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While renewable and low-carbon hydrogen are a solution to decarbonize the economy, manufacturers in the sector warn of the temptation to massively use so-called "blue" hydrogen, which emits more greenhouse gases.

As early as June 1, 2018, France positioned itself as a forerunner by announcing the deployment of a Hydrogen Plan, a molecule already identified as "an asset for our energy independence but also a huge source of jobs". Two years later, France's ambition became a reality with the presentation of the National Strategy for the Development of Carbon-Free Hydrogen Produced by Water Electrolysis.

 

The industrial challenge is immense, but necessary to get out of our dependence on fossil fuels in a tense geopolitical context. Indeed, French hydrogen consumption currently amounts to nearly 900,000 tons per year and supplies strategic industrial sectors in heavy chemicals such as the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers. However, 94% of this hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. This fossil fuel production alone accounts for nearly 3% of national CO2 emissions.

The potential of carbon-free hydrogen

Carbon-free hydrogen, produced from electricity and water, therefore represents a considerable potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in a context where we must accelerate the electrification of our economy. It also makes it possible to consider the decarbonisation of other high-emitting sectors that are particularly difficult to decarbonise, such as the production of steel and fertilisers, heavy and intensive mobility, or air and maritime transport via the manufacture of synthetic fuels.

 

Thus, for several years now, a French sector for the production of fully carbon-free hydrogen has been taking shape. And industrial maturity is already near, as evidenced by the construction of the electrolyzer production "giga-factories", the first facilities in operation and the more than 150 projects under development in our territory. The development of this new sector is encouraged by the decarbonized French electricity mix, mainly composed of nuclear and renewable energies, which constitutes a major comparative advantage compared to our European neighbors (56gCO2eq/kWh in 2021 compared to an average of 238gCO2eq/kWh in the European Union, according to the European Environment Agency) and makes electrolytic hydrogen a powerful lever for the decarbonization of our industry.

The risks of "blue" hydrogen

However, the development of this solution, which has an unprecedented advantage in terms of emissions, is subject to new uncertainty in the face of the temptation to encourage the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels combined with CO2 capture and storage technologies, known as "blue" hydrogen.

The indiscriminate use of carbon capture risks maintaining the. France and the European Union in a long-term dependence on imported fossil gas, for decarbonization performances that are incompatible with our climate objectives. Indeed, the production of this "blue" hydrogen emits greenhouse gases, both because the capture performance does not cover all the emissions of the process, but also because of the fugitive emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the natural gas supply chain. This should encourage the greatest caution in the choice of hydrogen production technologies in France and Europe, and invites us to prioritise the use of CO2 capture and access to limited storage capacity for the benefit of industries with no other decarbonisation solution, such as cement plants.

At this pivotal time for the future of French energy policy and hydrogen strategy, the sector

of hydrogen production by electrolysis needs visibility and consistency to make the investments already made and achieve our climate objectives.

Manufacturers in the sector are therefore calling on the Prime Minister and his Government to pursue this ambition by adopting a new hydrogen strategy and by publishing the support mechanism for hydrogen produced by water electrolysis, enshrined in law since 2021.

The technological trajectory is clear, and the size of the challenges to be met must not make us deviate from the objective f of phasing out fossil fuels. France must be at the forefront of the fight against climate change and the implementation of its energy sovereignty.

This op-ed is signed by a coalition of manufacturers in the renewable and low-carbon hydrogen sector, the list of which can be found here.