OCP Group’s strategic plan will cost bns and “greenify” operations: Morocco’s state-owned OCP Group — which mines phosphate, manufactures phosphoric acid, and produces fertilizer — recently announced it will invest some USD 13 bn in a strategic program for 2023-27 to greenify its operations, Morocco World News reports. Under the new program, OCP seeks to increase its fertilizer production, produce “green” fertilizer, and run more of its operations on renewable energy. Its mid-December announcement followed a meeting between OCP’s CEO Mostafa Terrab and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in late-November, in which some preliminary details about the planned investment were revealed.

The big news? Achieving full carbon neutrality by 2040: OCP is committing to supply all its industrial facilities with clean energy by 2027 and targeting “full carbon neutrality” by 2040 using wind, solar, hydroelectric, and co-generation (the simultaneous production of both electricity and heat, powered by one primary energy source) to power all its industrial facilities by 2027, it notes. It also aims to reach net-zero by 2040. Under the new program, it’s targeting an increase in fertilizer production capacity to 20 mn tons by 2027, up from its current 12 mn tons.

OCP wants to reduce reliance on imports: This hefty investment in renewable energy will allow OCP — currently the world’s top ammonia importer — to reduce its long-term reliance on imports, the company notes. Through “planned substantial investments” in green hydrogen and ammonia production, OCP will be able to produce “wholly sustainable fertilizers,” it adds.

The short term goals: OCP is aiming to produce 1 mn tons of green ammonia by 2027 and 3 mn tons by 2032, it notes on its website. It’s targeting 5 GW of clean energy production by 2027 and “no less” than 13 GW by 2032 and plans to develop 20k tons of fluorine and 30k tons of other specialized chemicals to be used in the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries — essential in electric vehicle manufacturing — by 2027.

Planned new projects will be powered by renewable energy: The energy to desalinate water that OCP will transport from Jorf to Khouribga will be produced by 760 MW capacity solar PV farms, the firm notes, without specifying how many of these farms are already up and running and how many are new. Solar farms with 440 MW total capacity will be built alongside a planned new mine in Meskala, to power mining operations and a desalination plant in Safi, it adds. OCP also intends to set up a 1 mn ton per year green ammonia production complex in the south of Tarfaya, powered by a 3.8 GW solar and wind farm, with an electrolyzer production plant set up to produce the green ammonia and a 60 mn cubic meter capacity desalination plant supplying water to these facilities, OCP adds.

There’s no doubting the scale of ambition: The planned USD 13 bn investment is a leap from the USD 8 bn invested by OCP between 2012 and 2021, according to the company.