The French government has approved 3 electrolytic hydrogen projects in France for €778m, or $887m in the form of subsidies.
The winners, selected based on a tender call in December 2025, will be subsidized per kilogramme for a period of fifteen years as the government attempts to set up 1GW of electrolyser capacity across the country.
The round, which is unlike other EU auctions, supports projects that employ both nuclear as well as renewable power and focuses on supplying hydrogen for industrial use cases where there is no financially feasible pathway for electrification.
The 3 Electrolytic Hydrogen Projects in France aim to install a total of 455MW capacity, but subsidies will cover only 161.4MW of the installations.
According to Sébastian Martin, minister delegate for industry, “The announcement of these first three winners represents a concrete step forward for the reindustrialization of our country. By supporting projects in the chemical, metallurgical, and fertilizer production sectors, we are fostering the emergence of new industrial value chains based on decarbonized hydrogen.”
It is well to be noted that a full electrolyzer capacity was obtained for the 5 MW Hydrozere project from Engie in Saint-Chély-d’Apcher to supply ArcelorMittal’s local plant for combustion in metallurgy operations.
The scheme will subsidize 61.1 MW of the installed capacity of Elyse Energy’s proposed 240 MW grid-connected eM- Rhône e-methanol project located in Les Roches-Roussillon.
FertigHy’s 200MW FertHySomme green fertilizer project in Languevoisin-Quiquery is backed for 95.3 MW to generate green ammonia as well as calcium ammonium nitrate.
The three winners will have 8 weeks to arrange financial assurances and ask for contracts. As per the French government, if one pulls back, the next project in the ranking can very well replace it.
This follows the country’s announcement of a reduction in its total hydrogen production objective to 4.5GW by 2030 from 6.5GW, while reaffirming its commitment to spend €4bn or $4.56bn to boost production.