The trade winds that blow along the Atlantic coast from Morocco to Senegal represent the largest and most productive wind potentials available on earth. Because of the erratic nature of winds however, wind electricity cannot be integrated locally on any significant scale, unless mechanisms are developed for storing these intermittent renewable energies. Wind-electrolysis for the production of hydrogen can be used in grid stabilization, as power storage, fuel or chemical feedstock in specific industries. Initiated by the private sector, this project is before all end user driven and seeks to demonstrate the potential for synergies emerging from sustainable carbon free energy technologies and their related economies. The utilization of wind energy and electrolysis bi-products is likely to reinforce significantly the value added processing of Morocco and Mauritania’s main extractive mining industries (Phosphates and Iron-ore respectively) in providing most environmentally friendly solutions.

Tackling the global consequences of climate change, environmental degradations and rampant desertification on largely agricultural based societies currently under high demographic pressure is a key social priority, as they generate economic distress leading to mass migration. This constitutes a significant security threat to the stability of the region and that of NATO countries.

Developing alternative wind energy solutions to feed smaller electricity markets are essential for solving decentralized energy access issues and enabling the development of local, viable industries which could address the regions economic challenges currently under pressure from Sub-Saharan migrant populations. The involvement of NATO to assist local academia to support, sensitize and train capacities necessary to develop upstream energy alternatives is also relevant to the Alliance’s strategic challenges to initiate the development of technologies that address energy security and the need for diversifying away from highly concentrated fossil fuel reserves and infrastructures.