2024-08-08 06:30:25
Despite what is sometimes commonly believed, France is very attractive to industry. And thanks to its carbon-free electricity and public support, it could well come out on top.
France has a highly decarbonized electricity supply thanks to its historic power plants and renewable energies. According to RTE’s 2023 Electricity Report, greenhouse gas emissions from the French electricity system in 2023 are at their lowest level since the early 1950s: 16.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2eq). The intensity of emissions from French production in 2023 (32 g of CO2eq/kWh) is 10 times lower than that of Germany and more than 8 times lower than that of Italy; thus comparing France to countries with abundant hydroelectric production (Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Austria) »calcule RTE.
The State is counting on this production of decarbonized electricity to attract foreign investors who would like to benefit from this low-carbon electricity. At the last CHOOSE FRANCE summit, on May 13 in Versailles, 56 new projects were announced for 15 billion euros of foreign investments.
Carbon-free electricity, an important asset
Microsoft alone has announced an investment of 4 billion euros in the development of data centers. Objective: to develop its infrastructure in artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud. Microsoft chooses France […] because we have low-carbon and cheap electricitythen put forward Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy, on France Info. Data centers consume a lot of energy and they choose France, it is often one of the assets that are put forward, because we have cheap decarbonized electricity and we will continue to invest in it because it makes France’s comparative advantages extremely appreciated. »
Other parameters also come into play. “Taxation plays a role, land, plots of land, carbon-free electricity, the ability to generate talent, today we have engineers, technicians who are known for the quality of their work, it’s really the whole of the work”summarized Roland Lescure.
France, an investment of choice
These announcements confirm that France is once again becoming an attractive country for investment. According to the EY Attractiveness Barometer 2024« In 2023, for the fifth consecutive year, our country has maintained its rank as the leading European destination for foreign direct investment.. France is ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany in terms of site creation and expansion. If we look only at factories, “ with 530 factory creations or extensions – down 3% in one year – France confirms that it is also the leading destination in Europe for industrial investmentswrites EY. The handful of mega-factory projects, particularly in the battery sector, are the advanced line of a deeper movement to rehabilitate “produce in France”.
The report confirms that new technologies – AI in the lead –, energy and mobility are among the most attractive sectors. This demonstrates the positive impact of France’s reindustrialization policies. In this sense, the France 2030 investment plan seems to be bearing fruit. According to the progress report on the plan by the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI) published in June 2024, at the end of 2023, of the 54 billion in credits allocated, 29.9 billion euros had already been committed. The report by the Supervisory Committee for Investments for the Future (CSIA) published in June 2023 also highlights that the France 2030 plan is leading to the development of the electric vehicle value chain, the arrival of electrolyzer manufacturing plants to produce hydrogen, and the manufacturing of semiconductors. He also mentions the emergence of new innovative players in the quantum, space and health fields.
And to remain attractive in the face of Chinese competition, France is pushing the European Union to protect its industry. In particular, France intends to develop its electric vehicle industry, through the installation of gigafactories for battery production and recycling plants. Thus, to protect European industry against competition from China, which it considers ” “unfair”supported by France, the European Commission has implemented provisional customs duties on imports of battery-powered electric vehicles manufactured in China. These customs duties, ranging from 17.4% to 37.6% depending on the amounts of public subsidies received by Chinese companies, are in addition to the 10% taxes already applied by the European Union. Faced with Chinese competition that has been flooding the European market with low-cost solar panels for several months, industry players are also calling for an investigation into China’s subsidies for its solar panels. What if the European Union and France were on the verge of truly succeeding in relocating their industry of the future?
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