US Agency Places Energy, Critical Minerals Among Priorities for Morocco Investment

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will expand its support for strategic projects in Morocco, prioritising energy, critical minerals, digital infrastructure and transportation as the kingdom seeks to attract investment tied to its economy and the security of global supply chains. Since launching operations in Morocco, USTDA grants to Moroccan projects and partners have totalled around $25 million, and on July 28 the agency awarded ORNX a $5.7 million grant for a pre‑FEED study of a planned $4.5 billion green ammonia project in Laayoune led by US engineering firm KBR.

"It is the first US federal financing dedicated to a project in the southern provinces," said US Ambassador Duke Buchan III, speaking about the ORNX-backed green ammonia grant signed in Laayoune and the consortium's selection of KBR in August to carry out the pre‑FEED work.

Gretchen Krantz‑Evans, USTDA's Middle East and North Africa regional country director, has identified four priority sectors for future cooperation with Morocco: energy infrastructure, critical minerals, trusted digital technologies including artificial intelligence, and transport systems. USTDA funds early studies and preliminary technical work intended to accelerate projects and help them attract the financing needed to move into construction and commercial phases.

• Energy: USTDA is preparing to host a Moroccan delegation in the United States in September to review liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in production and transport phases. LNG is highlighted as one of the agency’s energy priorities as Morocco’s first LNG project at the Tendrara field, controlled by Managem, prepares to begin commercial production this year.
• Critical minerals: Morocco controls roughly 70–75% of the world’s phosphate reserves and is expanding mining into cobalt, copper and nickel—metals essential to batteries, technology and clean‑energy supply chains. Washington and Rabat signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals cooperation on February 4, part of a series of bilateral frameworks concluded in Washington that day.
• Digital infrastructure: USTDA plans to support deployment of trusted technologies and artificial intelligence across digital networks to bolster secure, resilient communications and services.
• Transport: Building safe, efficient transport systems and related port and logistics infrastructure — including studies linked to Nador West Med port and the Nigeria‑Morocco Atlantic African gas pipeline — remains on the agency’s agenda.

Recent concrete moves underscore USTDA’s approach of seeding pre‑development activity to unlock larger capital flows. The agency’s $5.7 million grant for the ORNX green ammonia project targets an initial annual output of about 560,000 tonnes of green ammonia, with an estimated first‑phase investment near $4.5 billion. USTDA’s earlier financing supported feasibility studies for Nador in 2015 and 2018 covering a fuel‑blending terminal and an LNG regasification facility.

Morocco’s extensive mineral base, free‑trade access to Western markets and its position as a gateway to African markets have attracted global industrial players, including Chinese battery and automotive firms building production and processing hubs. The resumption of phosphate trade with the United States — including a roughly 54,000‑ton shipment of triple superphosphate to the Port of New Orleans in August and a planned MAD 4.5 billion (about $450 million) joint‑venture phosphate fertilizer plant in Waggaman, Louisiana — further illustrates growing commercial ties that USTDA aims to reinforce through technical assistance and early‑stage financing support.

Looking ahead, USTDA officials say the agency’s work in Morocco will continue to focus on preparing projects to meet international lending and investment standards, with the objective of drawing direct financing, equity and project structures needed to scale energy, minerals, digital and transport investments across the kingdom.