OCP Green Energy energises first battery storage system in Morocco
OCP Green Energy has energised its first large-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Benguerir mining site in Morocco, marking the start of progressive commissioning of a 25MW/125MWh facility designed to store renewable electricity for OCP Group’s industrial operations.
The project builds on OCP Green Energy’s solar photovoltaic programme, which brought 202MWp of solar capacity online across three sites, comprising 67MWp at Benguerir, 30MWp at Foum Tizi and 105MWp at Oulad Farès in Khouribga. The plants already supply OCP Group’s industrial and mining facilities with renewable electricity, and the battery system will allow the company to capture solar power during generation and release it when demand peaks.
OCP Green Energy selected technology supplier Envision following an evaluation and qualification process, signing a contract in late 2025 for the supply and commissioning of the battery system, which uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology. The equipment order was placed in the fourth quarter of 2025, timing the company said allowed it to secure favourable capital expenditure levels ahead of increased pressure across global supply chains.
The Benguerir system provides five hours of storage and is directly coupled with the existing solar plant at the mining site. Once operational, it will store electricity generated during the day and discharge it during peak demand, helping manage fluctuations in photovoltaic generation and improve the continuity of electricity supply. The system can also provide ancillary grid services, including frequency regulation and reactive power compensation, and has an estimated service life of 25 years.
The project represents an investment of nearly 170 million Moroccan dirhams (about $18.2 million), covering the battery equipment, civil and electrical engineering, integration works, studies and project management, delivered using Moroccan expertise. It also received $20 million in financing from the Clean Technology Fund, a programme supported by the African Development Bank that funds innovative energy-storage solutions linked to renewable electricity.
With batteries, power-conversion equipment and control systems now installed and integrated, the system has entered the energisation phase, with performance testing expected over the coming weeks before it moves into full operation. Once operational, the BESS is expected to reduce the industrial site’s electricity bill by 25 percent during peak hours while improving the reliability of its renewable electricity supply.
Omar Kadir, General Manager of OCP Green Energy, said storage was the natural extension of the company’s energy strategy following last year’s solar PV commissioning. “It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewable energy with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms, while strengthening the reliability of our energy supply,” Kadir said, adding that the technology also opens the way for smoother integration of renewable energy into the national power system.
The Benguerir project forms part of OCP Green Energy’s broader roadmap to meet OCP Group’s electricity requirements through clean energy sources. The company is also working with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University on the development of LFP materials derived from phosphoric acid, having produced LFP materials and proprietary intellectual property that is now being scaled for potential industrialisation as OCP Group explores an integrated, Morocco-based LFP lithium-ion battery ecosystem.
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