OCP Launches Morocco's First Battery Energy Storage System in Benguerir
OCP Green Energy has switched on Morocco's first large-scale battery energy storage system at Benguerir, with a capacity of 125 MWh and an investment of 170 million dirhams.
OCP Green Energy, the energy arm of Morocco's OCP Group, has switched on the country's first large-scale battery energy storage system. The facility, built at the Benguerir mining site, has a capacity of 25 MW/125 MWh and represents an investment of nearly 170 million dirhams, designed to store surplus solar power generated during the day for use during peak industrial demand hours.
Technical and Financial Details
The system uses LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery technology, chosen for its thermal stability, safety and estimated 25-year lifespan. The installation can store the equivalent of five hours of solar production, released when electricity demand at the Group's industrial and mining facilities peaks. Powering up the system does not yet mean commercial operation: a performance testing phase is planned over the coming weeks before it goes into full service.
The roughly 170-million-dirham investment covers the batteries and equipment, as well as civil and electrical works and studies. The project also received additional financing of 20 million dollars from the Clean Technology Fund, a program run by the African Development Bank. Project officials say the engineering and integration work was carried out by Moroccan expertise. "Storage is a natural extension of our energy strategy. It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewables with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms," said Omar Kadiri, CEO of OCP Green Energy.
Following 202 MWp of Solar Capacity
This step comes just months after OCP Green Energy brought 202 MWp of solar photovoltaic capacity online across three plants:
| Site | Capacity (MWp) |
|---|---|
| Benguerir | 67 |
| Foum Tizi | 30 |
| Oulad Farès (Khouribga) | 105 |
These plants already supply the Group's industrial and mining sites with renewable electricity. In parallel, OCP Group and Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) are developing LFP battery materials derived from phosphoric acid, research that has already produced high-performance materials and proprietary intellectual property, now moving toward scale-up for future manufacturing.
Why It Matters
The system is expected to cut the OCP industrial site's electricity bill by 25% during peak hours, by shifting solar power use toward periods of high demand. It also helps smooth the intermittency of photovoltaic output and strengthen the flexibility of the national electricity grid, as Morocco continues pushing to raise the share of renewables in its energy mix. The investment comes as OCP Group reported a 7% drop in revenue in the first half of 2026, reflecting the group's push to diversify into green energy amid pressure on the global phosphate market.