Visiting Toulouse to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of France 2030, the French President put the spotlight on hydrogen. He talked about both electrolysis production and natural hydrogen, which will be the subject of massive investment.

Emmanuel Macron began by thanking the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, and explained that there was a logical progression from electric to hybrid to hydrogen. He also mentioned synthetic fuels. The Head of State went on to talk about international competition (China, USA) before highlighting France’s strengths. He put an emphasis on energy sobriety, renewable energies and, of course, nuclear power.

Praising the recognition given to nuclear power for the production of low-carbon hydrogen, Emmanuel Macron is convinced that France can become a European leader. “Not a single country can do as well as we can, because we have both renewable energies and nuclear power,” he insisted. In his view, France can become a hub for hydrogen transport. But he put the emphasis on production, with electrolysers produced on French soil, thanks to gigafactories. Macron referred in particular to Genvia, which he had visited in Occitania (South of France).

Macron calls for natural hydrogen

“There is a real hydrogen industry, with champions,” he emphasised. “While we fly planes on fuels that pollute and that we import, we have the capacity to fly planes on hydrogen that we can produce on our own soil. This means we can combine sovereignty, climate protection and jobs in industry.”

Emmanuel Macron then invited manufacturers to explore the potential of natural hydrogen, which has been known since the 1980s. The President recalled that an initial permit has been granted for research in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region. “There is growing interest in hydrogen as a means of decarbonising industry and transport,” said Mr Macron, who is promising massive investment in research with France 2030. “We need to take a step forward in the availability of hydrogen, and therefore map out and invest in environmentally-friendly extraction techniques,” he said. He alluded to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, as well as Lorraine.

Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King