Morocco’s advantageous position on the global race for battery material builds on the country’s mineral wealth and integration of supply chains, the International energy Agency (IEA) said it in its Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026. Morocco holds 70% of the world’s phosphate reserves but only about 15% of global mining supply, the report said. Morocco, the US and Canada together are projected to account for over 55% of planned PPA capacity outside China by 2035. On cobalt, the report cited Managem’s Bou Azzer project converting cobalt metal to cobalt sulfate, with capacity of 6 kilotons a year, including 1.2 kilotons of contained cobalt. Global cobalt sulfate demand is set to grow nearly 60% by 2035, but supply remains concentrated outside China and Indonesia, making Morocco’s project one of few diversification efforts identified, alongside Umicore’s Kokkola refinery in Finland.