Emirati company Sahamco Holding BV has announced a $25 billion renewable hydrogen and ammonia project in Dakhla, a city in Morocco’s Sahara region, with a planned production capacity of one million tonnes of ammonia annually, The North Africa Post reported.
The company has completed the feasibility and Preliminary Front-End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) studies for the large-scale project. The initiative is expected to strengthen Morocco’s position in the global green hydrogen market while supporting the country’s ambitions to develop low-carbon fuels (LCFs) and renewable hydrogen.
Low-carbon fuels are energy sources that generate significantly lower net carbon dioxide emissions over their entire life cycle compared with conventional fossil fuels.
The proposed project will utilise Dakhla’s abundant wind and solar resources to produce renewable ammonia. Its location also offers access to export routes, providing opportunities to supply international buyers and commodity traders.
Morocco expands renewable energy ambitions
Morocco has adopted an ambitious renewable energy strategy to reduce its dependence on energy imports and increase domestic clean electricity generation. The country aims to source 52% of its total installed power generation capacity from renewable energy by 2030.
The target includes 20% solar power, 20% wind energy and 12% hydropower.
Morocco has already expanded its renewable energy capacity to approximately 5.5 GW. However, coal and hydrocarbon-based sources continue to account for a significant share of its daily electricity generation.
To achieve its 2030 target, the North African country plans to add around 10 GW of renewable energy capacity. The proposed expansion includes 4,560 MW of solar power, 4,200 MW of wind energy and 1,330 MW of hydropower.
The Sahamco project is expected to complement these efforts by linking the country’s renewable energy resources with green hydrogen and ammonia production for domestic and international markets.
