Green Hydrogen Morocco | Permitting & Offtake

By Zakaria Korte, Korte Law in association with Amereller

Morocco's Green Hydrogen Strategy and Ambitions

Morocco's energy transition strategy builds on more than a decade of leadership in renewable energy. With exceptional solar irradiation and strong wind regimes across Atlantic and Saharan corridors, Morocco has cultivated a deep supply chain in renewables, grid expansion, and project delivery.

Morocco's ambitions are driven by three structural advantages. First, geography and infrastructure: Atlantic ports, the Tanger Med logistics platform, and established corridors to Europe create a cost-competitive export proposition. Second, policy continuity: Morocco's long-standing renewable programs underpin investor confidence. Third, market pull: European industrials and utilities face escalating decarbonization requirements, positioning Morocco as a nearshore supplier of green molecules.

The Legal Framework for Hydrogen Projects

Green hydrogen projects sit at the intersection of Morocco's renewable energy, electricity market, industrial, environmental, and export regimes. At the core is Morocco's renewable energy legislation, enabling private generation from solar and wind, access to land, and grid connections under defined conditions.

Developers should also map cross-cutting frameworks: environmental and social laws governing impact assessments and public consultations; water and maritime frameworks for desalination and coastal facilities; investment and foreign exchange rules enabling capital inflows and repatriation; and industrial and safety regulations for hydrogen and ammonia production.

Land Acquisition and Rights for Project Development

Utility-scale hydrogen platforms require large, contiguous land parcels. Morocco offers several pathways:

State or communal land concessions for strategic sites in coastal and high-resource corridors. Long-term concessions or emphyteutic leases grant surface and usage rights.
Private land acquisition or long-term lease with thorough title reviews, cadastral checks, and zoning analyses.
Servitudes and rights of way for power evacuation, water intake, and transport corridors.
Coastal and port zones for export-oriented ammonia or e-fuels, negotiated with port authorities.

The Permitting Pathway

Bankable hydrogen projects follow a staged permitting roadmap:

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) with public consultation and authority approval
Grid connection and private line approvals
Water abstraction and desalination permits for electrolysis water supply
Industrial licensing and safety for hydrogen and ammonia production, storage, and handling
Export, customs, and port permits for ammonia or e-fuels terminal operations
Foreign investment, FX, and incentives registration

Offtake Contract Structures and Bankability

Sponsors most frequently contemplate merchant export with long-term ammonia offtake (take-or-pay structures, price floors/collars), integrated e-fuels with diversified buyers across shipping, aviation, and chemicals, hybrid models with domestic anchor demand, and corporate PPAs for upstream renewables.

Lenders prioritize: tenor aligned to debt maturity, transparent pricing mechanics, certification and guarantees of origin, delivery and logistics provisions, and credit and security packages.

Key Risks and How to Mitigate Them

Resource and intermittency risk — mitigate via hybrid solar-wind portfolios and limited storage
Permitting and land certainty — front-load site screening and baseline studies
Water availability — use best-available desalination technology
Certification and market access — draft offtake with adaptive certification clauses
FX and repatriation — record foreign investment properly and structure accounts to protect convertibility

Why Korte Law Is Positioned to Help

Green hydrogen in Morocco sits at the frontier of energy, industrial, and trade law. Korte Law is an international law firm based in Rabat and Berlin, advising sponsors, lenders, and offtakers across the project lifecycle. In association with Amereller, our network spans more than eighty lawyers in Europe and MENA.

If you are evaluating or advancing a green hydrogen project in Morocco, contact Korte Law in Rabat or Berlin to discuss a tailored roadmap.

Green Hydrogen Projects in Morocco: Permitting, Land, and Offtake Contracts