TelQuel: In 2022, IRESEN signed an agreement to set up the Green H2A platform with the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) and the OCP Group. What will this platform be used for?
Samir Rachidi: The Green H2A platform is in line with what we’ve been doing for several years with the OCP Group and UM6P: it’s an upskilling and upscaling platform .
We already have two platforms in Benguerir, the Green Energy Park, focusing on solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies, and the Green & Smart Building Park, which focuses on energy efficiency, electric mobility and smart electrical grids. With these platforms, we’re trying to increase our skills and expertise in large-scale technologies.
In the jargon of innovation, there’s a scale of measurement that goes from the idea, to the laboratory, to the market. In between, there’s what’s known as the « valley of death »: it’s no longer university research, nor yet industry and the market. So who’s in charge? Major groups have the means to bring their technology to maturity, but in emerging countries, it’s up to the State, or at least institutions, to make the link.
In concrete terms, what will Green H2A’s first applications be?
Green H2A stands for Green Hydrogen and Applications. It was launched a year and a half ago, with our founding partners, and is now taking shape at Jorf Lasfar, on the OCP site.
We’ve started an initial pilot, producing green ammonia of around 4 tonnes per day, with an electrolysis capacity of around 4 megawatts (MW). It’s not quite the capacity of the major Offer Morocco projects, but it’s already on a pre-industrial scale, a far cry from the few grams and kilograms we’re talking about in the laboratory.
The aim of this type of installation is to approach real industrial conditions. Initially, we’re trying to demystify the technology, and involve Moroccan companies in all aspects of civil engineering, equipment purchasing, transport, etc. We’ll be training our young people to become familiar with the technology. Above all, we’re going to train our young people.
The green hydrogen market is still in its infancy. What is needed to launch the development of this market in Morocco?
The real issue is that there is as yet no long-term buy-back contract. To stimulate this off-take, there are no three thousand solutions: either a direct subsidy, or a carbon tax, or a premium price on green. Underlying all this is regulation.
« If Europeans are serious about achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, they will need to import green molecules, with or without Morocco »
We think that 80% of the market will be export, and for us, export means Europe. And all we see now is this over-regulation against us at European level. We think that regulations should be lightened, to give a little support to the first projects, and why not by subsidizing them too. All energies have been subsidized in the past, whether coal, nuclear… Why not, with climate change and the emergency it is creating, subsidize green hydrogen?
If Europeans are serious about their energy transition and carbon neutrality in 2050, they will need to import green molecules, with or without Morocco. But if this economy takes off, I’m personally convinced that it will be with Morocco first.
Among the topics to be addressed in a « clear dialogue with European partners, » you mention, for example, carbon dioxide (CO2) which, combined with green hydrogen, produces e-SAF (electro-sustainable aviation fuels), a crucial off-take for this industry. What’s the problem for Morocco?
As far as CO2 is concerned, the Europeans want CO2 of biogenic origin (from biomass, as opposed to fossil CO2, editor’s note). For us, this is unrealistic. How can biogenic CO2 be produced in Dakhla?
I think we could use CO2 from natural gas, CO2 from thermal power plants, because it’s a CO2 that’s there. It’s true that it comes from fossil fuels, but it’s there. If we already have CO2, we won’t go to extremes.
The simplest thing would be to have CO2 capture centers, particularly in cement plants, but also in gas-fired power stations. It’s true that this isn’t ideal, but it could already help us to produce, at least over the first 5, 10 or 15 years. Because we’re really talking about an energy transition.
Could purchasers other than Europe be considered?
There may be Japan, South Korea or China, but will we be competitive with Australia or the Middle East, which are geographically closer? What’s more, these countries don’t have a preference for the color of hydrogen; they’re ready to take blue or even gray hydrogen. As for America, Chile could be much more relevant to the United States.
« I think that for many European countries, nuclear power will represent a sign of sovereignty, of energy resilience, with the lack of Russian gas »
Our captive market is Europe. It has to be said that the Europeans gave us a great deal of encouragement in this direction a few years ago. Unfortunately, given the current geopolitical context, they are taking a step backwards, not in relation to us, but in relation to their own priorities. Coal plants have reopened in Germany, for example.
I think that for many other European countries, nuclear power will represent a sign of sovereignty and energy resilience, given the lack of Russian gas. We can see very clearly that European demand and major announcements for gigawatts, which have been around for several years, are stagnating.
You say, however, that you understand Europe’s desire for energy sovereignty: « it’s normal to want to create a market, an industry and factories at home. » What are the risks of this European choice?
The market is just enormous, and the Europeans know that imports will be needed. And they are investing heavily in green hydrogen projects in Europe. But we think it’s an aberration. And why is that? Because a kilogram of hydrogen is very expensive. The idea would be to use this money to support projects in partnership with Europeans based in Morocco. The cost per kilogram would then come down, making it possible to produce green hydrogen at a competitive price.
« If the Europeans take their time to build their green hydrogen projects properly, in a few years’ time we could be producing it in Morocco using Chinese technology »
But if we take too long to implement this, if the Europeans take their time to build their projects properly, in a few years’ time we risk producing green hydrogen in Morocco using Chinese technology. We’ll be using Chinese solar panels, Chinese wind turbines, Chinese electrolysers, Chinese chemicals, and maybe even Chinese EPC (engineering procurement and construction) contracts.
Foreign development agencies are also part of this ecosystem. What role do they play in the development of these projects?
We work a lot with these agencies. As we’re not part of any commission, our role is ultimately benign, enabling us to strengthen the capacity for pre-studies and in-depth studies taken on by these funding mechanisms.
For example, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the German Public Investment Bank (KFW) are major partners and supporters. With the Germans, projects can easily range from a few hundred thousand euros to several million euros in donations, which is no mean feat.
With the French Development Agency (AFD), we have secured funding of around 600,000 euros for calls for innovation projects, which we signed at the World Power-to-X Summit in early October 2025. We’re going to fund consortiums from Morocco and France to work on crucial topics in the hydrogen value chain.
We also have a partnership with the Czech Republic, in the form of in-kind donations, for equipment to produce water from atmospheric humidity. And there’s the Belgian agency, Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI), with whom we have secured another in-kind donation of around 2 million dirhams: a small-scale hydrogen production electrolyzer, which will be handed over to the National School of Applied Sciences (ENSA) in El Jadida.
We preferred to make these in-kind donations available to public universities, because the training of human capital is an externality that few people talk about, but which will please and benefit everyone.
Written in French by Salomé Krumenacher; Edited in English by AngloMedia Group.
