Thanks to the sun and the wind, Morocco intends to reduce hydrogen production costs to position itself as a competitive global hub.
The first time Morocco was closely introduced to the concept of hydrogen, it was thanks to the young entrepreneur Faouzi Annajah who presented two years ago, before the Sovereign, his hydrogen SUV with pure and muscular lines equipped with , seemingly nothing, with an estimated range of 800 kilometers! The Franco-Moroccan, who says he was inspired by his father, a worker who worked for three decades in the production lines of the manufacturer Renault, nevertheless took up a century-old challenge: that of revolutionizing mobility thanks to hydrogen .
The same audacious bet was reiterated two years later by the highest levels of the State with the launch of the “Morocco offer”, a strategic initiative intended for investors wishing to take part in the development of the green hydrogen sector.
This year, the 4th edition of the World Power-to-X Summit met again in Marrakech to take stock of decarbonization projects, with particular attention paid to the latest advances in hydrogen green and carbon capture and storage pilot projects.
“The development of green hydrogen as a vector of decarbonization is fully in line with Morocco’s commitment to international efforts in the field of climate, as well as in the continuity of the efforts deployed for more than a decade to achieve a transition energy,” says Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, in front of an audience of decision-makers, experts and investors.
Competitive Hub
Far from being, for the moment, a vector in direct competition with electricity, hydrogen appears to be a possible option to the increased use of fossil fuels. The Kingdom sees this as a strategic lever to secure its energy supplies, in a context marked by the instability of fossil fuel prices against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions.
For the 2023 financial year, projects carried out as part of the national energy strategy have made it possible to increase the installed capacity of renewable energies (EnR) to 4,235 MW, representing nearly 40% of the national energy mix.
“Hydrogen, long perceived as a simple trend, is now establishing itself as an essential lever of the energy transition,” underlines Samir Rachidi, general manager of Iresen.
In this dynamic, Morocco continues to strengthen its international alliances around green hydrogen. Objective already materialized by the signing of several strategic agreements: on the one hand, the partnership with the Netherlands sealed to strengthen innovation and the infrastructure around this energy and on the other hand, the alliance with Germany allowing both countries to integrate into the green hydrogen value chain. These mergers should, according to their instigators, ultimately guarantee “a fair sharing of economic and technological benefits”.
From a broader perspective, these agreements aim to transform Morocco into a regional and African hub for green hydrogen production, thereby strengthening its position on the global energy scene while aligning with the growing global demand for renewable energy.
The “champagne of the energy transition”
But the challenge remains significant, given production costs that are still much higher than those of traditional energies. Their reduction requires significant investments to make it a competitive alternative. Some specialists also describe it as the “champagne of the energy transition” due to the prohibitive production costs, particularly upstream of the chain.
In this respect, the Moroccan offer tends to impose itself internationally by banking on its main assets, the sun and the wind, to bring down, in this case, the cost of producing hydrogen. But beyond the challenges that persist upstream of the chain, production remains the thorn in the side of the sector’s development.
Indeed, the smallest element of the periodic table rarely occurs in its natural state in the form of an isolated atom, hydrogen being often associated with other atoms to form molecules such as water or methane.
Thus, to recover hydrogen, it is necessary to break the bond that unites it to the other element with which it is associated. This can be done via two common methods, both of which are energy intensive. The first, methane thermolysis, combines natural gas and water at high temperatures to produce hydrogen. The second, electrolysis of water, breaks the bond of the water molecule by applying an electric current. The only small problem is that these processes are very energy-intensive.
In terms of carbon footprint, a car running on hydrogen remains slightly less polluting than one running on gasoline, but can become up to twice as polluting if the hydrogen comes from electrolysis with supply sources such as coal. .
Minimize losses
But not everything is to be deplored in the development of this clean technology, particularly in the downstream stages of the value chain, where numerous innovations now make it possible to reduce the onerous transport costs which previously deterred many investors. In Germany, a major innovation, called “organic liquid carrying hydrogen” (LOHC), makes distribution easier without having to go through brutal cooling. Likewise, the integration of natural gas pipelines into the hydrogen network bodes well for ensuring safe and lower-cost transportation.
“The production of hydrogen is not an objective in itself but a step in the establishment of the ecosystem of a sector,” maintains Mohammed Yahya Zniber, president of Cluster Green H2.
Certainly, this clean fuel has a carbon footprint largely dependent on the mode of production. But investments in local production infrastructure to minimize losses and maximize storage efficiency remain necessary. In any case, the attraction for alternative energies is confirmed as the world gradually distances itself from fossil fuels, and at a time when the European Union, the Kingdom’s first partner , sets 2035 as the deadline to ban the circulation of new thermal vehicles on its territory.
In this regard, the “European Green Deal”, the founding document of the EU’s ecological strategy, sets the objective of producing 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 ( 40 GW of electrolysis capacity) to decarbonize industries and transform the most polluting sectors, notably refineries.
Hydrogen also presents itself as a solution to alleviate pressure on electricity demand, particularly with the complete electrification of the vehicle fleet. Despite the efforts made, the Old Continent does not have sufficient resources to balance its carbon footprint.
The Morocco Offer
And this is where the Morocco offer comes in, which offers an attractive framework for investors aiming to develop the green hydrogen sector. The initiative covers the entire value chain, from the production of renewable electricity to the conversion into by-products such as ammonia, methanol or synthetic fuels.
To support these projects, the State is allocating one million hectares of public land, of which 300,000 will be offered in a first phase, in batches of 10,000 to 30,000 hectares. Additional land will be accessible gradually. Projects targeting specific segments will be able to benefit from national investment incentive programs, provided they comply with current regulations.
Climate of trust
This summit, which aims to be more of a think tank for leading specialists, is also aimed at venture capital (VC) investors who are closely following progress in the energy transition. As the Minister of Energy underlined, “the objective is to boost investments and to think about business models to accelerate investments, particularly in pipeline transport”.
Hydrogen still has vast prospects ahead of it, as its applications prove essential. A pillar of the decarbonization of heavy industries, such as steelworks, in the production of fertilizers, it positions itself as a sustainable alternative, capable of responding to the ecological emergency. This feeling is shared by the scientists present on the sidelines of Power to X, confident in the ability to overcome these obstacles thanks to ongoing technological progress.
Hydrogen, energy of the future?
Jules Verne, in The Mysterious Island (1874), already sensed the potential of hydrogen, writing: “I believe that water will one day be used as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen […] will provide an inexhaustible source of heat and light.”
Often presented as the energy of tomorrow, this energy vector was nevertheless used from the 19th century, notably in combination with carbon monoxide to supply gas in certain European cities and to power the first cars. But the high cost of this technology has long slowed its development, with humanity turning to fossil fuels for reasons of profitability.
Today, in the face of the climate crisis, this paradigm is evolving, constantly pushing us to rethink our modes of production and consumption.
Ayoub Ibnoulfassih / ECO Inspirations
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