Morocco to fuel global shipping’s energy transition

The maritime industry is at a critical juncture: it faces a dual challenge of meeting increasing demand for shipping services while also managing emissions responsibly. Hydrogen derivatives like green ammonia and methanol are emerging as promising contenders for alternative shipping fuels.

Significant amounts of green hydrogen will be required to power maritime transport and other sectors. This creates an excellent opportunity for some countries to capture value from a new and growing industry. Morocco, with its advantageous geographic position, abundant renewable energy resources, and cost-effective hydrogen production potential, is well-placed to help meet this demand. It is already a key player in maritime transport, and its ports are primed to serve as pivotal hubs for the production, storage, bunkering, and export of green hydrogen. Activity in this industry can create jobs, generate additional income, enhance access to drinking water and improve electricity supply, as surplus renewable power generated for hydrogen production can also serve local communities.

Port infrastructure is a major component of the Moroccan government’s strategic framework for developing the green hydrogen sector. A new World Bank study ‘Gateway to Green Energy: Moroccan Ports as Hubs for Hydrogen Fuel Development and Trade’ analyzes four key ports – Tanger Med, Mohammedia, Jorf Lasfar, and a port in the vicinity of Tan-Tan – that could all be crucial to the success of Morocco's green hydrogen ambitions.

The World Bank Group projects that by 2030, in a medium demand scenario, ships calling at Morocco’s ports could require around 0.2 million tons of hydrogen-equivalent in fuel, increasing to around 2.83 million tons by 2050. This hydrogen would be converted to a green bunker fuel in the form of ammonia or methanol.

Currently, Tanger Med, one of the largest container ports in the world, located at the Strait of Gibraltar, handles around 1.5 million tons of fossil-based bunker fuel every year. The port is well positioned to serve as a green bunkering hub, capturing the demand from vessels transiting through one of the busiest maritime corridors.

The port of Jorf Lasfar also plays a strategic role in this transformation. Serving the steel industry and the OCP Group, one of the world’s largest phosphate fertilizer producers, Jorf Lasfar already handles around two million tons of ammonia each year, making it an ideal location for integrating green hydrogen derivatives as feedstock to existing industrial processes​. By using green ammonia to produce fertilizer, Jorf Lasfar could support the decarbonization of Morocco’s fertilizer sector.

Mohammedia port, near Casablanca, offers an additional advantage with its proximity to salt caverns suitable for large-scale hydrogen storage. These caverns, which are currently used for liquefied petroleum products, provide an economical solution for hydrogen storage and could further reduce Morocco’s already competitive Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) by 0.16 EUR/kg, when compared to underground pipe storage.

Tan-Tan, while less developed in terms of port infrastructure, offers superior solar and wind conditions, making it ideal for cost-competitive hydrogen production. A potential port development project in or around Tan-Tan could leverage this strategic advantage to produce hydrogen derivatives for exporting and further distribution to other ports.

A comprehensive scenario analysis suggests that utilizing the individual strengths of all four ports can reduce costs. The most cost-effective configuration foresees hydrogen and derivatives produced and exported from Tan-Tan, stored in salt caverns in Mohammedia, distributed to heavy industry in Jorf Lasfar, and bunkered at Tanger Med.

Morocco’s broader opportunities for green hydrogen

Beyond the maritime sector, Morocco’s renewable energy resources, which rank among the best in the world, provide the foundation for large-scale green hydrogen production at low costs. According to estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Morocco could produce green hydrogen at costs between US$1.5 to $2.5 per kilogram by 2050, with other projections placing this figure as low as 0.6 to 1.3 USD/kg. This positions Morocco as a competitive producer.

The focus on green hydrogen is driven by increasing global demand for energy and fuel, including alternatives to fossil fuels. Europe, under its REpowerEU initiative, is expected to import over 10 million tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, making Morocco a natural partner due to its proximity and production potential. Shipping lanes passing through the Strait of Gibraltar further strengthen Morocco’s position as a global hydrogen node, with projections indicating that exports of Moroccan green hydrogen could reach between 0.3 to 0.65 million tons by 2030 and soar to between 3.4 and 9.5 million tons by 2050. But green hydrogen will also need to satisfy local demand: for example, the OCP Group is planning to produce one million tons of green ammonia by 2027, with ambitions to increase this to three million tons by 2032 for use in domestic fertilizer production.

Figure: Global hydrogen exports from Morocco could reach between 3.5 and 9.5 million tons by 2050

Strong private and public support back Morocco’s green ambition

To ensure an efficient development process, the Moroccan government published the Moroccan Offer, Offre Maroc, under which it designated Masen, the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, as the primary body for coordinating hydrogen projects. Additionally, the creation of the Cluster Green H2 in 2021, which includes over 80 companies and organizations, aims to foster the development of a robust green hydrogen ecosystem.

With the combination of low production costs, strategic location near key shipping routes, and extensive port infrastructure, Morocco has the potential to play a leading role in green hydrogen.