In accordance with the Royal High Directives given during the working session chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, on November 22, 2022, and the High Instructions of His Majesty, contained in the sovereign’s speech on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the throne celebration on July 29, 2023, in which His Majesty the King, may God preserve him, had instructed the government to undertake the rapid and qualitative implementation of the “Moroccan Offer” in the field of green hydrogen “in order to valorize the assets of Our country in this matter and to best meet the projects carried by global investors in this promising sector”; the Head of Government, Mr. Aziz Akhannouch issued, on Monday, March 11, 2024, in Rabat, the circular for the implementation of the “Moroccan Offer” for the development of the green hydrogen sector, which constitutes an operational and incentive offer, covering the entire value chain of the green hydrogen sector. An offer tailored to the needs of investors in order to position the Kingdom as a competitive player in this emerging sector with high potential.
The insightful vision of His Majesty the King, may God preserve him, allows Morocco to occupy a privileged position at the continental and international levels in the development of renewable energies by leveraging the pioneering position of the Kingdom in renewable energies, its rich and diversified natural resources, its strategic geographical position, its world-class infrastructure, and its qualified human capital. This will enable Morocco to play a key role in the global energy transition and the reconfiguration of resulting flows.
The circular of the Head of Government specifies the operational steps for the implementation of the “Moroccan Offer”, the means implemented by the State to ensure the success of this operation, as well as the roles of the various stakeholders. This offer is based on the implementation of a holistic, pragmatic, and transparent approach providing all the necessary visibility to investors. It includes 6 parts:
The scope of the Moroccan Offer;
- Land mobilized for the implementation of the Moroccan Offer;
- Infrastructure necessary for the development of the green hydrogen sector;
- Incentive measures of the Moroccan Offer;
- The process of selecting investors and contracting with the State;
- Governance of the green hydrogen sector.
In this transition, green hydrogen is expected to be a crucial energy vector and one of the main catalysts for energy transition and sustainable growth in the Kingdom, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King, may God assist him. This emerging sector could be a turning point for the Moroccan economy, given the economic, social, environmental, and technological challenges it entails.
In this context, the “Moroccan Offer” applies to integrated projects from upstream, including electricity generation from renewable energies and electrolysis, to downstream with the transformation of green hydrogen into ammonia, methanol, synthetic fuels, etc., and the related logistics.
The “Moroccan Offer” targets investors or consortia wishing to produce green hydrogen and its derivatives, addressing the domestic market, export, or both. The already expressed keen interest of nearly a hundred investors, both national and international, to produce green hydrogen in Morocco confirms the significant potential of our country in this field.
Since land is a key issue for the development of the green hydrogen sector, the State has identified significant public land, around one million hectares. Thus, in a first phase, investors will be provided with 300,000 hectares to be distributed in plots of 10,000 to 30,000 hectares, depending on the size of the planned projects; the State will ensure, within a contractual framework, the preservation of public land and guarantee its proper use.
The “Moroccan Offer” also revolves around competitive infrastructure to be planned, shared, developed, and maintained, in accordance with the best international standards and according to the needs and evolution of the green hydrogen industry, in addition to the implementation of incentive measures and support for project developers.
It is worth noting that in order to ensure the success conditions of the implementation of the “Moroccan Offer”, the investment framework agreements between the State and the investor include rendezvous clauses to regularly evaluate the progress of the investment program, within a state-investor relationship marked by transparency and strict respect for confidentiality rules.