France aims to become the leader in green hydrogen with at least two electrolyser gigafactories by 2030, says President Emmanuel Macron.

France will invest in hydrogen production and consumption technologies as part of a €30bn ($34.6bn) green technology roadmap called ‘France 30’, he adds.

Macron, who faces presidential elections next year, says a second objective will be to spend €1bn on promoting small nuclear reactors with improved waste management systems.

A third objective set out in the plan is to decarbonise industry to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35pc compared with 2015 levels.

“More than €8bn will be invested to achieve these first three objectives,” the government says.

€8bn – French investment in transition technologies

The green hydrogen ambitions set out by Macron reiterate a plan outlined by the government in 2020 that called for €7.2bn of state investment in green hydrogen by 2030, with €2bn earmarked for 2020-2022.

In the transport sector, France will spend c.€4bn on raising production of electric and hybrid vehicles to nearly 2mn and producing the first low-carbon aircraft by 2030, according to Marcon.

“France 2030 is the answer to the great challenges of our time, in particular the ecological transition, through a massive investment plan to bring out the future technological champions of tomorrow and support the transitions of our sectors of excellence, automotive, aeronautics and space,” he says.

Last month, France set out plans to launch a series of seven tenders for onshore wind and solar power projects aimed at developing 25GW of renewable generation capacity at a cost of €25bn ($29.6bn).

Earlier this year, French energy firms TotalEnergies and Engie signed an agreement to design, develop, build and operate a 1,500t/yr green hydrogen production site at Chateauneuf-les-Martigues.

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Author: Stuart Penson