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COSUMAR Pioneers Liquid Food-Grade CO2 Production in Morocco with New LCO₂ Project
COSUMAR is set to revolutionize Morocco's industrial landscape with the launch of the LCO₂ project, an innovative venture to produce food-grade liquid carbon dioxide in Casablanca. This landmark initiative, backed by a 500 million dirham investment, will see the construction of the country's first dedicated facility, slated for operation by the end of 2026 with an initial output capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year. The high-purity CO2 (exceeding 99.9%) will meet international ISBT and EIGA standards, serving critical industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Beyond its commercial viability, the project aligns with COSUMAR's sustainability agenda by capturing and purifying CO2 from existing industrial processes, thereby boosting energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of its Casablanca refinery. This move not only supports Morocco's import substitution strategy but also reinforces the group's commitment to operational excellence and local value creation.
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Strategic Diversification
In line with its strategy to diversify and optimize its industrial model, the COSUMAR Group has launched the LCO₂ project, an innovative unit dedicated to the production of food-grade liquid CO₂ in Casablanca. This structuring, innovative project—the first of its kind in the region—continues the Group’s industrial orientation and aims to develop a high-value-added activity integrated into its industrial setup.
A High Value-Added Activity
The LCO₂ project involves recovering, purifying, and transforming CO₂ from industrial processes to produce food-grade liquid CO₂ with a purity exceeding 99.9%, complying with international ISBT (International Society of Beverage Technologists) and EIGA (European Industrial Gases Association) standards. These two globally recognized frameworks govern the quality, purity, safety, and good production practices of CO₂ intended for food and sensitive industrial uses.
This new activity will valorize an existing industrial stream into a resource for several strategic sectors, including agri-food, pharmaceuticals, cryogenics, agriculture, and seawater desalination, where liquid CO₂ meets specific technical, industrial, and food needs.
Structing Investment for Industrial Sovereignty and Competitiveness
Through this project, which will mobilize a total investment of over 500 million dirhams, COSUMAR strengthens its industrial positioning and contributes to diversifying the supply available in the national market by offering locally produced liquid CO₂—previously entirely imported—thus participating in reinforcing the Kingdom's industrial sovereignty and import substitution.
Integrated directly into the Casablanca refinery, the first-phase production unit will rely on proven, cutting-edge technology. Equipment acquisition is already underway, with operations scheduled to commence by the end of 2026, boasting an initial annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes of food-grade liquid CO₂.
Alignment with Sustainability Challenges
Moreover, the LCO₂ project fits into COSUMAR’s overall approach to improve industrial process efficiency and optimize resource utilization. Valorizing carbon dioxide optimizes industrial processes while enhancing the site's energy efficiency and reducing the refinery's carbon footprint. This initiative also creates local value and employment, consolidates Moroccan expertise in industrial by-product valorization, and ensures continuous supply for national industrialists.
For years, COSUMAR has deployed a structured strategy to modernize and continuously improve its industrial performance. In this regard, the Group has already reduced its CO₂ emissions by 50% since 2016.
Commissioning the LCO₂ unit in Casablanca marks the first phase of a program slated for deployment across other Group sites, aligning with industrial orientations to meet the growing market demand for food-grade liquid CO₂. Deploying this innovative project—developed by COSMAR’s internal resources—across other industrial units will eventually enable the production of green biogenic LCO₂ derived from biomass.