soNews – September 2024

Will it really be possible to produce 60 TWh of renewable and low-carbon gas (not including hydrogen) from 2030, i.e. 20% of the renewable gas consumed in France, before achieving a 100% renewable and low-carbon gas mix in 2050? Yes, it will!

The latest prospective study, "Perspectives Gaz 2024" (Gas Prospects), signed by GRTgaz, GRDF and Teréga, presents forecasts for gas consumption and renewable and low-carbon gas production up to 2030 and 2035. First of all, we learn that the renewable and low-carbon gas production sector – the only renewable energy sector to have already exceeded the objectives of the Multi-annual Energy Plan (Programmation Pluriannuelle de l’Énergie) – has the potential to produce 60 TWh by 2030, then double that in 2035, i.e. more than 40% of renewable gas in the gas mix by then. When asked, the Solagro association confirmed the availability of biomass to meet this objective. At the same time, stimulated in particular by energy-saving measures, gas consumption will continue to fall, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a scenario that is consistent with the European objectives of the Fit for 55 plan. By 2030, 320 TWh/year of gas (compared to 399 TWh in 2023) is expected to be consumed, 20% of which will be renewable and low-carbon gas. Another piece of good news pointed out by the study is that the costs associated with adapting gas infrastructures to the energy transition will remain under control. There's no doubt about it: the third gas revolution is underway!

Remember its name. France's future hydrogen backbone HY-FEN, running from the Mediterranean to France’s eastern borders, is intended to enable France "to play a central role in transporting renewable, low-carbon hydrogen in Europe", explains Sandrine Meunier, Managing Director of GRTgaz. At the end of June, GRTgaz launched feasibility studies for this 850 km-long infrastructure project, which will link a number of major industrial basins, including Fos-Marseille, Chemical Valley and the Grand Est region, interconnecting them with future underground storage facilities. To the south, HY-FEN will eventually be linked to the European H2Med corridor and, in the Grand-Est region, to the future German H₂ network. The studies will make it possible to specify the technical and economic outlines of each section, and to identify existing natural gas pipelines that could be converted to hydrogen.

Eagerly awaited certification. On 7 July, the decree and order defining the pathway for "biogas production certificates" (BPCs) between now and 2028 were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. These directives provide essential visibility for biomethane producers whose units exceed 25 GWh/year.

And with good reason, these BPCs require gas suppliers to include biomethane in their offerings to residential and tertiary customers. Therefore, these texts encourage opportunities for large producers, without any direct support from the State. The industry is calling for this momentum to be maintained and for the trajectory of BPCs to be defined beyond 2028.

Discover the order and the decree of 6 July

In January, four new start-ups will join GRTgaz's Nova incubator for one year. Cocooned by the incubator, they will benefit from all the company's expertise, workspaces and resources at the RICE Research and Innovation Centre, as well as comprehensive entrepreneurial support. Do you know of, or do you run, a start-up that is developing an innovative solution to improve GRTgaz's performance and accelerate its decarbonisation? Hurry, the call for applications closes on 30 September!

• 704 : the number of sites injecting biomethane into the gas transmission and distribution networks in France as at 16 September 2024.
• 12,943 GWh/an : the country’s total biomethane production capacity on the same date, according to the Biomethane Observatory.
   

In a video, François Martin, Hydrogen Business Developer, and Ludovic Lecellier, MosaHYc Project Director at GRTgaz, take a look at the historic investment decision made in April by GRTgaz and its German partner, Creos Deutschland, to build this future cross-border hydrogen transport infrastructure. mosaHYc, the most advanced open infrastructure project in Europe today, is leading the way forward in gas transition.

Gathering close to 1,300 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors, the 2024 Local Mayors and Communities Exhibition (Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales 2024) will be held from 19 to 21 November at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris. Energy and environmental issues will be at the heart of the debates. Visit GRTgaz in Pavilion 4, stand A125.