Released September 13, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The French government is following through on its ambitious green hydrogen plans with the promised release of 4 billion euro (US$4.3 billion) in funding.
It will adopt a bill in the coming weeks to offer the money to accelerate the development of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity as part of the 9 billion euro (US$9.7 billion) in public support it promised when launching its hydrogen strategy in 2020. The funding will be made via Contracts for Difference (CfD), a system of incentivisation used where high upfront costs are offset by guaranteed prices being paid for the produced goods over a long period of time. The French CfD programme will cover a 15-year period and will help compensate for the difference between the high price of carbon-free hydrogen production versus cheaper fossil-based hydrogen, also known as gray hydrogen. France has a stated target of installing 6.5 gigawatts of electrolyzer capacity by 2030, which would make it largely self-sufficient for low-carbon hydrogen production.
Industrial Info is tracking 60 active hydrogen-related projects in France across a wide range of industrial sectors that are worth US$6.3 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
Successful bidders will have to be competitive on price for the clean hydrogen they plan to produce but it will not be the only criteria for securing government money. About 70% of the selection criteria will be related to price, with the rest focusing on other elements. These will include the ability of projects to pause production so that their renewable energy sources can be redirected to supplying the power grid when needed. Projects that get half of their power from newly built renewables will also have an advantage, as the government wants renewable energy to grow in line with hydrogen production.
The French government is also hoping to take advantage of a loophole that will allow a certain amount of its low-carbon hydrogen for industrial uses to be produced using its massive nuclear power fleet. This would rely on producers being able to prove that its life-cycle emissions are 70% lower than those of gray hydrogen. France and a number of other nuclear-powered nations are petitioning the European Union to have nuclear energy classed as a low-carbon power source. For additional information, see March 15, 2023, article - Eleven EU Nations Form Nuclear Power Alliance.
Speaking this summer on increased financing, French minister for the energy transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, said: "The government is once again committed, working closely with the territories, to the development of the hydrogen sector. And for good reason: hydrogen is an asset to enable the decarbonization of our economy, and in particular of sectors which do not have alternatives. Two pillars appear essential to our roadmap: on the one hand, developing a French sector across the entire value chain, and on the other hand, developing and deploying concrete solutions for decarbonized hydrogen in the territory. I know I can count on the mobilization of the sectors as part of the update of our hydrogen strategy entrusted to us last November by the President of the Republic."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
It will adopt a bill in the coming weeks to offer the money to accelerate the development of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity as part of the 9 billion euro (US$9.7 billion) in public support it promised when launching its hydrogen strategy in 2020. The funding will be made via Contracts for Difference (CfD), a system of incentivisation used where high upfront costs are offset by guaranteed prices being paid for the produced goods over a long period of time. The French CfD programme will cover a 15-year period and will help compensate for the difference between the high price of carbon-free hydrogen production versus cheaper fossil-based hydrogen, also known as gray hydrogen. France has a stated target of installing 6.5 gigawatts of electrolyzer capacity by 2030, which would make it largely self-sufficient for low-carbon hydrogen production.
Industrial Info is tracking 60 active hydrogen-related projects in France across a wide range of industrial sectors that are worth US$6.3 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
Successful bidders will have to be competitive on price for the clean hydrogen they plan to produce but it will not be the only criteria for securing government money. About 70% of the selection criteria will be related to price, with the rest focusing on other elements. These will include the ability of projects to pause production so that their renewable energy sources can be redirected to supplying the power grid when needed. Projects that get half of their power from newly built renewables will also have an advantage, as the government wants renewable energy to grow in line with hydrogen production.
The French government is also hoping to take advantage of a loophole that will allow a certain amount of its low-carbon hydrogen for industrial uses to be produced using its massive nuclear power fleet. This would rely on producers being able to prove that its life-cycle emissions are 70% lower than those of gray hydrogen. France and a number of other nuclear-powered nations are petitioning the European Union to have nuclear energy classed as a low-carbon power source. For additional information, see March 15, 2023, article - Eleven EU Nations Form Nuclear Power Alliance.
Speaking this summer on increased financing, French minister for the energy transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, said: "The government is once again committed, working closely with the territories, to the development of the hydrogen sector. And for good reason: hydrogen is an asset to enable the decarbonization of our economy, and in particular of sectors which do not have alternatives. Two pillars appear essential to our roadmap: on the one hand, developing a French sector across the entire value chain, and on the other hand, developing and deploying concrete solutions for decarbonized hydrogen in the territory. I know I can count on the mobilization of the sectors as part of the update of our hydrogen strategy entrusted to us last November by the President of the Republic."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
