operational electrical interconnections with Spain and also plans to reinforce this interconnection through a third line with a capacity of 700 MW.
On the other hand, Morocco is also interconnected with Europe through a gas pipeline and, thanks to our good relationship with Spain, we have been able to operate it in the opposite direction, with a capacity of some 12.5 billion m3 per year in the Morocco-Spain direction and 1.5 billion m3 in the Spain-Morocco direction.