The project will be built as a fully integrated renewable powered platform. Plans include more than 2 GW of wind and solar capacity, battery storage, around 900 MW of electrolysers for green hydrogen production, and seawater desalination to supply process water.
In its first phase, the facility is expected to produce about 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, which would be converted into approximately 560,000 tonnes of ammonia for domestic use and export markets.
The ORNX consortium comprises Ortus of the US, Acciona of Spain, and Nordex of Germany. The partners said the project is designed to create a long term industrial base for ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for international trade.
Further developments are planned in Boujdour and Dakhla, locations chosen for strong wind and solar resources, access to Atlantic shipping routes, and the availability of land for large scale renewables.
The investment forms part of Morocco’s national hydrogen framework, known as the Morocco Offer, which allocates up to 30,000 hectares per project and targets the mobilisation of up to one million hectares for green hydrogen development.
In March, Rabat selected five investor groups to deliver six projects in the southern regions, with ORNX focused on ammonia production.
Moroccan officials said the initiative would support industrial growth, export revenues, and the creation of a domestic value chain for low carbon fuels.
Morocco has set ambitious targets for its clean energy transition that underpin projects such as ORNX. Under its national green hydrogen strategy, Rabat envisages developing around 6 GW of dedicated renewable capacity by 2030 to serve both a local hydrogen market of about 4 terawatt-hours and an export market of roughly 10 terawatt-hours annually, with the aim of capturing more than 4% of global hydrogen demand.
To support these goals, the government has approved hydrogen and derivative projects worth around $32.5bn and is offering up to 30 000 hectares of land per project to attract foreign investment. Morocco also plans to increase the share of renewables in its power mix to 52 % by 2030, with solar, wind and hydropower together supplying the bulk of its electricity.
