Green hydrogen: The kingdom aims to transition from an importer to an exporter of energy.

Morocco aims to transition from an importer to an exporter of energy, particularly through green hydrogen and its derivatives, highlighted Hicham Bouzekri, Director of Research, Development, and Industry at the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, in Rabat on Wednesday.

Green hydrogen constitutes a "fundamental resource for the future of energy in Morocco," noted Mr. Bouzekri at the opening of the 2nd edition of the International Conference on Green Hydrogen, which is themed "Towards an ecosystem dedicated to green hydrogen."

On this occasion, he highlighted the efforts of the private sector, strongly supported by the government, noting that these efforts have already attracted 40 international consortia.

He referred, in this regard, to the meeting of the Steering Committee in charge of the 'Moroccan Offer' in the field of green hydrogen, which carried out the preselection of a series of projects mainly covering the three southern regions of the Kingdom's provinces: the Guelmin-Oued Noun region, the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, and the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region.

M. Bouzekri also indicated that this meeting, which provided the opportunity to implement the Royal High Instructions aimed at accelerating the implementation of "Morocco's Offer" in the field of green hydrogen, with the required quality and to respond to national and foreign project holders in this promising sector, allowed for the examination of the contractual framework related to the public land base dedicated to the realization of these projects and the mechanisms capable of optimizing its use.

Studies conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have ranked Morocco among the top three countries globally capable of producing hydrogen at competitive costs, it has been noted.

On his side, Daniel Hissel, a professor at the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté in France, indicated that Morocco has a vast solar resource that must be optimized and converted into green hydrogen, serving clean energy.

M. Hissel, who also leads the Hydrogen Research Federation of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS-France), explained in a statement to the MAP that this solar resource could be converted into hydrogen, then sold to countries less endowed with solar resources to meet industrial, agricultural, and other needs related to reducing energy bills.

According to the French expert, hydrogen is an energy vector that "will allow us to store energy, particularly renewable energy, which will facilitate the production of electricity, for example, using solar panels."

After listing the various applications and uses of green hydrogen, particularly in the field of mobility, he called for the transformation of this hydrogen into ammonia, a carbon-free substitute for fossil fuels in the future.

Nadia Yousfi, a professor at the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté, stated that this conference will focus on reviewing the advancements made in the field of green hydrogen, as well as the challenges to development, emphasizing the importance of promoting the aspects related to strengthening the necessary skills to support innovation and research in this sector.

The conference provides an opportunity to formulate strategies and develop working systems integrating the necessary educational and social dimensions to facilitate the transition to sustainable energy systems, where green hydrogen and its derivatives play a significant role.

This event highlights several themes, including "solar and wind energy for green hydrogen," "the efficiency of electrolysis," "solar thermal energy," "energy project management," "the value chain of green hydrogen," "the economy of green hydrogen," and "magnetic formulas for hydrogen liquefaction.".