OCP Green Energy has switched on a large battery storage system at its mining site in Benguerir. The 25 MW/125 MWh system can store electricity for up to five hours. It will work with the existing solar plant to provide power when solar production falls and during peak-demand hours.
The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery is expected to cut electricity costs at the site by 25% during peak hours. It can also help the electricity grid by regulating frequency and managing reactive power.
OCP Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of OCP Group, invested nearly 170m dirhams ($18m) in the project. The investment covers the battery equipment, engineering, construction and project management.
The project also received $20m in concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund, which is administered by the African Development Bank.
“Storage is the natural extension of our energy strategy. It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewable energy with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms, while strengthening the reliability of our energy supply,” said Omar Kadir, general manager of OCP Green Energy.
The battery was supplied and commissioned by Envision under a contract signed in late 2025. It has an expected service life of 25 years.
The project comes as OCP expands its use of renewable energy. The group now has 202 MWp of solar capacity across three sites: Benguerir, Foum Tizi and Oulad Farès in Khouribga.
OCP plans to invest $13bn in clean energy between 2023 and 2027. The group wants all of its industrial operations to run on clean energy by 2027.
It also plans to reach 5 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2027 and at least 13 GW by 2032.
OCP is also working with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) to develop battery materials locally.
The research focuses on LFP materials made using phosphoric acid from OCP’s phosphate reserves. A company called NGB Materials is building a pilot plant that will produce 1,000 tonnes of LFP cathode material a year. The target is to increase production to 30,000 tonnes.
UM6P researchers have filed at least seven patents linked to LFP production and battery recycling.
OCP and UM6P are also working with Sumitomo Electric on vanadium-based batteries for longer-duration energy storage.
