TotalEnergies puts Adani hydrogen partnership on hold

France’s TotalEnergies has put on hold its planned hydrogen partnership with India’s Adani Group, company’s CEO Patrick Pouyanne said at an earnings call on February 8.

Last year, the French major announced its plan to acquire a 25% stake in Adani New Industries (Anil), a part of Adani Group. Anil is targeting the production of 1mn metric ton/year of green hydrogen by 2030, underpinned by around 30 GW of new renewable power generation capacity, as its first milestone.

Pouyanne said TotalEnergies was waiting for the result of an audit launched by Adani in response to allegations of financial irregularities. Adani has mandated one of the "big four" accounting firms to carry out a general audit.

Last month, US-based short seller Hindenburg Research published a report alleging stock manipulation by the Adani Group and raised concerns about valuations and high debt.

TotalEnergies had on February 3 said that its other investments in Adani’s entities were undertaken in full compliance with Indian laws. It has a 50% stake in Adani Total Private, 37.4% in Adani Total Gas, 19.75% in Adani Green Energy, and 50% in AGEL23.