Morocco, Spain Collaborate in Support of Innovation in Energy Sector
Rabat – Morocco and Spain give interest to scientific research, as proven by the “INNO ESPAMAROC ENERGY” program, announced Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines, and the Environment, Aziz Rabbah, on Tuesday, February 25.
The initiative, launched in December 2018, aims to strengthen co-innovation between Morocco and Spain through promoting scientific and technological cooperation, along with exchanging knowledge in renewable energies and green technologies.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of the financing agreements for the first projects selected under “INNO ESPAMAROC ENERGY,” Rabbah said the initiative illustrates the strategic cooperation between Morocco and Spain, and between Africa and Europe, in the fields of energy, innovation, technology, and scientific research.
“The dynamic experienced by the two Kingdoms allows the establishment of innovative cooperation joint ventures,” said the minister.
It is important to develop and focus on research amid the rapidly-evolving energy sector, he added, calling for cooperation between Moroccan and Spanish research platforms.
Meanwhile, the Director of Morocco’s Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), Badr Ikken, said that the “INNO ESPAMAROC ENERGY” initiative will launch a second call for projects in order to finance applied research and innovation projects.
IRESEN, along with Morocco’s Ministry of Energy and its Spanish counterpart, are the primary actors in the joint innovation program.
The latest call for projects would help develop products that can be marketed both in Morocco and internationally, added Ikken.
The move will mobilize a budget of MAD 43.5 million (around €4.13 million), with the participation of several universities, research institutes, and companies from both Morocco and Spain, he continued.
The call for projects concerns Moroccan and Spanish universities, schools, research centers, and companies wishing to develop innovative solutions in the fields of renewable energies and their integration into the electricity network.
The projects will also tackle the fields of energy efficiency, green buildings, sustainable transport, energy storage, smart grids, and smart cities.
“The themes of this program are of fundamental importance, in a context of very strong emergence of renewable energies,” emphasized Ikken.
The Moroccan engineer and researcher described the “INNO ESPAMAROC ENERGY” initiative as “very positive” so far.
Morocco hopes to reproduce the same experience with partners from other countries, he revealed.
Such initiatives promote co-development and consolidate bilateral relations at the same time, concluded Ikken.
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