On July 22, Minister Riad Mazour surprised everyone by announcing that Morocco was in discussions with manufacturers to build a huge factory for electric batteries for the automobile industry. This revelation was reported by Reuters and Media 24.
Did this announcement have any consequences? With whom to discuss Morocco? What could be the characteristics of this project? How does the minister justify criticism of this announcement for reasons related to the secrecy of the Moroccan strategy?
Riad Mazur answers our questions as part of this second part of the interview assessment that we publish in 4 parts.
Médias24: Your Honor, did you have to talk about the Giga factory? Was it necessary to talk about it that way publicly?
Of course, we had to talk about it for many reasons.
Operators need to have a state head, a state direction, and a state pusher.
In our discussions with various partners, there was definitely interest. Morocco has some assets to attract them, to attract battery investors; But we had a long time, slowed down a bit. We had to speed up the pace, because Europe, which is our main outlet, has quickened the pace in terms of goals and transformation. So, we had to show our various partners a deadline, and I indicated before the end of the year as the deadline.
The third reason was that it was necessary to attract the interest of groups or operators who were trying to position themselves in neighboring countries and who could put Morocco on the agenda.
What is the effect of that? Those with whom we discussed have entered into more regular exchanges, and today they are asking for technical data, and this has attracted new operators. Today we find ourselves with 5 operators in the middle of the discussion and they have the ambition to finish with at least one of them before the end of the year. He brought Morocco back as a priority in the minds of our traditional partners who are the builders here.
– You say you chose to go on this walk…
-surely. It is a choice made as part of a proactive strategy to be able to install this huge plant in Morocco, which is essential in the automotive ecosystem.
– So you say that Morocco has no choice, it had to do it …
– He has no choice and has all the assets to do so.
Morocco has no choice because 90% of our car exports go to Europe, and from 2035 Europe has decided to switch to all-electric cars. So, if we don’t engage in discussions, and if we don’t finish with the operator, we can’t assume this transition has already begun that will accelerate in the coming years.
The battery is a third of the car’s value.
We’ve been working for 15 years to achieve a 64% integration rate which is one of the highest integration rates in the world, we’ll hit 80% and could lose 20-30 points if we don’t play the game.
– With whom are you in the discussion since you mentioned 5 operators
– I can not talk about them compared to them on the one hand, and on the other hand the lack of interest of some competitors. The respective operators are present on three continents, America, Europe and Asia.
– Our colleague Le1 accused you of competing with the Jazouli division and with Amdie on the investment. What do you say about that?
– We generally work within the government in complete synchronization. There can sometimes, and we can’t deny it, some friction but positive simulations are useful to move the subjects forward.
We went together last month to the Farnborough Air Show to look for investments in Morocco.
– To return to battery production, let’s try to imagine what the Giga factory in Morocco would look like. First of all, there will be foreign operator permission.
– Yes, there will be a foreign worker.
– Does he invest all the capital? Will there be Moroccans?
– He will have Moroccan operators, especially public ones, who are ready to accompany him.
-CDG type?
-CDG, Mohammed VI Fund or others….
-Let’s see what’s next. It brings in a lot of technology… How would you do for lithium? You need long-term supply contracts.
– Again, it will be an operator who has installations but not only installed in Morocco. By doing so, he has already obtained a portion of his supplies.
This trigger will either be already in production; Or in prototyping with fundraising as well as securing supplies.
You also haven’t escaped that Renault has signed with Managem to supply cobalt. It is for the battery.
Morocco wants to enter this field with its strengths and this strength is manifold. First, the ports. We have two types of battery outlets: a platform for cars that are themselves capable of hosting the Giga plant and integrating their batteries produced in Morocco. But also with all the renewable energy, we can save all the domestic production of electric cars and then start providing the fixed energy.
There are two categories of batteries: batteries for mobility and vehicles. And those called stationary, are intended to store electricity produced by renewable energy. The battery is one solution to meet the storage needs of renewable energies.
– One can imagine that manufacturers could choose to source from Asia.
– No, their interest is to get supplies in Morocco. And 90% of their production in Morocco goes to Europe.
So, in 2035, either we will produce batteries to equip these vehicles, because these batteries will be an integral part of cars; The auto industry will not do that. There will be hybrids for a while, and then nothing. It would be the programmed death of our auto platform.
– What is the size of the investment in Giga factory?
About 2 billion euros.
-f Jobs?
– It all depends on capacity and scalability. Giga plant consists of several lines, each line has a capacity of 3 to 4 gigawatt-hours. It can save about 40,000 to 60,000 cars, because it also depends on the size of the cars.
–How many rows should we start with? 4? 5?
– You can have 2, 3 or 5 rows. It is standard and independent.
– It has introduced possible outlets for potential investors…
In our discussions, one of the assets that attract investors is the ability to provide mobility and stability.
It is expected to be completed before the end of the year…
-I do everything for. I have good hope.
What is interesting is that our partners are in more and more hurry. This announcement made them more and more in a positive simulation to be the first to settle in Morocco and to benefit from this accompaniment that Morocco will offer to the first to take the initiative.
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