On Monday 23 March, the European Commission authorised a French State aid scheme designed to support the production of renewable, low-carbon hydrogen.
This measure is in line with the European Hydrogen Strategy and the Clean Industrial Deal.
The support also contributes to the objectives of the REPowerEU plan, which aims to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels. It will finance the construction of electrolysers capable of producing up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of green, low-carbon hydrogen. The first call for tenders is for 200 megawatts (MW), with a budget of €797 million.
The hydrogen produced will be reserved for direct industrial use, where electrification is not economically viable. The aid will take the form of a fixed premium, awarded on 15-year contracts. Beneficiaries will have to comply with EU criteria for renewable and low-carbon fuels. The aim of the scheme is to offset the higher cost of the electricity needed to produce green hydrogen compared with fossil hydrogen. France hopes to reach 4.5 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030 and 8 GW by 2035. The scheme is expected to save up to 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 a year. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)