POWER-TO-X, reconciling engineering, R&D and new opportunities

Producing green ammonia from renewables energies would not only help improve OCP’s self-sufficiency since it would be produced locally, but it would also help achieve the Group’s ambitious targets for carbon neutrality. The past decade has seen prices of renewable energy getting lower and lower, which is opening new opportunities in the field of Power to X and especially in the production of green ammonia. Before getting to large-scale capacities of green ammonia, we need to prove the concept and the feasibility of this new way of producing green hydrogen and green ammonia with the testing of technologies (AEM vs PEM), the management of intermittency and the optimization of the Power to X supply chain. That is why OCP Group has undertaken the construction of two pilot units in partnership with UM6P : The first unit, «Platform Green H2A» located in Jorf Lasfar, aims at research and development on topics related to green molecules (green ammonia, methanol, energy storage, production optimization, etc.). The second pilot unit concerns the exclusive production of green ammonia with the objective of scaling up to large capacities that can supply OCP Group’s fertilizer facilities. The construction of the pilots will take about 3 years with commissioning scheduled for 2025, followed by periods of testing and implementation of different green hydrogen production conditions.

1°) THE GREEN H2A TECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORM

In December 2021, Morocco’s Institute for Research in Solar Energy (IRESEN), fertilizer leader OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) signed in Benguerir a cooperation agreement to implement the “Green H2A ‘’ platform. The joint project is dedicated to research and development as well as innovation in the Green Hydrogen sector and its applications (Power-to-X).
As the first hub of its kind at the African level, the platform seeks to play a major role in the industrial deployment of the green hydrogen sector and its applications in Morocco.
Among other goals, the platform will make it possible to investigate, test, demonstrate, locally adapt and boost innovative technologies in a promising market for Morocco’s industrial ecosystem and OCP Group. Producing green hydrogen will help OCP in its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in 2040, as it is an added value to the production of electricity from renewable sources, in particular its transformation into products with higher energy density and high economic potential. It could also play an important role in the transition to green mobility since the Group is studying the possibility of migrating its mining trucks. On top of developing Morocco’s Power-to-X sector, the platform is also projected to allow technological and decision-making support for public policies towards national and international industries. Green H2A is a vital component of the Green Hydrogen ecosystem in Morocco, along with the National Commission for Green Hydrogen and the ‘Green H2 Morocco’ Cluster.

2°) THE GREEN AMMONIA PILOT PROJECT

In March 2022, UM6P, OCP and Shell signed an agreement to collaborate on Ammonia Pilot Project in Morocco. The collaborative work will focus on finding the best way to produce low-carbon ammonia using hydrogen from renewable energy sources on a large scale.
The project, which will be conducted in the Jorf Lasfar industrial area, is in line with the group’s innovation and sustainable development strategy, as it focuses on using more hydrogen from renewable energy sources, instead of fossil fuels to produce ammonia.