French companies 45-8 Energy and Storengy have been granted exploration licences to search for natural hydrogen deposits in south-western France.
The Grand Rieu and Marensin licences between them encompass over 950 sq km spread across the Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The granting of the permits leans on some 2021–22 publicly funded research into the potential of the location for natural hydrogen. The project was co-financed by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in collaboration with academic and industrial partners.
The exploration from here will involve reprocessing existing geological and geophysical data, alongside the acquisition of new gravimetric, passive seismic, and hydrogen concentration measurements. According to the companies, these studies will be non-intrusive and environmentally considerate.
The aim is to examine the subsurface structure and assess the area’s natural hydrogen potential, informing targeted exploration and potential production. Both companies have pledged ongoing engagement with local stakeholders and have already held meetings with elected officials in the affected municipalities.
In 2023, the French government revised its mining code to prioritise the search for natural hydrogen, also known as white hydrogen.
Momentum has continued to build in the past two years. There have been some recent discoveries that highlight France’s geological potential.
In May 2023, for example, a major natural hydrogen reservoir was identified beneath former coal mines in the Lorraine region. This was estimated to hold up to 50 million tonnes, which is more than half of current annual global hydrogen production. A second deposit of similar scale, valued at around $92bn, was announced in March 2025 in the Moselle area.
There are more than 40 companies around the world today actively looking for natural hydrogen deposits, including many investigating sites in North America.
