Morocco’s Ministry of Investment has confirmed steady progress on the Chbika green hydrogen project, with land rights secured and planning agreements moving forward. The update came during the project’s sixth review meeting, held on Monday and chaired by Deputy Investment Minister Karim Zidane, reports The North Africa Post.
The meeting brought together representatives from all major government agencies involved, including the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN), which is leading the country’s green hydrogen program. Officials confirmed that key tasks have been completed on time, showing strong momentum for the project’s development.
Discussions at the meeting focused on finalizing agreements needed for the next stage of the project. These agreements will lay out the technical and legal details for future construction and operations. The meeting highlighted Morocco’s growing focus on moving quickly in the renewable energy sector as global interest and competition increase.
Chbika is located in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, near Morocco’s Atlantic coast. It is one of the country’s first major efforts to produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale. The project was announced during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Morocco in October 2024, in a ceremony also led by King Mohammed VI.
The project will build one gigawatt of solar and wind energy systems to power a facility that produces hydrogen from seawater. The hydrogen will be used to make about 200,000 tons of green ammonia each year, mainly for sale to European countries.
Plans also include building new port infrastructure and related transport systems to support exports. The Chbika project stands out for combining all parts of the process—from producing renewable energy and treating seawater to making fuel and getting it ready for export—in one location. It is the first project launched under Morocco’s national plan to support green hydrogen development and covers around 300,000 hectares in the country’s southern region.
Through this strategy, Morocco aims to build 20 gigawatts of clean energy, including systems that can power the production of up to 8 million tons of green hydrogen-based fuel. With these efforts, Morocco hopes to become a major supplier of clean energy in both Africa and Europe.
