- A recent scientific paper has reaffirmed Morocco’s strategic position in the green hydrogen industry.
- Morocco and Algeria also emerge as one of the lowest-cost locations for green hydrogen production without de-risking, driven by their strong institutional quality, excellent wind resources, and proximity to Rotterdam, a major European hub for green hydrogen.
A recent scientific paper, “Mapping the Cost Competitiveness of African Green Hydrogen Imports to Europe,” reaffirmed Morocco’s strategic position in the green hydrogen industry.
Published by Nature Energy and conducted by researchers from Zurich and Oxford universities, the article demonstrated that Morocco has the lowest weighted average cost of capital in Africa, an essential indicator for attracting investment in the sector.
The study assessed the economic viability of exporting it as ammonia from Africa to Europe by 2030 under four financing scenarios. It identified 214 competitive sites across six African countries, though many face security risks that could hinder long-term investment.
The report estimates Morocco’s cost of capital (COC) at 10.6 per cent under a standard commercial scenario and 8.1 per cent in a reduced-risk scenario—the lowest among 31 countries analysed.
These rates are more favourable than those of Mauritania (13.6% COC, 8.6% de-risked), Algeria (11.8%, 8.4%), Namibia (12.9%, 8.6%), Kenya (15.2%, 9.2%), and Egypt (15.2%, 9.2%).
Morocco, alongside Algeria, also emerges as one of the lowest-cost locations for green hydrogen production without de-risking, driven by its strong institutional quality, excellent wind resources, and proximity to Rotterdam, a major European hub for green hydrogen.
In contrast, de-risking shifts the lowest-cost locations mainly to Mauritania, which shares Morocco’s wind resources and European proximity but has lower institutional quality, reflected in a higher cost of capital (13.6% vs. 10.6% without de-risking; 8.6% vs. 8.1% with de-risking).
The study also notes that Morocco is among the African countries with the lowest Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), specifically at €4.4 per kg, with electrolyser, wind, and solar PV being the largest contributing cost components.