16 million euros promised by the Region to obtain the new Safran factory in Ain
Safran will establish its new carbon brake plant in the Ain region. Until 2023, the Lyon metropolitan area was positioned to host the project.
French engine manufacturer Safran announced Thursday that it has chosen France to establish a new carbon brake factory in the Ain region, an investment " of more than 450 million euros in the long term " determined, among other things, by access to affordable electricity.
" As energy can represent up to 30% of the manufacturing cost of a carbon brake, the guarantee for this new factory of secure access to decarbonized electricity at a stable and competitive price in the long term made this choice of location possible ," the group explained in a press release.
" A choice of sovereignty and reindustrialization, of decarbonization and of the future! Thanks to EDF: our clean and competitive electricity attracts world leaders. Industry is here! " reacted French President Emmanuel Macron on social media.
The engine manufacturer had considered setting up its factory in Feyzin in the Lyon metropolitan area. The project had even been officially validated and announced by the President of the Republic, but the manufacturer abandoned it in 2021, due in particular to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on air traffic. The group had revised its criteria with a significant requirement, in particular on " the State's ability to commit, over the long term, to a stable and competitive price for carbon-free energy post-2030 ," it explained. It even went so far as to mention, at the end of 2024, a facility in North America due to the cost of energy.
Read also: Construction of a Safran factory near Lyon threatened by the energy crisis
The state has provided a subsidy of €15 million, and the region has promised a €16 million subsidy, according to the Ministry of Finance. The deadline for connecting to the RTE electricity transmission network, a key point for factory installations, has been shortened to 45 months for this project, compared to the usual 60 months. EDF offered Safran the energy at a price of €55 per megawatt-hour, the Ministry of Finance told AFP.
The Safran boss's comments, which indicated that he no longer wanted to invest in cities run by Green elected officials, had created a controversy in Lyon, with the right-wing accusing Bruno Bernard, president of the Métropole, of having driven the group away. " Not only did the Métropole not cause Safran's departure, but it also reacted immediately to secure the industrial future of the site in question ," the Green Party leader replied. He pointed out that the project planned to replace the Safran factory should create between 750 and 1,000 direct jobs, up to four times more than the 250 jobs initially envisaged by Safran.
Safran's arrival in Ain " is the result of a collective, demanding effort, conducted with method and determination by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region ," also emphasized Fabrice Pannekoucke, president of the region. According to Safran, the factory should begin operating in 2030 and employ around a hundred "highly qualified" people initially, before doubling its workforce over time on this new industrial site located in the PIPA, the largest industrial park in the region, which brings together 185 companies approximately 30 km from Lyon.
Lyon Capitale
