Rabat wants to continue to take steps towards closer relations with Europe. With the regional leadership becoming stronger in the face of the Algerian crisis, the country led by Aziz Akhanouch wants to move to a future marked by green energy. And this is reflected in the pharaonic investment that Morocco is conducting in this type of resources, with the intention of positioning itself as one of the main alternatives for the Old Continent in terms of supply.
From the media Cinco DÃas, pointed out that “with accumulated investments of almost 16.4 billion euros (…) the Kingdom of Morocco will be a good supplier” of hydrogen for the European continent. In addition, the goal of the Alawite kingdom is to provide 5% of all the needs of the continent. With Spain and Italy ready to accelerate the supply of Moroccan hydrogen, the Kingdom has set the goal of generating 160 terawatt-hours by 2050.
This energy transition will require an infrastructure that is not yet in use, but is already being worked on. Morocco has improved its efforts in this sector since 2021, and in 2022, Cepsa announced the construction of a hydroduct that will allow the import of hydrogen from Morocco and whose destination is San Roque, in Cádiz. And this point is key because, as they pointed out from the same medium, the exploitation of Moroccan potential requires “an infrastructure that physically connects the Iberian Peninsula to North Africa and the rest of Europe.”
The magnitude of the investment invested in Morocco is visible thanks to studies such as the one commissioned by the European Commission. This ensures that Rabat can exceed the production of Spain by up to 30% by that deadline set in 2050. To achieve this, several projects are needed, in addition to the already mentioned Cepsa. One of the most important plans refers to Spain and France with H2Med and the backbone network Enagas project for the year 2040, which already includes physical interconnections in the Kingdom with a center in Tarifa.
It is worth highlighting the advantages that this development brings, and why Morocco has decided to focus on this energy. The transportation of hydrogen by pipeline, as will be done thanks to this project, will reduce the loss of energy, in addition to increasing the electricity infrastructure with the aim of delivering the same amount of hydrogen to the destination. This represents an important step forward in what was recently a utopia, but now appears as a reality: “Decarbonization of European industry is possible” according to the aforementioned report in Brussels.
