Three Industrial Projects for Le Havre Announced

The French government has selected winning proposals for a hydrogen 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 labelled a turnkey investment site under the 30 billion euro "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 billion to 2.7 billion euros of investment and 720 jobs, the ministry said.

U.S. industrial gases giant Air Products APD.N proposed building a terminal to import renewable hydrogen for an estimated 1.1 billion euros, a project expected to generate 270 jobs.

Earlier this year, Air Products signed an agreement to supply 500,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen 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 billion euros, 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 hydrogen and methanol for 500 million euros, which could generate 150 jobs.