Moroccan Battery Pioneer Snubbed as Nation Turns to Chinese Firm

It was during the "Moroccan Skills of the World" program broadcast on the "Awasser TV" channel that the Moroccan scientist Rachid El Yazami, the inventor of the lithium battery, expressed his astonishment when he learned that Morocco had contacted a Chinese company that manufactures lithium batteries without consulting him to bring his expertise. He recalls having declared since 2014, during many conferences and in the press, that Morocco has the qualifications to be the first Arab and African country capable of manufacturing lithium batteries.

For him, how after eight years, Morocco ends up negotiating with a Chinese company so that it invests in the lithium battery industry, when the skills are on site. He condemns this mentality of certain officials which consists in not trusting Moroccan values. Yet, he says he told King Mohammed VI, who awarded him the medal of intellectual competence during the celebrations of the throne holiday, of his willingness to serve the country.

He adds that even if mobile phone batteries were not invented in Morocco, it is Moroccan skills and hands that have manufactured them. The problem, according to him, is linked to the relationship between scientists and politicians, because the politician spends 4 years in power, while "the scientist spends his life in science and research".

The scientist’s outburst is certainly linked to the statements made by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Riyad Mazour, who had revealed last July that "Morocco was about to sign an agreement with electric car battery manufacturers to build a huge local production plant", which could reach two billion dollars before the end of this year.