The Green Energy Park Morocco–Cote d’Ivoire (GEP-MCI) has opened in Yamoussoukro, in a new step in cooperation between the two countries on renewable and solar energy.
The project was launched on Friday by the Institut de recherche en énergie solaire et énergies nouvelles (IRESEN), Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P), Green Energy Park Morocco and the Institut national polytechnique Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB).
The new centre is based inside INP-HB in Yamoussoukro. It will focus on practical research, new technology and training in solar energy. It will test both solar panels that produce electricity and systems that use the sun’s heat. It will also look at how solar energy can be used in farming and water treatment.
Officials from Cote d’Ivoire’s higher education ministry, energy authorities, universities and businesses attended the opening ceremony.
The centre follows the same model as the Green Energy Park in Benguérir, Morocco. That site was developed by IRESEN with OCP Group and UM6P. It was opened in 2017 by Mohammed VI and supports research and training in clean energy.
The new site in Cote d’Ivoire is the first time this model has been copied elsewhere in Africa. It will allow researchers to test solar equipment in a different climate. While Benguérir has a dry climate, Yamoussoukro has a hot and humid, semi-tropical climate. This helps scientists study how heat, moisture and dust affect solar panel performance.
The project also aims to help turn research into businesses. Pilot projects led by Moroccan universities and companies will be tested at the site. The goal is to create startups, share skills and support local industry.
The move is part of wider cooperation between African countries. Morocco is expanding its role in renewable energy across the continent, while Cote d’Ivoire is working to increase the share of renewables in its energy mix.
Samir Rachidi, head of IRESEN and chairman of the Green Energy Park board, said: “The Green Energy Park Morocco–Cote d’Ivoire reflects a clear ambition: to put applied research and innovation at the service of sustainable development and the success of major energy projects in Africa.”
He added: “Building on the experience of the Green Energy Park in Benguérir, this platform will contribute to strengthening local capacities, transferring skills and structuring innovation ecosystems capable of supporting the continent’s energy transition.”
Mohamed Bousseta, director general of Green Energy Park, said: “The inauguration of the Green Energy Park Morocco–Cote d’Ivoire embodies the very purpose of UM6P: to build, through science and innovation, concrete and sustainable bridges between African ecosystems and enable African expertise to develop technological solutions adapted to local conditions and create startups and job opportunities for young Africans.”
He added: “By replicating the proven model of the Green Energy Park in Benguérir, we are sharing a complete ecosystem of research, training and entrepreneurship.”
He described the platform as “an accelerator of technological sovereignty for our continent, where solutions for Africa are designed, tested and deployed in Africa, by African talent.”
