France selects three industrial projects for Le Havre port
The French government has selected winning proposals for a hydrogen (H2) import terminal, a renewable fuels facility and a lithium production factory to be built at the state-run port of Le Havre as part of an effort to attract industrial investment, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
The land around the port was labeled a turnkey investment site under the €30-B “France 2030” plan, allowing Haropa Port — the public entity that manages the ports of Rouen, Le Havre and Paris — to launch a tender for green projects.
The three winners will benefit from accelerated approval procedures, grid connections and aid for preliminary studies from Haropa.
If built, the projects would represent some €2.6 B–€2.7 B of investment and 720 jobs, the ministry said.
U.S. industrial gases giant Air Products proposed building a terminal to import renewable H2 for an estimated €1.1 B, a project expected to generate 270 jobs.
Earlier this year, Air Products signed an agreement to supply 500,000 tonnes of renewable H2 annually from 2030 to 2045 to France's TotalEnergies, for use at the French firm's Gonfreville refinery in Le Havre.
The second project, submitted by Luxembourg chemicals company Livista and estimated at €1.2 B, will refine lithium for use in electric vehicle batteries. The site will occupy almost half the designated industrial zone and create 300 jobs.
The French renewable energy company Qair plans to build production and storage facilities for H2 and methanol for €500 MM, which could generate 150 jobs.
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