The port of Le Havre will welcome three new industrial projects for a total investment estimated at 2.6 billion euros, resulting in 640 jobs, the cabinet of the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Thursday. The three companies – Livista Energy, Air Products and Qair – will develop a lithium refinery, a renewable hydrogen import site and a hydrogen and methanol production and storage project by 2026-2029, said the ministry. “This is proof that the government’s strategy to revitalize certain industrial-port wastelands is relevant and convinces foreign investors,” he said.AFP the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Antoine Armand.
These investments are part of the France 2030 program with, in particular, the development of 1,500 hectares of land dedicated to industry in the ports of Marseille-Fos, Le Havre and Dunkirk. The port of Le Havre launched a call for tenders a few months ago to invest 60 hectares of land “labelled turnkey industrial land”, according to Antoine Armand’s office. The selected projects will benefit from “pre-development”, that is to say “the carrying out of preparatory work, service developments” but also “reinforced support from State services” to, for example, facilitate administrative procedures, according to the same source.
The first project, carried out by the Luxembourg company Livista Energy, whose headquarters is located on Boulevard Prince Henri, in the capital, concerns a lithium refinery intended for batteries. On 27 hectares in the largest French port, the group born in 2021 will install a lithium refinery intended for batteries, planning for 1.2 billion investments and the creation of 300 direct jobs. A project which marks “a significant step forward in the establishment of the European supply chain for electric vehicles”, underlines the group in a press release. It thus hopes to contribute to reducing European dependence on the supply of lithium from Asia.
The manufacturer anticipates “an initial capacity of 40,000 tonnes, doubling quickly in order to provide enough lithium for the batteries of 1.5 million electric vehicles per year”. The plant is scheduled to start up in 2028.
The American company Air Products will set up a renewable hydrogen import site “for a total investment estimated at 1.1 billion euros and 270 potential jobs”, according to the minister’s office. The company has an agreement with TotalEnergies, which has a refinery in the port of Le Havre, to supply it with 70,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year for 15 years from 2030.
The last company, Qair, is French. It will produce and store hydrogen and methanol for maritime transport. It plans to invest 500 million euros for 150 direct job creations. “These projects represent thousands of jobs and investment in green industries that create value for our territories,” insisted the cabinet of the Ministry of Industry. The establishment of these sites in ports also aims to promote exports, while France’s trade balance is in deficit.
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