German press highlights Morocco’s significant role and future in green hydrogen production

Last updated May 1, 2023

In the area of renewable energy, Morocco is rising to prominence and becoming a significant player in Africa’s energy revolution, particularly in the rapidly developing green hydrogen market.

The Tagesschau program that was carried on the first German channel, Das Erste, devoted a report on the assets of the Kingdom in the field, noting how the country is thought of as “the pioneer of Africa in green energy” even though Morocco intends to supply Germany with green hydrogen.

The program brought up the Kingdom’s ranking as eighth, slightly behind nations like Denmark and Sweden, in the Climate Protection Index 2023.

According to Moroccan energy expert Rahal Lagnaoui, green energy from water, wind, and sun already provides 20% of Morocco’s energy needs. However, the country’s green ambitions are far greater and manifest in a number of initiatives.

With Germany’s help, Morocco wants to invest more than 300 million euros in the construction of a hydrogen plant, and the first green hydrogen should start to be generated in 2025 if the nation is to achieve its goal of being a global leader in the production of green hydrogen.

“With the German investment, Morocco is advancing its energy turnaround; in return, Germany will receive Moroccan green hydrogen in the future,” the paper stated.

According to Samir Rachidi, deputy head of the National Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), “the idea is not to make Morocco the future Russia for hydrogen, but an important player with which we can produce green hydrogen with high added value and low cost, competitively, and in the short term.”

The proposal also states that Morocco will be able to “accelerate its own energy transition and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and the import of fossil energy” thanks to the German-Moroccan cooperation.

The program does, however, highlight several difficulties, beginning with water scarcity and drought. For this, Samir Rachidi adds, “the idea is actually to use only desalinated seawater to produce hydrogen.”

According to Tagesschau, the KfW is presently investing roughly 700 million euros in the Moroccan water sector because “the Moroccan state and the German state are aiming for a win-win situation with their partnership on hydrogen.”