London’s rebuff of the Morocco–UK cable project hasn’t shaken Xlinks of its ambitions. Just three months later, the British consortium is spotlighting Sila Atlantik — another project in the works, driven by the same goal: turning Morocco into a strategic supplier of green electricity for Europe.

Next stop: Germany — the continent’s industrial powerhouse, hungry for renewable energy and eager for strategic alternatives. With Sila Atlantik, whose outlines are emerging through trade registries and industry reports, Xlinks plans to connect Morocco’s desert to the Ruhr’s factories via two 4,800-kilometer submarine cables. It’s a colossal undertaking, and proof that the dream of exporting Moroccan electricity to Europe can take more than one route.

Ghost project or backup plan?

The name has been circulating for several months now, first in administrative documents, then in the German business press: Sila Atlantik. The idea: to develop in Germany a scheme similar to the one envisioned with the United Kingdom. To transmit nearly 26 terawatt-hours (TWh) of solar and wind power produced in Morocco each year, or about 5% of Germany’s total consumption, through two 4,800-kilometer submarine cables running along Europe’s Atlantic coast.

For now, the project remains more of an ambition than a reality. No official announcement has yet set a timeline, but several indicators point to ongoing preparations: the registration of Sila Atlantik as a trademark in Germany, its presence in the Bundestag’s Lobbyregister, and an explicit reference in France’s public consultation report on the Morocco–UK project, where the mediators requested additional information about this separate initiative.

At the same time, a dedicated entity has been created in Morocco: Morocco German Green Electricity Export, with a capital of 300,000 dirhams, backed by Xlinks Germany and represented by Christopher Burghardt. Its purpose covers the development, construction and management of energy infrastructure, as well as the commercialization, import–export and management of electricity flows. According to our information, the company was registered in late December 2024, before London’s decision.

Objective 2030 

The economic daily Handelsblatt has, for its part, mentioned potential support from major energy companies such as E.ON and Uniper. The first is one of the largest electricity distributors in Europe, with more than 50 million customers. The second is a key producer in Germany, rescued from bankruptcy in 2022 through a partial nationalization by the state. No public confirmation, however, has substantiated these rumors.

According to a source close to the matter, Sila Atlantik is designed as a clean electricity production and exchange project, relying on a hybrid installation in Morocco comprising up to 15 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind power, accompanied by around 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery storage.

The first bipole is expected to enter service in the early to mid-2030s, depending on government timelines. The project is included in the 2024 Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP)—a plan for European gas infrastructure and its future developments—and is based on the Germany–Morocco joint declaration, signed in 2022 by the foreign ministers of both countries, as well as on the Climate Club, an international forum aimed at accelerating climate action, particularly in the decarbonization of industry.

The shadow of the British precedent

It’s hard not to view the Sila Atlantik project in light of the British case, given how similar the challenges are: securing long-term volumes, contractual frameworks, and risk-sharing. While the idea of a public contract for difference (CfD) lost support in London, the British project is not entirely dead: according to our information, the original business plan envisioned either a public client through a CfD or a scheme led by private UK clients with very high energy intensity. Particularly targeted are players in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data centers, known for their massive electricity consumption.

By contrast, the German scenario also requires adjustments to the model: Berlin favors long-term private agreements (Corporate PPAs) and the capacity of energy companies and industrial players to absorb part of the risk, rather than a public guarantee. Potential partners have been mentioned, but as long as nothing is formalized, it remains hypothetical — raising strategic questions about the project’s structure, governance, and local impact.

Germany, land of… risky opportunities

If Berlin attracts Xlinks, it’s because Germany’s energy transition is in turmoil. The accelerated phase-out of coal and nuclear has left a gap that’s hard to fill, while Russian gas no longer provides the supply security it once did. Green electricity has become a strategic resource, essential both for meeting climate goals and maintaining the competitiveness of energy-intensive heavy industry.

Industry accounts for nearly 40% of German consumption, with key sectors including chemicals, steel, and automotive. Added to this are the exponential needs of the digital sector, from cloud computing to data centers. All of this makes Germany a prime target for any supplier able to guarantee stable, competitive volumes. But one question remains: is the country ready to bet on a transcontinental cable, with its financial and geopolitical risks, rather than bolstering domestic production?

The same errors?

In Morocco, mention of Sila Atlantik has elicited neither an official reaction nor a public statement. It is difficult to gauge the kingdom’s real place in this scenario. Yet the stakes are clear.

For Rabat, it is not just a question of hosting an extraordinary project, but of turning the export of green electricity into an industrial and strategic lever. After the British setback, letting a new opportunity slip by without clear returns would amount to confining the country to the role of a raw supplier.

The lessons from the failed project with London are obvious: despite preparatory investments, Morocco had not secured solid guarantees on local benefits. With Germany, the challenge is to negotiate more — the inclusion of Moroccan public actors in the capital, jobs, technology transfers, fiscal returns. All these conditions are necessary to transform European energy dependence into a balanced partnership.

Written in French by Safae Hadri, edited in English by Eric Nielson