This is one of the largest industrial investments ever made in Deux-Sèvres.
The Calcia group – owned by Germany's HeidelbergCement, the world's No. 2 cement company – is officially beginning the transformation of the Airvault site (Deux-Sèvres).
Nearly 285 million euros will be injected into this single cement plant founded in 1919 in order to increase its production capacity to 1.6 million tonnes per year.
Modified to 80%, the site will above all enable Calcia to reduce its carbon footprint by 27% per tonne of cement.
“Two production lines opened in 1965 and 1968 will be closed and replaced by a new one.
We will use the best technologies available and will stop using coke (fuel derived from petroleum) and coal by 2025,” explains Bruno Manivet, director of the Airvault cement plant.
7% less CO2 emissions per ton of cement
More than 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste – household or industrial – will thus be used as fuel.
With this project, Calcia also hopes to reduce its electricity consumption by 10%.
“Cement represents 7% of CO2 emissions worldwide.
The group's objective, on a global scale and by 2030, is to reduce CO2 emissions to 400 kg per tonne of cement, the French average currently standing at 629 kg", assures Bruno Pillon, President of HeidelbergCement France.
Read alsoEnergy crisis: the key measures of the government's sobriety plan
After the closure of a cement plant in Cruas (Ardèche) and the elimination of several dozen jobs in France, three other French sites also benefit from heavy investments intended to reduce their carbon footprint: Beaucaire (Gard), Bussac-Forêt (Charente -Maritime) and Couvrot (Marne).
