A call-for-action with over 100 signatories was sent to the French government on Wednesday to ask that industrial competitiveness is incorporated into the new National Strategy for Hydrogen, petition-leader France Hydrogen said.
The message was sent as a request to develop the strategy in a way that both aims to reduce the French carbon footprint while strengthening industry by providing hydrogen as a cheap fuel source to avoid problems with spiralling costs.
The new National Strategy for Hydrogen is expected to be announced around June 13.
The point of the message is that the government should not just prioritize decarbonisation but should also focus on reindustrialization, and maintaining current industry, France Hydrogen CEO Philippe Boucly said.
“We want to stop the decline and usher in an era of clean energy,” he added.
Some 110 signatories joined the petition, including power giants EDF and Engie and regional governments such as Nouvelle Aquitane and Occitane in the south, France Hydrogen said.
Both the signatory regions have hydrogen projects, as Nouvelle Aquitaine is set to host a gigafactory and Occitane is developing renewable hydrogen production.
Both regions are looking for support from public authorities to continue developing and deploying medium-sized projects, a France Hydrogen spokesperson said.
France has been developing a hydrogen strategy with its European neighbours, which are sometimes at odds with France’s desire to use pink hydrogen, or hydrogen produced by nuclear reactors.
