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(Bloomberg) — The US is backing an international consortium seeking to produce green ammonia in the Western Sahara, the first federal funding of its kind for a project in the disputed Moroccan-controlled territory.
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ORNX, which groups US-based Ortus Climate Mitigation LLC and Spanish-German joint-venture Acciona-Nordex Green Hydrogen, secured $5.7 million from the US Trade and Development Agency, or USTDA, for an early feasibility study, according to a statement on Tuesday.
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The amount is a fraction of the estimated $4.5 billion cost of the facility in Laayoune, Western Sahara’s biggest city. All the same, for Morocco “the grant also carries strong symbolic significance in its relationship with the US,” ORNX said.
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The US agency’s assistance follows President Donald Trump’s recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara in 2020, more than four decades after the kingdom annexed the former Spanish colony. The resource-rich area, bigger than the UK and disputed by an Algeria-backed independence movement, is designated a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations.
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Trump’s move, taken in exchange for Morocco re-establishing ties with Israel, accelerated an investment boom that includes a $1.3 billion port, tourist resorts and green energy facilities. At the weekend, Trump said the kingdom was giving his name to a 1,055-kilometer (660 mile) highway linking the territory with Tiznit in Morocco.
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US-based KBR Inc. will lead the preliminary Front-End Engineering Design study alongside GE Vernova Inc., Terabase Corp. and Electric Hydrogen Co. The project targets eventually producing about 560,000 tons of ammonia per year.
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State-controlled OCP SA, which dominates phosphate mining in Morocco, plans to rely on domestically produced green ammonia as a renewable-powered feedstock for sustainable fertilizer manufacturing. The company is poised to begin operations at a new port in Laayoune dedicated to handling fertilizer exports.
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ORNX “looks forward to continuing our close collaboration with USTDA, the US Embassy in Rabat, and all our partners to complete the development and financing of the project,” said Peter Gish, the Rabat-based group’s chief executive officer.
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