(Reuters) – The French government has decided to grant 4 billion euros to support the production of low-carbon hydrogen in the country via calls for projects, Le Figaro reported on Monday, a measure which is part of the its strategy of developing this source of energy considered “green” but expensive.
France has set itself the goal of becoming one of the European leaders in low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, with a €9 billion investment plan announced earlier this year.
The winners of the calls for projects will be awarded a score, based 70% on price criteria and 30% on non-price criteria, explains Le Figaro, specifying that this mechanism made it possible to smooth prices. Aid will be paid to producers when production costs are higher than those of “conventional” hydrogen – if not, they will have to return the difference.
“This virtuous mechanism has been tested with renewable energies. It has made it possible to build a solid base for the production of green electricity with a sector which today contributes positively to the State budget”, declared to the newspaper the Minister of the energy transition.
“We first supported the construction of electrolyzers or fuel cells and now we are securing the production of operators and making it competitive”, added Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
Le Figaro specifies that bonuses are also planned, to reward projects committing to phase-out in the event of high demand on the electricity networks, and for projects whose production will come at least half from new parks. renewables built within this framework.
(Written by Jean Terzian)
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