The US has awarded a grant to help launch engineering studies for a major green ammonia plant planned in Laayoune. The funding marks the first grant from a US federal agency for a project in the southern provinces.
The grant agreement was signed between the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and ORNX Green Hydrogen during a ceremony attended by US Ambassador Duke Buchan III, Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra Governor Abdelslam Bekrate, Laayoune Communal Council President Moulay Hamdi Oud Errachid, USTDA officials, company representatives and business leaders.
The studies are the next step for the project after ORNX was selected in March 2025 under the national Green Hydrogen Offer. They will prepare the project for detailed engineering work before a final investment decision.
The study programme has a budget of $5.7 million.
US engineering company KBR will lead the work with GE Vernova, Electric Hydrogen and Terabase Energy. The team will study the project’s engineering, costs, financing, environmental impact and regulatory requirements.
Engineers will design the plant, choose the best power systems, plan the electrical grid and marine facilities, add a seawater desalination plant, develop industrial safety systems and assess whether the site is suitable for construction.
The studies will also produce detailed cost estimates and a 25-year financial model covering the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) and the Levelized Cost of Ammonia (LCOA). They will also prepare a financing plan and identify possible funding sources.
Plans show the facility will produce about 560,000 metric tonnes of green ammonia every year using green hydrogen.
The project includes a seawater desalination plant using reverse osmosis and deionisation to supply ultra-pure water for electrolysis. Electric Hydrogen will provide proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser technology to produce hydrogen. Air separation units will extract nitrogen through cryogenic distillation before hydrogen and nitrogen are combined using the Haber-Bosch process to make ammonia.
The site will also include high-voltage substations, renewable microgrids and export facilities for shipping liquid ammonia.
KBR is leading the Pre-FEED engineering studies and process integration. GE Vernova will provide grid connection and power conversion systems, while Terabase Energy will design and optimise the solar power infrastructure.
Ambassador Duke Buchan III said: “This first US government funding for a private sector investment project in the Moroccan Sahara represents a pivotal moment in bilateral relations, signalling a partnership driven by investment and innovation.”
He added: “Morocco-US relations are stronger than ever.”
Buchan also said the United States continued to support the Autonomy Initiative as “the sole basis for a lasting resolution to the Sahara issue” and added: “The UN Security Council-approved framework is set, and it is time to move from stalemate to resolution.”
ORNX Green Hydrogen chief executive Peter Geish said: “The grant helps complete initial engineering with American partners, accelerating the transition to final engineering design and investment decisions.”
USTDA Acting Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Tom Hardy said: “This grant resolves key technical challenges and anchors Morocco as a regional energy hub.”
