Green Hydrogen: Irena Highlights Morocco’s Potential

Morocco: A Future Hub for Renewable Hydrogen

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) identifies Morocco as a potential industrial hub for renewable hydrogen, leveraging its solar and wind resources alongside ambitious industrial plans. In its Global Energy Transition Outlook report presented on October 13, 2026, the organization highlights the Kingdom’s strengths, while also addressing challenges related to financing, infrastructure, and industrial capacity development.

Morocco Among Future Renewable Hydrogen Hubs

In its analysis, IRENA contends that Morocco is well-positioned to develop an industry surrounding renewable hydrogen and the technologies linked to the energy transition. The organization notably underscores the combination of the Kingdom’s renewable resources and its industrial development strategies.

This assessment is supported by several references emphasizing Morocco’s potential. Among these is a study published in 2023 by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), which focused on the prospects of the hydrogen economy in the country.

The report also references a 2025 publication from Africa Energy Portal, which revealed approved green hydrogen projects in Morocco with an announced investment worth $32.5 billion, approximately 300.7 billion dirhams.

This figure corresponds to previously announced projects and does not constitute a new investment amount disclosed by IRENA. The report also lacks updated data specific to Morocco regarding installed capacity, production timelines, or recently signed contracts.

Beyond Energy: The Challenge of Creating Industrial Value

For IRENA, the development of renewable energies goes beyond merely installing solar or wind power plants. It also requires the industrial capabilities necessary for manufacturing, installing, operating, and maintaining equipment.

This dimension is critical for economies looking to derive greater value from their energy resources. Local manufacturing of equipment, the development of specialized suppliers, and the training of technical skills can all contribute to enhancing the economic benefits of investments in the energy transition.

In this context, Morocco is mentioned alongside Indonesia, whose strategy for transforming critical minerals illustrates a different form of industrial specialization.

Thus, the Kingdom faces the challenge of aligning the development of its renewable resources with industrial activities capable of generating skilled jobs, enhancing local competencies, and facilitating the country’s integration into international value chains.

African Renewable Capacities Poised for Significant Growth

At the continental level, IRENA’s projections showcase the scale of investments required to align energy development with a scenario compatible with limiting warming to 1.5 °C.

According to the report, Africa’s installed renewable capacity, estimated at 82 gigawatts in 2025, is expected to reach 607 gigawatts by 2035 and jump to 2,510 gigawatts by 2050.

These projections imply that renewable capacities need to multiply by more than seven times over the next decade and approximately thirty times during the entire period from 2025 to 2050.

Achieving these targets will depend on reducing the cost of financing, ensuring coherent public policies, and expanding electricity infrastructure. These figures pertain to the entire continent and do not represent specific targets assigned to Morocco.

For renewable electricity generation alone in Africa, cumulative investments required between 2026 and 2050 are estimated at $3.2 trillion, or nearly 29.6 trillion dirhams. This sum primarily concerns solar, wind, and hydroelectric capacities considered in the agency’s scenario.

Africa Remains Marginalized in Global Investments

Despite promising development prospects, the African continent continues to face limited access to capital dedicated to the energy transition.

Global investments in technologies related to this transition reached $2.4 trillion in 2024, marking a 9% increase year-on-year. However, their distribution remains heavily concentrated: China and advanced economies collectively represented over 90% of investments directed towards deploying these technologies during that year.

Africa has captured less than 1% of global investments in recent years, according to data included in the report. For the least developed countries, this proportion has dipped below 0.5%.

This weakness in financial flows hampers the development of energy infrastructure and stifles the emergence of a local industry capable of meeting the growing demand for clean equipment and technologies.

Financing, Electrical Networks, and Regulatory Stability

To mitigate these obstacles, IRENA emphasizes several levers, including lowering borrowing costs, ensuring regulatory stability, and improving access to electricity networks.

The organization also recommends a greater reliance on concessional loans, guarantees, and risk-sharing instruments, alongside enhanced mobilization of multilateral banks, public financing institutions, and national financial agencies.

Furthermore, the needs extend beyond mere electricity production. The agency’s climate scenario anticipates around $1 trillion in annual investments in global electricity networks between 2026 and 2035. These expenses should also account for energy storage, renewable capacities, and the electrification of industrial usages.

For Morocco, these issues are directly tied to the realization of its ambitions in renewable hydrogen. While the energy potential is an asset, its transformation into a sustainable industrial activity will also rely on the availability of funding, access to infrastructure, and the capacity to develop local value chains.

IRENA’s analysis thus highlights an essential distinction: having abundant renewable resources opens opportunities, but creating a genuine industrial hub requires tangible investments, appropriate infrastructure, and a long-term strategy.