France 2030 : Launch of a major aid scheme to support very large industrial decarbonisation projects
December 2024
Following a preliminary public consultation and a call for expressions of interest, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry, the Sea and Fisheries, and Marc Ferracci, Minister for Industry and Energy, together with Bruno Bonnell, Secretary General for Investment, in charge of France 2030, are launching a new support scheme to accelerate the decarbonisation of industry. The aim of this call for tenders is to support very large-scale industrial decarbonisation projects at sites subject to the SEQE (European Emissions Trading Scheme), which are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. For example, it will enable the first French carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to be launched, in line with the national strategy.
France has made the decarbonisation of the economy one of the priorities of the France 2030 investment plan. This ambition is part of a European and international dynamic with the Paris Agreement and the Fit for 55 legislative package, the aim of which is to reduce the emissions of the Member States of the European Union by 55% in 2030 compared with their 1990 levels.
Against this backdrop, the ‘Major industrial decarbonisation projects’ call for tenders (AO GPID), operated on behalf of the French government by ADEME, has been designed to support the in-depth decarbonisation of industrial sites while making them more resilient in the long term, in particular by limiting their exposure to the price of fossil fuels or carbon.
The scheme has just been approved by the European Commission and is based on the Guidelines on State Aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy (LCIA), which required prior public consultation. A call for tenders was organised for this purpose over the period from June to September 2024, which made it possible to identify the projects that could be submitted to the GPID call for tenders.
The aim of the Major Industrial Decarbonisation Projects call for tenders is to support the acceleration of the decarbonisation of industry in France and the development of the most ambitious decarbonisation technologies in order to achieve the aforementioned European and national objectives. In particular, it should accelerate the decarbonisation of the sectors and industrial sites that emit the most and are the most difficult to decarbonise, while enabling the emergence of decarbonisation solutions at the lowest cost. The introduction of financing contracts between the State and the winning industrial companies for the selected projects will enable the construction and operation of ambitious low-carbon production processes in the highest-emission industrial facilities.
This measure is financed by the ‘France 2030’ investment plan.
The decarbonisation projects targeted consist of implementing one or more technological levers of sufficient maturity to reduce the GHG emissions of the industrial sites concerned, in particular electrification, improving energy efficiency, changing the energy mix or the materials mix, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and utilisation (CCU). To be eligible, a project must represent a total amount of aid equal to or greater than €20 million.
The grants awarded cover the additional costs of major deep decarbonisation projects, which are virtuous but unprofitable in the short and medium term, over a period of 15 years. Projects are selected through a competitive bidding process, based in particular on the effectiveness of public aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Other calls for projects have just been launched or are in the pipeline
Another scheme, complementary to the GPID AO, has just been published: the ‘DECARB IND 2025’ call for projects. Operated on behalf of the French government by ADEME, this scheme aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sites through the following themes: energy efficiency, changes to the energy and materials mix, and carbon capture, recovery and storage. It is open to all industrial sites and medium-sized projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,000 tCO₂eq per year. Projects must involve investments of more than €3 million, and a request for aid of less than €30 million. Other calls for projects will also be relaunched to support the pace of investment by manufacturers.
The France 2030 investment plan:
It reflects a dual ambition: to transform key sectors of our economy (health, energy, automotive, aeronautics and space) over the long term through technological innovation, and to position France not just as a player, but as a leader in the world of tomorrow. From fundamental research, to the emergence of an idea, right through to the production of a new product or service, France 2030 supports the entire life cycle of innovation, right through to its industrialisation.
It is unprecedented in terms of its scale: €54 billion will be invested to ensure that our businesses, universities and research bodies make the transition to these strategic sectors a success. The aim is to enable them to respond competitively to the ecological and attractiveness challenges of the world to come, and to develop the future leaders of our sectors of excellence. France 2030 is defined by two cross-cutting objectives: to devote 50% of its spending to decarbonising the economy, and 50% to emerging players who are driving innovation, without spending anything that is detrimental to the environment (as defined by the Do No Significant Harm principle).
It is being implemented collectively: designed and deployed in consultation with economic, academic, local and European players to determine the strategic guidelines and flagship actions. Project leaders are invited to submit their applications via open, demanding and selective procedures in order to benefit from government support.
It is run by the General Secretariat for Investment on behalf of the Prime Minister and implemented by the Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME), the National Research Agency (ANR), Bpifrance and the Banque des Territoires.