GLOBAL COMPARISON OF ENERGY SOURCES: WHY HAFFNER ENERGY THERMOLYSIS CHANGES EVERYTHING (French version - FR)
📥 Consult the Manifesto for Technological Sovereignty and Resilience
📥 Climate ranking of energy sources
Independent Technical and Economic Note — EJS — June 2026
Introduction: Energy, a Civilizational Choice
Faced with the US capitulation to Iran, choosing an energy source is not just about choosing a price per kilowatt-hour. It means choosing a level of geopolitical dependence, an impact on soils and the atmosphere, a capacity for resilience in times of crisis, and a trajectory for future generations.
The table below compares all available or developing energy sources according to nine objective criteria, in the French and European context of 2026. This is not an ideological plea: the numbers speak for themselves.
One technology stands out from all the others by its ability to simultaneously satisfy all the criteria: Haffner Energy decentralized thermolysis.
Comparative Table
| Energy Source | Sovereignty | Non-Carbonized | Decarbonizes | Air Pol. | Soil Pol. | CO₂ | Price (€/kWh) | CAPEX (€/kW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haffner H6/C-iC + biochar | 🟢 100% | ✅ | ✅ | 🟢 None | 🟢 Regenerates | 🟢 | < 0.060 | 1,000 |
| Haffner H4/S-iC + biochar (upcoming) | 🟢 100% | ✅ | ✅ | 🟢 None | 🟢 Regenerates | 🟢 | < 0.030 | In progress |
| Coal | 🔴 High | ❌ | ❌ | 🔴 High | 🔴 High | 🔴 | 0.11 | 3,000 |
| Oil | 🔴 High | ❌ | ❌ | 🔴 High | 🔴 High | 🔴 | 0.20 | 1,200 |
| Natural Gas (CCGT) | 🔴 High | ❌ | ❌ | 🟠 Medium | 🟠 Low | 🔴 | 0.12 | 850 |
| Grey Hydrogen | 🔴 High | ❌ | ❌ | 🟠 Medium | 🟠 Low | 🔴 | 0.085 | 400 |
| Blue Hydrogen | 🔴 High | ⚠️ | ❌ | 🟠 Medium | 🟠 Low | 🟠 | 0.075 | 600 |
| Fuel Oil (backup) | 🔴 High | ❌ | ❌ | 🔴 High | 🔴 High | 🔴 | 0.22 | 500 |
| Clean Coal (CCS) | 🔴 High | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | 🟠 Medium | 🟠 Low | 🟠 | 0.16 | 4,500 |
| Nuclear (existing amortized fleet) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | ⚠️ Waste | 🟢 | 0.045 | amortized |
| Nuclear (new EPR2) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | ⚠️ Waste | 🟢 | 0.12 | 9,000 |
| Nuclear Fusion (ITER) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Onshore Wind | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.065 | 1,450 |
| Offshore Wind | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.090 | 3,200 |
| Solar PV | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.050 | 800 |
| Solar Thermal (CSP) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.080 | 4,500 |
| Hydropower | 🟢 100% | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟠 Reservoirs | 🟢 | 0.030 | 2,500 |
| Geothermal | 🟢 100% | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟠 Low | 🟢 | 0.060 | 3,000 |
| Tidal / Wave | 🟢 100% | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.120 | 4,000 |
| White Hydrogen (natural) | 🟠 Moderate | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟠 Risk | 🟢 | 0.045 | Variable |
| Green Hydrogen (electrolysis) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.18 | 1,800 |
| Conventional Biomass | 🟢 100% | ⚠️ | ❌ | 🟠 Medium | 🟢 None | ⚠️ | 0.10 | 2,200 |
| Biogas / Methanization | 🟢 100% | ⚠️ | ❌ | 🟠 Low | 🟢 None | ⚠️ | 0.09 | 2,500 |
| 1G Biofuels (rapeseed/maize) | 🟢 100% | ⚠️ | ❌ | 🟠 Low | 🟠 Inputs | ⚠️ | 0.14 | 1,500 |
| e-SAF (electrolysis + FT) | 🟡 Low | ✅ | ❌ | 🟢 None | 🟢 None | 🟢 | 0.30 | 3,500 |
Reading the Table
Columns
Sovereignty: Geopolitical risk linked to import dependence. 🔴 means critical dependence on global markets (OPEC, Russia, China for materials). 🟢 means entirely local production from non-conflictual residual resources.
