The Africa-focused transitional energy group Chariot, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and Oort Energy have announced their collaboration on green hydrogen pilot projects in Morocco.
Utilizing a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system, patented by UK-based Oort, this partnership will run initial proof of concept projects while evaluating the feasibility of the implementation of large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production.
With Chariot's experience in evaluating the economic viability of such projects, along with UM6P's network and expertise in-country, the partnership will concurrently develop education and capacity building around green hydrogen and ammonia production, according to their press release.
It is intended that one of the pilot projects will be hosted at Research and Development facility in OCP Jorf Lasfar, Morocco.
"We are delighted to be partnering with Chariot and Oort on this project to implement a new technology PEM Electrolyser in UM6P Lab for education and research and to work jointly on new projects on electrolyzer technologies, exchange and transfer of information. The green hydrogen sector needs collaboration of this nature to develop education and research in this new and strategic domain for Morocco." said Mohamed Bousseta, Director of Innovate for Industry at UM6P.
"Oort's mission is to bring the cost of green hydrogen production down so that it becomes a widely accessible source of energy. Testing our unique electrolyser technology in this setting will be a key step in demonstrating its capabilities whilst also assessing its efficiency, durability and cost structure for implementation in large scale projects" said Nick van Dijk, CEO of Oort.
Adonis Pouroulis, CEO of Chariot Limited, commented, "We are very pleased to be working alongside Oort and UM6P in evaluating the viability of another significant green hydrogen project and expanding our footprint beyond our work in Mauritania into Morocco".
"Chariot's ambition is to become one of the world's leading green hydrogen producers and ensuring access to reliable, cost-efficient electrolyser capacity will be a vital part of our pathway to production. We look forward to getting started on this pilot as well as collaborating on other projects of this nature in the future", he added.
The company had previously announced a pre-feasibility study for a 10 GW hydrogen project using electrolyzers in Mauritania.
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