The overall effort is estimated at 22 billion euros by 2030 by compiling all the ecological transition contracts of the 50 sites, according to a senatorial report published in May 2024 on aid for decarbonization. For the heaviest decarbonization projects, public funding will be necessary to make the colossal investments planned by manufacturers profitable, otherwise they risk not taking the plunge.
Securing industrialists over fifteen years
It is these financing needs of major decarbonization projects – and not only those of the 50 most emitting sites – that the future call for projects must respond to. Reserved for investments of more than 20 million euros, the system will be based on a new mechanism mentioned since the beginning of 2022, that of carbon contracts for difference (CCfD).
Broadly speaking, this involves securing the business plan of manufacturers and the profitability of their investments in relation to future changes in the price of a tonne of carbon. And thus limit the risks, by guaranteeing a certain price level on the European quota market. If the price of a tonne of CO2 – currently close to 60 euros – is lower than this threshold, the State undertakes to pay the difference. A mechanism that Germany is also starting to deploy on its side.
In order to make the system as effective as possible, the projects will be selected by auction, favoring the greatest CO2 reduction at the best price. The subsidies, of several tens or even hundreds of millions of euros, will then be paid annually over 15 years for the entire lifespan of the project. “They include both investments, but also operational costs for solutions which are not spontaneously profitable. we comment at Bercy. The calculation is a little more complicated in detail, because it will be adjusted according to the effective decarbonization carried out by the industry but also its level of production.
The overall envelope reduced to 4.5 billion euros
Before selecting the first beneficiaries, the system will still have to be formally approved by the European Commission, even if it has already been pre-notified. Officially, the financial calibration of the system has not yet been finalized. During his call for industry mobilization in December 2022, Emmanuel Macron announced a possible doubling of the public support envelope for decarbonization – from 5 to 10 billion euros, in the event of needs identified by manufacturers.
For the moment, rather the opposite has happened, underline senators Laurent Somon and Thomas Dossus in their spring report. At France 2030, the line dedicated to aid for decarbonization increased from 5.5 billion euros to 4.5 billion euros in the fall of 2023, of which 1.3 billion have already been allocated.
ArcelorMittal, whose aid of 850 million euros was validated within the framework of the IPCEI hydrogen, obtained the bulk of the aid earmarked for the decarbonization of large sites, which totals 3.4 billion euros in credits. Alongside the CCfD, other calls for projects have also been launched by Ademe to support electrification projects, studies prior to the development of carbon capture or the development of low-carbon industrial zones (Zibac).
The senators point to very long processing times, almost a year in total, on these projects. But time is running out, they believe. Given the complexity of the projects concerned, “aid allocated beyond 2027 has a reduced probability of producing useful effects to achieve the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030”, they consider.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
