“The green hydrogen market: the industrial equation of the energy transition”, this is how the Senior Fellow titled her report, published in January, a deciphering of this promising field which still depends on the ” growth in demand, the reduction in production, transport and storage costs, the development of a very competitive supply chain and the establishment of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework”, she explains.
Green hydrogen, where is Morocco?
In the same vein, Morocco has firmly established itself as a reliable player in terms of green hydrogen, for many reasons: the diversity of its partnerships and collaborations, particularly with Germany, the Netherlands and EU, its roadmap for green hydrogen, created in 2021, and the creation of a national Green Hydrogen Cluster (Green H2).
In addition, she recalls, the Kingdom has adopted a Green Investment Program, presented on December 3, 2022, to HM King Mohammed VI, by the Chief Executive Officer of the Office Chérifien des Phosphates Group (OCP ) with nearly $13 billion over the period (2023-2027).
This sector opens up great prospects, she says, since green hydrogen “can be stored and transported, without a carbon footprint”. In addition, it can be well exploited in the transport sector, moreover “unlike electric motors, those with green hydrogen do not require a recharging time”.
For these assets, the Royal Directives, issued during the working meeting, on November 22, 2022, devoted to the development of renewable energies, insist on the interest of Morocco’s positioning which capitalizes on the achievements made, to build a “Morocco Offer attractive and operational, able to promote the development of competitive value chains, she recalls.
Especially since “competition in this sector will not only be regional or continental”, she underlined, for the simple and unique reason that European countries are also preparing to meet 50% of their needs “in internal production with very important industrialization and innovation objectives, aiming for competitiveness throughout the value chain, from production to transit, and ensuring that they strengthen their sovereignty and strategic autonomy,” she explains. .
Obviously, Morocco has competitive advantages to provide green hydrogen and its derivatives to Europe, however, the “development of this sector puts on the table the strategic questions of the development of the local market compared to the market abroad. ‘export’.
Africa’s position
Africa has the necessary advantages thanks to the availability of renewable resources at competitive prices and thanks to its proximity to the European market which is betting on hydrogen to replace fossil fuels. Studies carried out by international firms have estimated that Africa will be able to produce 50 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2035, i.e. 10% of the world market, with an amount of 680 to 1300 billion dollars of here 2050.
However, even if the African land has significant potential in terms of low-cost green hydrogen production, investment announcements do not exceed 3% of projects under development worldwide, says the Senior Fellow. However, this percentage has changed rapidly over the past three years. Thus, several megaprojects have been announced.
The same sources predict that the continent could export 20-40 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2050 and reserve the 10-20 million tonnes to meet its domestic demand, providing clean and affordable energy. to areas lacking energy resources and thus compensate for the continent’s low level of electrification, which stands at only 56% in 2021, while responding, at the same time, to the decarbonization needs of the transport and industry sectors, indicates the report.
Main challenges
The evolution of this market certainly stems from the roles played by the major players: financiers, technology developers and users. Morocco has many challenges to overcome in the deployment of green hydrogen, these are thus cited by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the list goes on and on, but most of these challenges relate to the still high cost of hydrogen compared to fuels, especially in the production process, transport, conversion and storage. But also investor uncertainty about hydrogen policies and regulations.
Malak Elalalamy