Discover geothermal lithium...

Pierre Brossollet, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Arverne, was Global TV Industrie's guest. Selected excerpts.

Global TV Industrie: Your group, born in 2018, is based in Pau and has today developed four subsidiaries that reflect your areas of specialization: drilling, groundwater, low-carbon lithium and geothermal energy... Your teams mostly come from the petrochemical sector. What led you to change direction?
Pierre Brossollet : Indeed, we come mainly from the oil and gas sector. About seven years ago, I developed a thesis to the effect that the subsoil was under-represented in the energy transition. Yet it plays a major role and should be given greater prominence. It was this conviction that prompted me to redirect my career and found Arverne. I gathered around me a wealth of expertise in subsurface sciences, and we started from scratch to become today a company listed on the Euronext stock exchange, with 200 employees and a clear ambition: to contribute to the energy transition through the subsurface.

Global TV Industrie : It was important to understand this change of direction, which is part of a broader trend we're seeing today. Your expertise has grown to cover the entire value chain, hasn't it?
Pierre Brossollet : Exactly. We integrate all stages, because we are both energy producers and operators. We don't develop technologies for other industries; we produce renewable, low-carbon energy from underground. To achieve this, we have consolidated a team of geoscientists (geologists, geophysicists, geochemists) and operational experts, to develop innovative projects similar to those of oil operators, but without the production of fossil fuels.

Global TV Industrie : You floated Arverne on the stock market last September with the ambition of becoming the French leader in geothermal and lithium energy. How do you respond to the public's fears and prejudices about these techniques?
Pierre Brossollet : We simply have to tell the truth, and repeat it. If France and Europe are to achieve their objectives, they need to adopt new, innovative concepts. We're very open about the fact that the subsoil has a role to play in this transition, and even has advantages over other resources. Incidentally, we don't see ourselves as champions of lithium in general, but rather of geothermal lithium. This is an important distinction, because there's a lot of talk about lithium on a global scale, but there are different types of lithium.

Global TV Industrie : Lithium is often referred to as “white gold”. You have obtained the first exclusive exploration permits in France, and others are in the pipeline. Is there an acceleration in this field?
Pierre Brossollet : Yes, there are several reasons for this acceleration. Firstly, governments have become aware of the need to be autonomous and independent in the value chain of critical metals, particularly lithium, which is essential for battery manufacture and therefore for electric mobility. Europe is also determined to reduce its dependence on China. Finally, on a local level, it's crucial to create jobs and develop innovative economies. At Arverne, as a company with a mission, we are committed to working with local communities to create jobs and contribute to the energy independence and low-carbon resources of France and Europe.

Global TV Industrie : You often mention the importance of regional roots. You're planning to drill in Alsace as early as 2024. Are things on track? And are you sticking to your targets of 200-300 million euros in sales by 2027 and over a billion by 2030?
Pierre Brossollet : Yes, our ambitions remain unchanged. We're aiming to become the French leader in the transition to energy from underground, notably through geothermal energy in all its forms. That's why we went public. By the end of the year, we should be drilling our first well at over 2,000 meters in Alsace, demonstrating that geothermal energy works on an industrial scale, and that it can be combined with the extraction of low-carbon lithium produced in France.