France’s Dunkirk Port will invest a total of 160 million euro in 2024 and virtually a billion euro over the decade as part of its ongoing ‘green reindustrialisation’ project, port officials announced at last week.
In 2023, Dunkirk says it established itself as a key player in green reindustrialisation. This approach is based on circular economy principles and is reflected through a host of developments related to the “electric mobility” sector. This has led Dunkirk to become acknowledged as the very heart of the Hauts-de-France battery valley. Local players including the Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque and the Hauts-de- France Region, played a key role in this development, which is fully in line with the industrial sovereignty strategy initiated and driven by the French State.
Four electric battery production gigafactories that are setting up their operations in France have chosen to establish their facilities in the Hauts-de-France region, with two based on turnkey business development sites at the Port of Dunkirk: The latter are ORANO & XTC New Energy, who will join Verkor and Prologium in the region.
The announcement of the creation of 2 battery recycling plants, run by the ERAMET and SUEZ consortium, completes this virtuous ecosystem and fits perfectly into the Hauts-de-France Region’s “electric mobility” sector of excellence initiative.
At the same time, Dunkirk has continued to diversify its industrial activities across its port area. CLAREBOUT Group, one of the world’s leading players in the potato processing market, launched operations at its new production plant in the Zone Grandes Industries area (ZGI) end 2023.
And, finally, FLOCRYL, a subsidiary of SNF, global leader in water-treatment polymers, will launch operations in its new facilities in May 2024.
In this way Dunkirk is developing as one of Europe’s leading energy hubs, has now laid the foundations for the mass production of easily accessible, close at-hand and competitive decarbonised energy. A host of other projects are in the pipeline, including an offshore wind farm (EDF Renewables), the construction of photovoltaic facilities (PHOTOSOL and EDF Renewables), the production of green hydrogen (H2V) and synthetic fuels (ENGIE Thermique France’s REUZE project). EDF is also building two EPR2 reactors in Gravelines, which will be set up on the Port of Dunkirk close to the existing plant.
To be able to accommodate and accompany these new key developments, Port of Dunkirk has drawn up planning guidelines to target, order and prioritise the major business development spaces in the industrial port area.
Given the arrival of two new gigafactories, a new road access is to be built at the Western Port side. It will be used to reach these new industrial facilities, to ease traffic flow on existing roads and, at the same time, prepares for the arrival of the CAP 2020 project that focuses on extending the Atlantic Basin.
This work will see 16 kilometres of roads and 7 kilometres of greenways created, waterways diverted, materials excavated and environmental mitigation areas developed in 2024.
The new piggyback terminal at Dunkirk Western Port will be a decarbonised alternative for freight traffic using the Port’s RO-RO ser- vices, as well as for traffic flows generated by existing and future industrial facilities in the Dunkirk conglomeration.
The creation of this rail-road transhipment terminal for trailers and swap-bodies will play a key role in streamlining access to the Port of Dunkirk. Charles André Group (GCA), one of Europe’s leaders in modal shift projects, has been chosen to develop and run this terminal. Work is scheduled to begin this year on a 9-hectare site along the Loon-Plage railway, with commissioning planned for 2025.
Also, CAP 2020 is a major project that focuses on extending the Atlantic Basin by 2028. The aim is to establish a state-of-the-art terminal along a 1,000-metre-long quay to address the challenges of decarbonising maritime transport and port handling activities.
Following the preparatory study and environmental consultation phases, 2024 should see this investment being consolidated as part of the Port’s 2025-2029 strategic project.
In addition, several developments are underway across 120 hectares at the Western Port’s QPO area. It now hosts QPO SAS, a solid bulk handling and storage terminal that dealt with 1.2 million tons during its first operational year. It will also accommodate Orano & XTC New Energy production plant.
Finally, at end 2023, the 80-hectare wasteland, home to the former SRD refinery, was gradually being transferred to Dunkirk Port following dismantling and decontamination. As such, it will offer new opportunities for industrial and logistics projects. Some 17 hectares will be set aside for ENGIE Thermique France REUZE project, a new industrial plant that will convert CO2 into synthetic fuel., while 9 hectares will be used to create a logistics terminal for new cars with the operation entrusted to CEVA LOGISTICS, a CMA CGM subsidiary.
This firm took over the activities of GEFCO, an automotive logistics specialist, in 2022. Dunkirk Port intends to provide a comprehensive panel of services for “electric mobility” and in particular for the Hauts-de-France region’s automotive manufacturers.
