French gas and power utility Engie said it will miss its target for renewable hydrogen production by 2025 but still expects to have production capacity of four gigawatt by 2030. - Reuters

Engie had set itself a capacity target of 600 megawatt of renewable hydrogen by 2025. However, at the inauguration of a research lab for renewable hydrogen near Paris on Thursday, company officials said capacity by 2025 would be "a bit less" than that due to delays in the payout of French and European subsidies, which has delayed certain projects.

Engie executive Sebastien Arbola told reporters that Engie - which currently has about 20 green hydrogen projects worldwide - should be able to stick to its 2030 targets and should have some industrial-sized projects with capacities of around 1 GW starting up in the second half of the decade.

Unlike most commercial hydrogen - which is produced from natural gas through an energy-intensive and polluting process called steam reforming - green hydrogen is made by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity from renewables such as solar or wind.

France plans to invest 9 billion euros ($8.78 billion) in the green hydrogen industry and has set a target to become one of the European leaders in low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030.

Engie said that some three quarters of its green hydrogen would be produced abroad, notably in the Middle East, Chile or Brazil, where renewable energy is abundant and cheap.

The hydrogen would be liquefied and transported to Engie customers in Europe and the United States, Arbola said.

Asked whether these plans could increase French dependence on foreign energy sources as Europe tries to diversify away from Russian gas, Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor said green hydrogen could play a role in French energy supply diversification.

The key thing will be to make sure that we do not become overly dependent on imported hydrogen and that we make sure we have a range of suppliers.

Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor