The European Commission has approved a French State aid scheme to support the production of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen (European Commission press release, 23/03/2026).
The scheme will support the construction of up to 1GW of electrolysis capacity through a competitive bidding process across three tender rounds. The first tender will cover 200 MW with an estimated budget of EUR797m.
Hydrogen produced under the scheme will be used for direct industrial applications to reduce GHG emissions. “The aid will take the form of a fixed premium. Contracts will be concluded for a 15-year period. Beneficiaries will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin ('RFNBO') as well as low-carbon fuels, as set out in the delegated act on renewable hydrogen and the recently adopted delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen”, according to the statement.
The Commission noted that the scheme will contribute to France’s targets of 4.5 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030 and 8 GW by 2035. France expects the scheme to help avoid up to 1.1 Mt of CO2 emissions annually.
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