Ecocem is investing €170 million to construct four new production lines in France and accelerate delivery of its ACT scalable low-carbon cement act technology.
The French Government , specifically the Ministries of Economy & Finance and Industry, have committed to working closely with Ecocem in the coming months to identify operational and financial solutions to accelerate and deliver this expansion plan.
This investment is in addition to the €50 million investment at Ecocem’s Dunkirk facility to deliver its first ACT production line. These new industrial facilities will be concentrated in the Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk areas. This additional manufacturing capacity will come on stream between 2028 and 2030. At full capacity, ACT production in France will reach 1.9 million tonnes per year, reducing CO2 emissions by 800,000 tonnes annually and creating 60 long-term jobs in France.
ACT technology is the result of ten years of research and development by Ecocem and is proven to deliver a 70% reduced carbon footprint compared to average cement. The challenge now is to deploy its production throughout Europe and beyond.
Commenting on the French Government’s commitment and its wider implications, Conor O’Riain, Managing Director of Ecocem, said: “The French government, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Industry, has demonstrated its strong commitment to accelerating and supporting the industrialisation of ACT and low-carbon cement technologies. We need this kind of commitment and active support across Europe and beyond if we are to radically reduce the carbon impact of cement – responsible for almost 8% of all CO2 emissions globally. Governments have powerful levers to pull when it comes to accelerating the delivery and adoption of low-carbon solutions, and these don’t need to involve huge subsidies.”
