Morocco has selected five national and international investors to carry out six green hydrogen projects with a total investment value of 319bn dirhams ($32.8bn) in the south of the country.
Negotiations with the companies will now be opened on the projects, which will all produce green ammonia, e-fuels or green steel as their end products, according to a government statement.
Last year, nearly 40 projects applied for the “hydrogen offer” programme, which offers blocks of land and tax incentives, but no direct subsidies.
The five selected companies and consortia and their planned end products are:
A consortium consisting of two major Chinese players, independent oil & gas exploration and production company United Energy Group, and state-owned power company China Three Gorges Corporation (ammonia).
Saudi Arabian energy company ACWA Power (ammonia);
A consortium called ORNX consisting of Spanish infrastructure and renewables company Acciona, German wind turbine maker Nordex (Germany) and US independent power producer Ortus (ammonia);
A consortium consisting of Abu Dhabi gas company TAQAand Spanish oil giant Moeve (formerly Cepsa) (ammonia and synthetic fuel);
Moroccan renewables developer Nareva (ammonia, synthetic fuel and green steel);
While the government says that six projects will be carried out by the five sets of developers, it has not identified or provided any information about the projects, nor has it stated which of developers will be building more than one project.
Another two projects had previously been selected under the scheme, one involving a partnership between the Moroccan state and French oil major TotalEnergies, and another between French energy company Engie and Moroccan fertiliser producer OCP group.
“The selection of project holders was conducted using a scientific and transparent methodology that guarantees a balanced and lasting partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the relevant investors,” the government said in a statement.
“The goal is to reach preliminary agreements for securing land allocations designated for these strategic projects, with a maximum area of 30,000 hectares per project. The state will ensure, through the contractual framework with the project holders, the protection and proper use of public land resources.”
The projects were selected during yesterday’s meeting of the ministerial steering committee in charge of the “hydrogen offer” programme, which was chaired by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.
