The Hydrogen Stream: Morocco Approves $32.5 Billion in Green Hydrogen Projects
The Moroccan government has given the green light to six green hydrogen projects worth an estimated MAD 319 billion (approximately $32.5 billion). A government committee announced that these projects will be undertaken by leading companies in the green hydrogen sector from various countries. Noteworthy among these is the investor alliance known as Ornx, which comprises Ortus from the United States, Acciona from Spain, and Nordex from Germany, focusing on ammonia production. Additionally, another alliance featuring Emirati firms Taqa and Spanish company Cepsa will also concentrate on producing ammonia and synthetic fuel, alongside the Moroccan company Nareva, which aims to manufacture ammonia, synthetic fuel, and green steel.
Furthermore, Saudi company ACWA Power plans to invest in ammonia production, similar to a separate investment alliance involving two Chinese companies, UEG and China Three Gorges, which also aims to produce ammonia. Morocco is prepared to allocate up to 30,000 hectares of land for each of these projects.
In another development, the second auction by the European Hydrogen Bank for renewable hydrogen production has garnered 61 bids from projects across 11 countries. The European Commission reported that eight of these bids were submitted under a dedicated maritime topic by hydrogen producers with off-takers in the maritime sector. The total grant support requested exceeds €4.8 billion (around $5.2 billion), significantly surpassing the available budget of €1.2 billion provided by the Innovation Fund. Collectively, the bids represent a total electrolyzer capacity of approximately 6.3 GWe.
In India, Tata Motors has launched the first trials of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks. The Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy awarded Tata Motors the tender for this initiative, marking a significant advancement in evaluating the commercial viability of hydrogen-powered vehicles for long-distance transportation and the necessary infrastructure for their operation. The trucks, equipped with advanced Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines (H2-ICE) and Fuel Cell (H2-FCEV) technologies, boast an operational range of 300 km to 500 km.
On a different note, BP has decided to discontinue its large-scale HyGreen Teesside project in North East England. A company spokesperson stated, “As part of our strategy reset announced last week, BP is focusing on high-graded projects in hydrogen and carbon capture, prioritizing 5-7 projects for this decade. In the UK, we will concentrate on significant projects in Teesside, like NZT Power, NEP, and H2Teesside. Consequently, we will no longer be progressing our plans for HyGreen.”
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/morocco-greenlights-32-5-billion-in-green-hydrogen-projects/
