A US engineering company has been chosen to help develop a large green ammonia plant in Laâyoune. KBR will carry out the early engineering work for a project led by ORNX Green Hydrogen. The plant is expected to produce about 560,000 tonnes of ammonia each year.
The project will use 900 MW of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen. That hydrogen will then be used to make ammonia.
KBR will provide the technology licences and carry out the Pre-FEED work. This is an early engineering stage that comes before the detailed design of the plant.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is funding the engineering studies through a grant.
The ORNX project brings together US company Ortus Climate Mitigation, Spain’s Acciona and Germany’s Nordex. Other partners include GE Vernova, Electric Hydrogen and Terabase.
USTDA Deputy Director Thomas Hardy and ORNX chief executive Peter A. Gish signed the grant agreement in Laâyoune. US Ambassador to Morocco Duke Buchan III attended the signing.
The project is part of a wider government plan to build a green hydrogen industry in Morocco and attract large foreign investment.
The government has set aside nearly 1 million hectares of land under its “Morocco Offer” programme for green hydrogen projects. Selected developers can use the land under long-term agreements.
ORNX is one of five large projects selected under the programme. The five projects are expected to bring more than $35bn in foreign investment.
Laâyoune has strong solar and wind resources, which can provide power for green hydrogen production. Its location also gives the project access to Atlantic shipping routes.
The developers have started securing land for the projects, with each one able to receive up to 30,000 hectares for renewable energy and industrial facilities.
The ORNX project will use electrolyser technology from Electric Hydrogen, solar plant systems from Terabase and grid technology from GE Vernova.
