The Solar Energy and New Energies Research Institute (IRESEN) announced on Saturday the resignation of its Director General, Badr Ikken, indicating that an interim period will be provided by Samir Rachidi, Scientific Director in charge of Thermal Systems and Power-to-X.
IRESEN’s Board of Directors, meeting on Friday under the chairmanship of the Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, took note of the resignation of the Director General, Badr Ikken, who, following eleven years at the head of the Institute, wished to pursue other professional opportunities outside this establishment.
Appointed by the Board of Directors in 2011, “Mr. Ikken was instrumental in the construction and development of IRESEN. His successes have been remarkable since he has contributed, thanks to the agency of means, to the financing of more than a hundred collaborative applied research and innovation projects, ”said the institute in a press release.
“He also set up the first African platform for testing, research and training in the field of solar technologies and their applications, Green Energy Park, inaugurated by HM King Mohammed VI may God assist him in January 2017, as well as the first research and innovation platform in the field of eco-construction, smart grids and electric mobility, the Green & Smart Building Park, developed jointly with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University”, adds the press release.
In addition to his functions as Director General of the institute, co-president of the Green Energy Park and vice-president of the Green Economy Commission of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), he was appointed in 2021 vice-president of the first Green Hydrogen Cluster in Africa, “Cluster Green H2”.
“The Board of Directors wished Mr. Ikken success in his new professional opportunities and thanks him for his invaluable contribution to the energy sector,” the same source said. “He has shown exceptional leadership, a collaborative and positive approach and great dedication to the structure he has managed for over a decade,” the statement said. The 15th meeting of IRESEN’s Board of Directors took place in the presence of the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, as well as several key players in the energy constituting the board of directors of the institute.
