Three winners for the reindustrialisation of the Seine Axis

Following a call for project proposals issued last June, three candidates have been selected by HAROPA PORT from among the eight competing for allocation of the “West A29” site. The plot in Le Havre’s port industrial area under the “France 2030 Turnkey Sites” programme, will be occupied by three major industrial projects: LIVISTA, AIR PRODUCTS and QAIR. This historical announcement represents a genuine innovation in the field of real estate management, taking into account the increasing scarcity of available land, soil conservation under the net zero artificialisation (ZAN) legislation and the requirements of the energy transition. These new operations are expected to add nearly a million tonnes of maritime traffic and 500,000 tonnes of river traffic every year.

The 60-hectare site is located in Rogerville, a municipality adjacent to Le Havre’s Grand Canal and the A29 highway. It is one of the five HAROPA PORT plots designated under the “France 2030” turnkey site label and receiving government support for the implementation of industrial projects. The setting up of such new complex, innovative projects must in fact go through a crucial phase involving studies and the obtaining of official permits.

 A key actor in France’s reindustrialisation

 These new operations are part of a wider-ranging HAROPA PORT programme for the development of real estate for industrial and logistics projects, for which the location is ideal due to connection to utilities essential to this category of project (transport and energy supply networks). The real estate still available for development, in the context of pursuance of the ZAN zero artificialisation target and a strategy for greater density of site occupancy based on the reuse of already artificialised land, involves a “reconstruction of the port at the port”. It is a strategy that corresponds to one of the objectives of HAROPA PORT’s 2020-2025 strategic project: to make the port industrial areas of the Seine Axis ports priority locations for France’s industrial redevelopment.

Reindustrialisation of the “West A29” site exemplifies this approach in that it embodies a radically new way of optimising land take-up and increasing project density on occupied plots. The success of this call for project proposals is confirmation of the role of HAROPA PORT as a player driving the country’s economic attractiveness. The added-value for the local region of hosting the new operations – LIVISTA, AIR PRODUCTS and QAIR – on this land is unprecedented since the creation of Port 2000. Setting up this major industrial programme has now resulted in the creation of a whole complex dedicated to the energy transition and representing investment amounting to €2.6bn, in addition to almost 2,200 direct and indirect jobs in the region.

 In the wake of this allocation of the “West A29” site, HAROPA PORT has already issued a further call for proposals for the 25-hectare “East A29” site to be attributed in the first quarter of 2025. In the medium term, two additional sites totalling 100 hectares remain to be allocated in 2025/2026 south of the Le Havre Grand Canal, depending on prospective industrial demand.

 Projects that contribute to Seine Axis reindustrialisation and decarbonisation.

The AIR PRODUCTS project

 Air Products is a world leader in industrial gases, a field in which it has been operating for over 80 years, focusing on energy, the environment and emerging markets. The company has two primary growth areas, both directed at sustainability. Air Product’s core business is the supply of essential industrial gases, along with the associated systems and implementation expertise, to customers in dozens of industries, most notably refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing and food. It develops, designs, constructs, owns and operates some of the world’s biggest clean hydrogen projects, thereby supporting the transition to low-carbon and zero-carbon energy in the heavy transport and industry sectors. An additional area of expertise is the installation industrial gas production systems on its customers’ sites.

Air Products registered turnover of $12.6bn in the 2023 financial year generated by operations in over 50 countries, and its market capitalisation currently exceeds $50bn. It has some 23,000 enthusiastic and talented employees with a diverse range of backgrounds and motivated by Air Products’ higher goal of creating innovative solutions that benefit the environment, improve sustainability and rethink what is possible in order to meet the challenges facing its customers, local communities and the world.

 “As global leader in the supply of hydrogen and groundbreaking projects for large-scale energy transition, we are very proud to be working with HAROPA PORT in supporting its decarbonisation strategy. We at Air Products are convinced that by supplying renewable hydrogen locally across Europe and developing the technology required to do so safely, reliably and effectively, we can collectively make a contribution to meeting the challenge of the energy transition. Air Products has been operating in France since 1919, and we continue to support France’s strategy in accelerating the hydrogen sector in the country.” David Martin, Air Products Vice-President France.

The LIVISTA Project

 Livista Energy, a European leader in the lithium chemical industry, is proud to announce that it has been selected for a prime 27-hectare site at the port of Le Havre.

This strategic location will host a lithium chemical refinery implementing cutting-edge technologies capable of processing lithium using raw and recycled materials. It marks a significant advance in the establishment of a European supply chain for electric vehicles. Plant start-up is scheduled for 2028 with an initial capacity of 40,000 tonnes, which will rapidly double in order to supply enough lithium for the batteries of 1.5 million electric vehicles a year. Materials obtained from recycled batteries will, over time, become the main source of the plant’s base production materials. This will help ensure a positive environmental impact and strengthen Europe’s energy independence. Recycled raw materials are expected to have reached 50% of total plant capacity by 2035.

 The Livista refineries will enable the manufacturers of vehicle equipment, batteries and cathodes to achieve compliance with European legislation on critical raw materials, which requires that by 2030 all batteries produced in Europe should contain at least 40% locally produced lithium battery-quality materials. These refineries will be among the key drivers for the region’s industrial sustainability, thus helping achieve EU zero emissions targets while at the same time reducing dependence on imported materials and boosting the circular economy. Livista Energy has made substantial progress in developing its lithium refining project, enjoying a high level of support from the French government, France’s ADEME energy and environment agency and BPI France investment. These key milestones highlight the strategic importance of the project for the energy transition in France and in Europe.

