Rabat – Morocco has reportedly signed a major agreement with the international ORNX consortium to secure land in the Moroccan southern province of Laayoune for a $4.5 billion green ammonia project.
News outlet Asharq Business said on Thursday that it obtained information that an international consortium of American, Spanish, and German companies signed an agreement with Morocco’s government to secure land for the development of a low-cost ammonia production project in Laayoune.
The ORNX ammonia consortium is made up of Ortus from the US, Acciona from Spain, and Nordex from Germany.
“The consortium plans to develop a total of three projects dedicated to the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives,” Asharq reported.
The news outlet states that the agreement for the project was signed on Thursday in Rabat, with the presence of Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch and officials from Morocco, in addition to Aimee Cutrona, the Charge d’Affaires of the US embassy in Morocco.
However, Morocco’s government has yet to officially confirm the project.
According to a document obtained by the news outlet, the project includes an energy facility that will be fully powered by renewable energy with a total of over 2 gigawatts from wind and photovoltaic solar sources.
A battery energy storage system will support the project, with 900 megawatts dedicated to electrolyzer units and a seawater treatment desalination plant.
The consortium is also planning to undertake other projects in Boujdour and Dakhla.
Asharq cited a press release in which the ORNX CEO, Peter Gish, emphasized the importance of the agreement as a new milestone in the consortium’s journey, showing its commitment to Morocco’s energy future.
Akhannouch last year emphasized Morocco’s commitment to strengthening the green hydrogen sector.
In March, the Moroccan government announced that five national and international operators would develop six green hydrogen projects in southern Morocco with an investment of $31 million.
“The selected companies are leaders in green hydrogen in their respective countries and comprise the ORNX consortium (comprising Ortus from USA, Acciona from Spain, and Nordex from Germany), which is focused on ammonia production,” the government office said.
The agreement aligns with King Mohammed VI’s directives outlined in the Throne speech on July 29, 2023.
In the speech, the monarch urged the government to speed up the implementation of Morocco’s offer in the green hydrogen sector “to make sure the requirements of quality are observed,” and to leverage Morocco’s significant potential in this regard and meet the expectations of leading global investors in the promising field.
