France extends tax credit for cleantech industry for 3 years

The French government has decided to extend the tax credit for cleantech industry for another 3 years.

Introduced by the 2023 Green Industry Act, the green industry investment tax credit (C3IV) forms part of France’s long-term strategy to accelerate reindustrialization and establish the country as a European leader in cleantech industry.

The C3IV enables companies to develop new industrial projects across four key sectors supporting electrification: batteries, wind power, solar panels and heat pumps. The scheme covers the full value chain, including the manufacture of equipment, components and essential sub-components, as well as the production and processing of critical raw materials required for these technologies. The list of eligible activities is set out in an order dated Aug. 10, 2026, published in the Official Journal on Aug. 12, 2026.

The rules governing the C3IV and procedures for submitting approval applications are available on the impots.gouv.fr website.

The extension of the C3IV is expected to support around 40 projects through 2030, representing approximately €8 billion in industrial investment and the creation of 20,000 direct jobs, at an estimated cost of €1.1 billion ($1.27 billion).

Since its introduction in 2024, the C3IV has supported around 73 projects representing €3.6 billion in investment, subject to completion. These projects are expected to generate nearly €22 billion in total investment. Notable projects include the modernization of Siemens Gamesa’s wind turbine blade plant in Le Havre and the construction of a permanent magnet recycling plant by Carester in Lacq.

A key test for France’s green industrial policy is the country’s effort to rebuild domestic PV manufacturing.

Holosolis is advancing plans for a 5 GW cell and module factory in Hambach, with production targeted for 2027 and a planned ramp-up to full capacity by 2030. The project has secured more than €220 million in initial financing, including €200 million through the C3IV, and has brought in Trina Solar as a strategic technology partner.

Carbon, meanwhile, abandoned its planned 5 GW integrated factory in Fos-sur-Mer in May 2026, citing insufficient regulatory visibility and investor guarantees. The company had previously explored a smaller module assembly plant and partnerships, including with Longi, but ultimately concluded that the absence of clear and predictable European market-preference mechanisms made the full-scale project unviable.

France’s PV manufacturing sector has also experienced a series of high-profile failures.

Photowatt, one of the country’s oldest solar manufacturers, filed for insolvency in 2011 before being acquired by EDF in 2012. More than a decade later, EDF Renewables shut down the company’s Bourgoin-Jallieu manufacturing operations in January 2025 after concluding that the business could not achieve long-term financial balance in a highly competitive global market.

Systovi, which had operated in France since 2008, provides another example. The company entered liquidation in April 2024 after failing to attract a buyer, despite having invested in a new production line and expanded its annual module capacity to 80 MW.