Belgian construction of maritime infrastructure firm Jan De Nul has partnered with Australian miner Fortescue to build a 1,000-kilometer cable to import green energy from Morocco to Europe. Jan De Nul and Fortescue signed a cooperation agreement in Rabat earlier last week to provide the «shipping and subsea cable laying capabilities for transporting green electricity», the Belgian company said in a press release on Friday. The deal was signed by Fortescue Chairman, Andrew Forrest, and Jan De Nul Executive Chairman, Jan Pieter De Nul. «There is a massive opportunity to send renewable electrons from Morocco and North Africa to Europe to industries and consumers who deserve a better choice than the only one they currently have available – carbon emitting, global warming causing fossil fuels», Forrest said. «Fortescue believes a lack of cable laying capability is creating a bottleneck in connecting Morocco to Europe, making this pursuit with Jan De Nul one of the most outstanding opportunities we have across the world. It will bring substantial benefits to both North Africa and Europe in terms of employment, economic growth and providing citizens with a choice to use fuels made using green energy», he added. «Direct transport and consumption of green electricity is one of the most efficient ways to help reduce the total energy needs of the world. With our know-how, highly skilled and motivated staff and crew, and our versatile fleet of construction vessels including five of the world's cutting edge subsea cable laying vessels, we are ready to construct the energy transition», added Jan Pieter De Nul, Jan De Nul Group Executive Chairman. Earlier this year, Fortescue entered into a joint venture with the Moroccan state-owned company OCP Group to produce hydrogen for green ammonia and fertilizer in Morocco using green electricity.
