OCP Green Energy installs first large-scale battery system in Morocco 

OCP Green Energy, the OCP Group subsidiary focused on renewable power generation and storage, has installed and energized its first large-scale battery energy storage system at the Benguerir mining site in Morocco, marking a new step in the phosphate producer’s push to use renewable power across its industrial operations. 

The 25-megawatt/125-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, known as BESS Phase I, can store up to five hours of electricity. Its installation follows the launch of OCP Green Energy’s first solar photovoltaic projects, which have a combined capacity of 202 megawatts peak across sites in Benguerir, Foum Tizi and Oulad Farès in Khouribga. 

Those solar plants are already supplying renewable electricity to OCP Group’s mining and industrial facilities. The battery system is designed to make better use of that power by storing electricity generated during the day and releasing it when demand is higher.

Battery storage expands OCP’s renewable power system 

OCP Green Energy signed an agreement with technology supplier Envision in late 2025 to supply and commission the battery system, which uses lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, technology. 

The company said the equipment was ordered in the fourth quarter of 2025, allowing it to secure what it described as competitive capital costs before higher pressures emerged in global supply chains. 

The system is connected to the existing solar plant at Benguerir and will operate on a daily charge-and-discharge cycle. It is expected to have a service life of about 25 years. 

Beyond shifting solar power into periods of higher demand, the battery can help smooth fluctuations in photovoltaic generation and support the reliability of electricity supplied to industrial facilities. It can also provide grid-support services such as frequency regulation and reactive power compensation. 

The investment totaled nearly MAD 170 million, or about $18 million, covering the battery equipment, integration work, civil and electrical engineering, studies and project management. OCP Green Energy said the project was delivered using Moroccan expertise. 

The project also received $20 million in financing from the Clean Technology Fund, an initiative led by the African Development Bank that supports clean-energy and energy-storage projects.

OCP targets lower peak-hour electricity costs 

With the batteries, power-conversion equipment and control systems installed, OCP Green Energy has energized the facility and will conduct performance testing before it enters full operation. 

Once operational, the system is expected to help match the availability of solar power with the needs of OCP’s industrial sites. The company said the battery could reduce the site’s electricity bill by 25% during peak hours by shifting stored solar power into periods of higher demand. 

“Storage is the natural extension of our energy strategy,” Omar Kadir, general manager of OCP Green Energy, said. “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.” 

OCP expands battery research with UM6P

OCP Green Energy is also working with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, or UM6P, on LFP materials made from phosphoric acid. The research draws on OCP Group’s phosphate expertise and includes work on production processes and battery-material characteristics. 

The technology is being scaled for potential industrial use as OCP Group explores the development of a broader lithium-ion battery ecosystem in Morocco. 

Created in 2022, OCP Green Energy is responsible for renewable power generation and storage for OCP Group’s mining and industrial operations. OCP Group, founded in 1920 and headquartered in Morocco, employs more than 17,000 people and serves more than 350 customers across five continents.