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Rabat – The co-developer of Morocco’s exemplary renewables project, the Ouarzazate Noor Solar power station project, ACWA Power has expressed interest in exploring new hydrogen opportunities in the North African country.
Familiar with Morocco’s renewable energy landscape due to its work on Noor stations and Khalladi wind farm, the Saudi power generation and water desalination plant expert seeks to expand its footprint in Morocco as the country works on developing its green hydrogen market.
“To grow our portfolio, we are looking at a pipeline of 20 countries in the next 10 years,” Acwa Power’s chief financial officer Abdulhameed Al Muhaidib told The National on Tuesday on the sidelines of Dubai’s Water, Energy, Technology, Environment Exhibition.
“The new countries will be mainly in Africa and Asia including South-East Asia and Central Asia,” said Al Mouhaidib, indicating that ACWA Power formally added green hydrogen to its power and water focus as part of the company’s “growth story.”
Given Morocco’s growing renewable energy capacities, and the country’s ambitions to become a regional hub of green hydrogen production, ACWA Power sees a growth opportunity in the North African market at a time when the local green hydrogen market is just emerging.
While numerous studies have said that Morocco has the potential to produce one of the world’s cheapest green hydrogen, the country has not yet announced plans for large-scale green hydrogen projects.
Read Also: Morocco Establishes Its First Green Hydrogen Production System
Meanwhile, leading African economies have been racing for investments to grow their respective green hydrogen sectors. Egypt has initiated a call for investment for an $8 billion green hydrogen production facility and Kenya launching feasibility studies for large-scale green hydrogen projects.
As Morocco seeks to increase the share of renewables in the domestic energy mix to 80% by 2050, the country’s acute water crisis is threatening plans for green hydrogen production as the adopted electrolysis process, powered by renewables, produces carbon-free hydrogen from water.
Faced with growing water stress, Morocco has been investing in desalination plants in Casablanca, Agadir, Safi, and Jorf Lasfar to ensure a sustainable water supply to households, industries, and future green hydrogen projects. However, the high monetary and environmental cost of desalination projects is pushing Morocco to look for investors and partners. ACWA Power appears to be interested in the domestic market.
Earlier this month, ACWA Power’s CEO Paddy Padmanathan said that he is eyeing expansion into the Moroccan desalination market. He added: “we see opportunities emerging in Morocco and South Africa in the not too distant future.”
By investing in Morocco’s renewables, desalination, and green hydrogen ecosystems, ACWA Power is likely to build an integrated power system in Morocco with the support of local partners and public institutions.