Non-Carbonized: The source does not produce CO₂ during operation. ⚠️ means partial neutrality or a short but non-zero cycle.
Decarbonizes: The source goes beyond carbon neutrality — it actively sequesters CO₂ from the atmosphere. Only Haffner Energy achieves this thanks to biochar (a solid and permanent carbon sink).
Air Pol.: Emissions of fine particles, NOx, SOx during production. Coal and oil are the most harmful to public health — their real cost, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, far exceeds their face value.
Soil Pol.: Impact on land (mining, waste storage, leakage risks). “Regenerates” for Haffner means that biochar actively improves soil structure and fertility.
Price (€/kWh): Production cost, excluding subsidies, in the French 2026 context. For Haffner H6, the “net + biochar” line includes co-product credits (200 kg of biochar at €275–420/t per tonne of biomass processed).
CAPEX (€/kW): Initial investment per installed kilowatt. The new EPR2 nuclear reactor (€9,000/kW) illustrates the French paradox: the most expensive technology to build, with the longest lead times (15–20 years), for a centralized result that is not sovereign on materials (imported uranium).
What the Table Reveals
No conventional source satisfies all criteria simultaneously
Existing nuclear is competitive on price but does not decarbonize, generates radioactive waste with no permanent storage solution in France, and depends on imported uranium.
Wind and solar are clean but intermittent, do not decarbonize, and depend on critical materials (rare earths, silicon) whose supply chain is largely controlled by China.
Green hydrogen via electrolysis is clean but three times more expensive than Haffner H6 production (0.18 €/kWh vs < 0.060 €/kWh), consumes valuable electricity, and competes with industrial and digital uses on an already saturated grid.
Conventional biomass and methanization emit particles, do not sequester carbon, and require heavy infrastructure.
Haffner H6: The only source with green across the board
It is the only system that simultaneously combines:
- Total sovereignty (local residual biomass)
- Zero fine particle emissions
- Active decarbonization (biochar)
- Competitive price with fossil fuels from the current H6 module
- Accessible CAPEX (€1,000/kW, financeable via leasing)
- Rapid deployment (< 1 month, no civil engineering)
- Soil regeneration (biochar as agricultural amendment)
The H4/S-iC Module: Further Disruption Ahead
The H6 (C-iC) module is the technology available today. Haffner Energy is simultaneously developing a second module, the H4 (S-iC), whose performance data has not yet been disclosed to the market.
What can be said publicly: the technological trajectory observed on the H6 (continuous reduction in production cost) continues with the H4, which aims for significantly higher production efficiency at a substantially lower unit cost. When these figures are officially published, they will reposition Haffner Energy as the cheapest energy source in the table — across all categories, including fossils.
The “In progress” box in the table is not an admission of uncertainty: it is an industrial promise currently being validated.
Conclusion: Stop Subsidizing the Wrong Column
French and European energy policies massively subsidize technologies that do not get the green box across the board: offshore wind (€3,200/kW, intermittent), e-SAF (€0.30/kWh, electricity-dependent), green hydrogen via electrolysis (€0.18/kWh, competing with the grid).
Meanwhile, the only technology that ticks every box — production, decarbonization, sovereignty, price, soils, public health — is still waiting for the regulatory fast-track that French bureaucracy has not yet granted.
Maharashtra did not wait.
Independent Technical and Economic Note — EJS — June 2026.
The author is an individual shareholder and does not act on behalf of the company mentioned.
This text does not constitute investment advice.
The figures are taken from public sources (ADEME, IEA, IRENA, official Haffner Energy communications) and independent calculations based on public data.
Linkedin: Eric Jacob
Basic private research @ | Multiple Degrees in Physical Measurements | Energy transition advisor