By Safaa Kasraoui
By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – Moroccan scientist and inventor, Rachid Yazami, urged the development of Morocco’s energy storage to boost the economy at a Rotary Club dinner on Thursday in Rabat.
Yazami dreams of transforming energy storage in Morocco to boost industry, economic development, and scientific research.
Under Morocco’s energy plan, Morocco is expected to increase the contribution of renewable energy to electricity production to 42% by 2020.
“The Moroccan Solar Energy Agency’s (MASEN) 2020 goal for the development of renewable energy is very ambitious and commendable,” Yazami said.
A scientist best known for his research on lithium-ion batteries, Yazami said that the battery is expected to play a central role in the future energy transition.
While other battery technologies could supplant lithium-ion by 2020-2025, he said, “the challenge to achieve this is colossal.”
“Due to the intermittence of new clean energies, such as solar and wind whose production depends on the natural elements, storage is necessary to ensure the reliability of electric energy,” he added.
Despite the risks of explosion, lithium-ion batteries remain the best on the market. “Without them, there would be no smartphone or electric vehicle,” Yazami explained.
He predicts that lithium-ion batteries will dominate the market in the 21st century, giving them a major role to play in Morocco’s commitment to the production of clean electricity.