Elyse Energy, a Key Player at the Fos-Sur-Mer Low-Carbon Energy Hub

NeoCarb completes the consultation phase for its sustainable fuels project

On 20 January 2025, Elyse Energy, an SME based in Fos-sur-Mer near Marseille, wrapped up its innovative public consultation process that reached out to local residents to get feedback on the company’s NeoCarb green energy project. According to the project timeline, the NeoCarb plant will start producing sustainable low-carbon fuels for maritime and air transport by 2030. The fast-rising French company has just secured €120 million in financing and is benefiting from the collective momentum and support of the local ecosystem to ensure optimum integration of the project into the local environment.

Elyse Energy is positioning itself as one of the future pillars of the emerging low-carbon energy hub in Fos-sur-Mer as it strives to provide solutions that will reduce emissions while contributing to France’s energy sovereignty. The company is preparing to deploy an investment of more than €1 billion to develop an annual production of 250 000 tonnes of green methanol and 75 000 tonnes of green kerosene by 2030. The project will help to create 150 direct and 450 indirect jobs in the Aix-Marseille-Provence area.

The NeoCarb program includes the establishment of a facility on 51.3 hectares of land to the north of the Asco Fields site in the Fos-sur-Mer industrial zone. The first phase of the project was presented to the public from November 2024 to January 2025 using a new kind of preliminary public consultation process that involved three public meetings and other measures. “We reached out to a wide range of people to discuss our project. In addition to the public meetings, we went to farmers’ markets, vocational colleges and high schools, the civil aviation museum, and even ferry terminals to meet passengers. It was important to speak with students as they will be our future employees. At public meetings, we set up themed stands to explain the project to the public and they could ask questions in writing. These questions were then debated in a participatory forum that featured highly interactive content,” says Jérôme Giraud, Deputy Territorial Director of Elyse Energy and Director of the NeoCarb project.

 “This approach has put us in closer contact with other projects being developed and accelerated synergies. It has also enabled us to improve certain environmental aspects, and our plans now reduce water consumption by a third. It’s a genuine exercise in industrial and regional integration. We’re benefiting from a highly favorable reindustrialization strategy that is supported by all the area stakeholders: municipalities, local authorities, government departments, the Port of Marseille-Fos, the PIICTO association, and economic development agencies,” adds Jérôme Giraud.

Local and national support

This local support for the low-carbon energy hub is matched by a concrete commitment from the French national government: in September 2024, the former sub-prefect of Istres was appointed commissioner delegate for the industrial, ecological, and energy transition in the Fos-Berre area. Closely involved with the laboratory for innovation on issues such as road development, training initiatives, and the construction of new schools and housing, the commissioner will be part of continuing consultations starting in the spring that will be held in the context of a broader territorial dialogue.

With new European and international regulations requiring airlines and shipping companies to adopt more sustainable fuels, projects like NeoCarb will help to provide part of their supply by creating a true next-generation fuel industry. “We have a letter of support from Air France/KLM and are in talks with shipping companies,” says Jérôme Giraud. The project is expected to generate 500 000 tonnes of new port traffic per year (including the import of raw materials and exports of methanol and kerosene), and is part of a circular economy that will use both locally produced CO2 and CO2 transported via the SPSE pipeline from cement plants further norther in the Rhône valley.  

The €120 million raised in December 2024 from the Hy24 hydrogen investment fund, the PGGM pension investment fund, the Bpifrance public investment fund, and the Mirova sustainable investment fund will enable Elyse Energy to accelerate the development of its green methanol and green aviation fuel production projects in France and Spain. NeoCarb will benefit from part of this financing to pursue its project in Fos-sur-Mer over the next 18 months, and is counting on the support of local authorities to further assist development.

Elyse Energy employs 80 people, 20 of whom are based in the Marseille and Fos-sur-Mer offices. Four employees are specifically dedicated to the NeoCarb project. The next crucial stage will take place at the beginning of 2026 when the building permit and the environmental permit dossiers are submitted for the project’s administrative review. The final investment decision will be announced in 2027.