EU clears €900m in French subsidies for green hydrogen and biofuels production
Projects producing renewable H2 for industrial and transport fuels could be in line for grants up before the end of next year
The European Commission has approved a €900m ($974m) scheme by France’s government to support the production of renewable hydrogen- and biomass-based fuels for industry and transport.
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The French government plans to allocate direct grants to cover a portion of investment costs associated with producing these fuels by the end of 2025.
However, it is unclear whether this €900m of state aid represents a single scheme or different auctions.
While specifics on the grants have not been released, EU rules under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework state that the maximum amount of aid granted to an individual project cannot exceed 10% of the total budget available — in this case, €90m.
The French government had last year released draft details of a €4bn auction for operating grants to support 1GW of electrolysis capacity by the end of 2026, with the first €700m auction set to be held this year.
The auction’s draft rules allowed any electrolyser project drawing on zero-carbon electricity sources (ie, including nuclear power) to bid, rather than only permitting renewables-based hydrogen production that would meet the EU’s definition of a renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO).