en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a $5.7 million grant to developer ORNX for early-stage engineering work on a green ammonia project in Western Sahara. This marks the first time the U.S. government has financed a private enterprise project in this Moroccan-controlled disputed territory.

According to statements from USTDA and ORNX, the grant will fund pre-front-end engineering design studies for the first-phase facility located in Laayoune. The plant is planned to produce approximately 560,000 metric tons of ammonia annually using hydrogen generated from renewable electricity, with a total project investment of around $4.5 billion.

ORNX is composed of U.S.-based Ortus Climate Mitigation and the Spanish-German joint venture Acciona-Nordex Green Hydrogen. The consortium was selected in 2025 as one of five shortlisted companies for Morocco's state-led green hydrogen initiative and signed a land reservation agreement in February 2026. As designed, this integrated platform will combine over 2 gigawatts of wind and solar photovoltaic power, battery storage, approximately 900 megawatts of electrolyzers, and seawater desalination.

Chief Executive Officer Peter Gish called the grant a milestone in advancing the project and stated that ORNX will work with USTDA, the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, and industrial partners to complete project development and secure construction financing. The consortium is also considering projects in Boujdour and Dakhla. The grant comes as other export-oriented projects move forward, including a $4.7 billion green ammonia plant currently under review in Chile.