The Baltic country considers the Alawi kingdom to be the ideal place for this and sees a huge opportunity to generate renewable energies thanks to its energy resources

Morocco and Finland sign agreements to boost energy transition

photo_camera PHOTO/ARCHIVO - PHOTO/FILE - Wind energy in Morocco

Leila Benali, Morocco's Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, has signed an agreement with Pekka Hyvönen, Finland's ambassador to the Kingdom, to make investments related to the energy transition. The signed document marks an improvement in diplomatic relations between the two nations. The potential of the Alawi country, thanks to its resources and weather conditions, will be harnessed by Finland to develop better renewable energy.

"Investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy systems are essential for a prosperous society. Finland has developed strong expertise in these areas and we are pleased to start practical cooperation with Morocco," said the Baltic country's Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment, Mika Lintilä.

Finland will start boosting its companies' investments in Morocco so that projects related to energy efficiency can then be carried out. The Baltic country is particularly interested in the production of green hydrogen, which is something the Kingdom of Morocco is focusing on. 

Una vista aérea de los espejos solares de la planta de energía solar concentrada Noor 1, a unos 20 km de la ciudad marroquí central de Ouarzazate AFP/FADEL SENNA

Several European countries such as France, Portugal and even Germany are interested in the production of this energy resource, which is why agreements to produce and export it in Morocco are becoming increasingly popular. Finland also wants to take advantage of this situation, and intends to include this product in its country's energy mix, as it considerably reduces the carbon footprint.

Finland is already involved in several energy development projects in Africa and especially in Morocco. Finnfund, a Finnish finance company, has been in charge of realising several plans for quite some time and has already built a number of small renewable energy plants. In addition, the nation recently announced that 118 million euros were earmarked for financing wind projects in Africa, to be lent by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). 

Planta de energía termosolar se muestra en Noor II Ouarzazate, Marruecos PHOTO/REUTERS

Morocco, for its part, is well on its way to enabling the country to make a full energy transition, and has been involved in all sorts of more sustainable and environmentally friendly projects for years. The production of green hydrogen is one of the latest plans that is part of the process of decarbonising industry in order to emit less carbon emissions and thus comply with the agreements set out by global institutions.

At the moment, TotalEnergies, a French oil company, is studying how to make this project possible and wants to invest 9.4 billion euros in Guelmin-Ued Nun, in the south of the Kingdom. There, the climate close to the Sahara desert is the ideal environment to start developing the project.

The company is expected to set up on an area of 170,000 hectares and, through the use of wind and solar energy, will be able to create green hydrogen and, in turn, 10 gigawatts that will feed the energy grid. To create it, the energy obtained by these two sectors will be used, and through the process of electrolysis, water will be broken down into dioxygen and hydrogen gas and the more environmentally friendly version of hydrogen will be obtained.

Vista aérea de la planta de energía solar Noor 3 de Marruecos. PHOTO/AP

The green hydrogen produced by Morocco could make the country a potential new player in the global economy. According to IRENA - the International Renewable Energy Agency - the Kingdom may be able to start influencing the prices of this new energy resource.

The product is one of the most popular alternatives in recent years due to the decline in trade in oil and its derivatives, and its use will lead to an increasingly sustainable and secure future. Moreover, this resource is endless compared to normal hydrogen obtained through extraction from fossil deposits. By 2050, IRENA predicts that green hydrogen will account for up to 12% of global energy consumption. 

It is worth noting that this is a very novel and pioneering project. Its production would improve the quality of the countries that resort to its use and would be able to replace oil and natural gas.

More in Economy and business