France/ Launch of an aid scheme for major industrial decarbonization projects

At the end of December, the French government launched a new support scheme to accelerate the decarbonization of industry. This call for tenders aims to support very large-scale industrial decarbonization projects at sites subject to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. For example, it will enable the launch of the first French carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, in line with the French roadmap for carbon capture, utilization and storage drawn up this summer.

Decarbonizing major industrial projects is essential to achieving the national decarbonization objective. The " Major industrial decarbonization projects" call for tenders (AO GPID), operated on behalf of the French government by Ademe and launched at the end of December, aims toThe aim is to support the in-depth decarbonization of industrial sites, while making them more resilient over the long term, in particular by limiting their exposure to the price of fossil fuels or carbon.

The decarbonization projects in question involve implementing one or more technological levers of sufficient maturity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the industrial sites concerned.These include electrification, improved energy efficiency, changes to the energy or materials mix, or the introduction of new technologies.nergy or materials mix, and carbon capture and storage ("CCS") or carbon capture and utilization ("CCU").To be eligible, a project must represent a total amount of aid equal to or greater than €20 million.

This scheme has been validated by the European Commission and is backed by the Guidelines on State Aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy (LDACEE), which required prior public consultation. An AMI was organized for this purpose over the period from June to September 2024, which identified the projects that could be submitted to the GPID AO.

The grants awarded cover the additional costs of major deep decarbonization projects, which are virtuous but unprofitable in the short and medium term, over a 15-year period. Projects are selected through a competitive bidding process, based in particular on the effectiveness of public support in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The auction phase will close on May 15, 2025 (2:00 p.m.). Applications must be submitted on the ADEME AGIR platform. The "AO GPID" specifications are available at the following link.

Source: www.environnement-magazine.fr/