 “We are extremely grateful to HAROPA PORT and local authorities for their unfailing support for our bid. This project represents a major step towards ensuring a sustainable future for Europe’s EV industry, contributing to Europe’s independence in critical raw materials. We are proud to be in the vanguard of energy transition and fully committed to a circular, resilient economy by enabling the production of lithium-based chemicals in battery recycling plants.” Jean-Marc Ichbia, Chief Executive, Livista Energy

 The QAIR METHAVERT project

 Qair is a renewable energy operator that has achieved a prominent role as an independent player in the energy transition, backed by the experience of its teams that have pioneered renewable energy in France. The group is now offering a novel view of the value chain as a whole, developing multi-technology solutions for renewable hydrogen, renewables on both land and at sea, in addition to Energy Management.

 With 1.2GW of on-stream capacity, the 660-strong workforce of the group is developing a 34GW pipeline in 20 countries across Europe, Latin America and Africa.

 Qair is the developer and operator of a diverse asset portfolio focused on ensuring long-term energy security for its customers. Combining tried and tested sources (wind, PV solar) and innovative technologies (hydrogen and synthetic fuels, offshore wind, renewable hydrogen and electricity storage, agrovoltaic solutions), the group proposes customised and competitive renewable energy solutions.

 The objective of the Methavert project driven by Qair is to set up a production facility for hydrogen and renewable methanol within Le Havre’s port industrial area. The plant will ultimately be producing 200,000 tonnes of e-methanol, providing supply to marine and air transport, in addition to industry, sectors considered difficult to decarbonise (“hard-to-abate sectors”). The project is perfectly aligned with the local ecosystem, benefiting from the decarbonisation dynamic under way on the port’s industrial sites and infrastructure making up that ecosystem, in addition to the existence of storage capacity for methanol.

 Qair and HAROPA PORT plan to work together to put in place a renewable methanol value chain that will contribute to a transformation of the port industrial area and ensuring that Le Havre’s port will be part of tomorrow’s maritime transport Green Corridors.

 “We are very pleased to have been selected in the “West A29” call for project proposals. Our selection is evidence of the trust placed in us by HAROPA PORT for the practical realisation of our hydrogen and e-fuel strategy and our contribution to the decarbonisation of maritime transport and the chemical industry, especially on the Seine Axis. Qair underscores its intention to become a major player in the hydrogen sector, both in France and internationally.” Guirec Dufour, Chief Executive, Qair France.

 A strong commitment to the energy transition

These new industrial operations, contributing as they do to the energy transition in port industrial areas, are additional to earlier projects. In July 2023, the setting up of a benchmark platform for new industrial supply chains for alternative fuels embodied in the “Salamandre” and “France KerEAUzen” projects by ENGIE, were announced following the call for “Le Havre Grand Canal” project proposals.

 More recently, HAROPA PORT and VERSO ENERGY, renewable energy specialists, signed a contract for the construction of a facility for the industrial production of low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels on HAROPA PORT land in Grand-Quevilly near Rouen.

 “HAROPA PORT is making good use of its real estate for the reindustrialisation of the region, with the twin goals of pursuing the national strategy for sovereignty in industrial sectors of the future and helping decarbonise the existing ecosystem. The “West A29” programme is historically important for HAROPA PORT and is an example of our determination to make a contribution to the region’s reindustrialisation”, Daniel Havis, Chair of the HAROPA PORT Supervisory Board.

 “The government is proud to support major projects, along the lines of HAROPA PORT, that will enable the creation of long-term employment in our local regions deeply committed to the energy transition. HAROPA PORT is a perfect embodiment of the ambitions of a region focused with determination on decarbonising French industry. Le Havre’s port industrial area, which has been selected following the call for “Low-Carbon Industrial Area” project proposals, exemplifies our support for the development of “turnkey” industrial sites as drivers of green reindustrialisation. These initiatives underscore the key role played by local regions in welcoming and promoting ambitious projects, thereby helping ensure that environmental goals are embedded in our economy for the long term. Catherine Vautrin, Minister for Partnership with Local and Regional Government and Decentralization.

 “The “West A29 – Le Havre” site is a symbol for our strategy for ports, reindustrialisation and the energy transition. Allocating as it does this 60-hectare site under the France 2030 turnkey scheme to three major projects, this programme is also an example of our port strategy where real estate is concerned: to decarbonise at the same time as reindustrialising. The three biggest port industrial areas – Dunkirk, Marseille-Fos and Le Havre – emit 55% of the CO2 coming from France’s industrial sector. This means that they do indeed represent 55% of the problem, but they are also 55% of the solutions! Substantial levels of investment have made this project part of the dynamic at play across the port industrial areas that will play a key role in the energy transition and decarbonisation of our economy. The work done by HAROPA PORT in conjunction with partner firms, local authorities and central government departments and agencies testifies to the success of our ambitious approach. We will continue to step up the pace of this dynamic in order to support the energy transition and create the right conditions for a sustainable reindustrialisation of our ports.” François Durovray, Minister delegate for transport.

 “The government has undertaken an economic strategy that seeks to reuse brownfield sites in port industrial areas, turning them into a new generation of attractors for decarbonised, job-rich industries. Which is what we see here in the commitment of HAROPA PORT and all the local actors: three high-technology companies planning to set up operations at the port of Le Havre. They will be reusing 60 hectares of real estate and creating over 720 jobs in return for a total investment in excess of €2.6 billion. This is very good news for our nation’s reindustrialisation and the regional employment area.”Antoine Armand, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry.

Tags: Haropa Port, Le Harve Port, Maritime Traffic, ZAN