European firms get ‘Moroccan Offer’ for green NH3

Market: Fertilizers, Hydrogen
29/10/24

A group of three European companies has been selected for the first land allocation under the "Moroccan Offer" and intends to produce 200,000 t/yr of renewable ammonia for the European market in a first stage.

France's TE H2, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and renewables developer Eren, has joined forces with Danish firms Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and A P Moller to develop the so-called Chbika project in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region on Morocco's Atlantic coast. They are planning to use 1GW of combined solar photovoltaic and wind power in the first phase for electrolysis of desalinated seawater to make hydrogen that will then be converted into ammonia.

Production of 200,000 t/yr of ammonia could require some 35,000 t/yr of hydrogen.

CIP and TE H2 will oversee development of power generation assets, hydrogen and ammonia plants, and A P Moller will develop a port in the area and associated logistics infrastructure.

"This project will constitute the first phase of a development program aimed at creating a world-scale green hydrogen production hub," CIP said, suggesting that the companies could scale up operations at a later stage.

The partners have signed a "preliminary contract for land reservation" with the government, CIP said, adding that this is "the first green hydrogen project" selected under the framework of the Moroccan Offer through which Rabat seeks to allocate land rights to project developers and to offer streamlined permitting procedures.

The companies have not outlined a timeline for their project, but under the Moroccan Offer's framework they would have around two years to complete front-end engineering design (FEED) studies, before then signing a long-term land agreement.

Through this first phase of the Moroccan Offer, Rabat is planning to make 300,000 hectares (ha) of government land available to 10-30 projects. As of early this month, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen), which is leading the process, had received some 40 applications for review. Masen was initially due to announce the first selections by the end of the third quarter.

TotalEnergies previously already announced plans for renewable hydrogen production in Morocco, but it was not immediately clear if this joint project with CIP and A P Moller is related to these earlier ventures.

Many large renewable hydrogen and ammonia projects are planned across Morocco as developers are hoping to capitalise on favourable renewable power conditions, but all are still in early planning stages.

By Pamela Machado

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