The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Moroccan Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a bid to boost the country's renewable energy transition through the promotion of investments. The scope of the cooperation will cover a number of areas of common interest, including green hydrogen, renewable energy, smart electric networks, energy efficiency, energy storage, and e-mobility.
Morocco is recognized as having a very ambitious strategy for scaling up renewables and regularly pioneering new green technologies. The country has committed to reaching, by 2030, a level where renewable sources account for more 52 percent of installed electricity production capacity.
The EBRD supports the decarbonization of the Moroccan energy mix and the country’s green and sustainable energy transition through direct and indirect financing and policy dialogue initiatives.
We are very proud to come together with IRESEN to reinforce our engagement in Morocco’s green transition. Addressing the climate challenge is not an option, but a must. It is therefore important to explore all credible clean-energy technologies that would further accelerate the country’s green-energy transition. This is what today’s memorandum documents, said Antoine Sallé de Chou, EBRD Director, Head of Morocco.
Harry Boyd-Carpenter, EBRD Managing Director for the Green Economy and Climate Change, highlighted that the EBRD is fully committed to supporting the development of green hydrogen value chains.
In combination with competitive renewable electricity, green hydrogen is a key ingredient in accelerating the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and has strong potential in Morocco. We are very pleased to start our cooperation with IRESEN today, said Harry Boyd-Carpenter.
IRESEN was set up as a research institute in 2011 by Morocco’s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Environment and several key players in the energy sector to support the national energy strategy and enhance research and development in the field of solar energy, new energies, and related technological applications.
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the Bank has invested almost EUR 3 billion in the country through 74 projects.
We are thrilled to partner with the EBRD in order to support the acceleration of the energy transition in Morocco. The agreement sealed today is a pledge of confidence in the 10 years of work by IRESEN teams in supporting Morocco’s energy strategy, through research and development, innovation and capacity-building. In addition, this partnership proves that the decarbonization of our economies requires the development and adoption of sustainable technological solutions, adapted to our context. This is the spirit of the alliance between the EBRD and IRESEN, said Badr Ikken, Director General of IRESEN.
