This new milestone follows the start of preparatory work marked by the laying of the foundation stone for the future Neomat CAM plant on 29 May 2026 at the Gravelines and Loon-Plage site, and the naming ceremony held on 16 July for the tunnel boring machine which will dig the tunnel for the plant’s effluent pipes.
This major industrial project, representing an investment of nearly €500 million, is part of the industrialisation drive in the Dunkirk area and the development of the European electric vehicle battery industry. The consortium is made up of Eiffage Génie Civil (lead contractor), Eiffage Construction, Eiffage Métal, Eiffage Route, plus Bemaco and Ramery. It will carry out the construction of the plant, covering a total surface area of nearly 60,000 m², which will notably include a 45,000 m² workshop, a 5,900 m² warehouse, a 5,650 m² industrial water treatment station and a 2,500 m² utilities area.
The works will require 37,000 m³ of concrete produced by a batching plant installed on site, approximately 3,000 tonnes of rebar and 6,200 tonnes of steel for the metal framework, to be sourced mostly from France and Europe. Up to 400 people, mainly from the Dunkirk area, will be involved in these construction and fit-out works, which will continue until 2028.
“We are proud to be building this plant with French industrial partners recognised for their areas of expertise,” commented Michael Liu, CEO of Neomat CAM. “In addition to safety, we will pay very close attention to quality of execution, compliance with deadlines and the integration of local companies throughout the project.”
“We are now entering an implementation phase with this project, a real testament to the ambition of Orano and XTC New Energy to play a part in building a competitive European value chain for electric vehicle batteries,” added Philippe Hatron, Director of Orano’s Batteries program and a member of the Board of Directors of Neomat CAM. “To achieve this, we can rely on an efficient industrial ecosystem in the Hauts-de-France region and on the skills of leading French partners.”
Guillaume Sauvé, Chairman of Eiffage Génie Civil and of Eiffage Métal, concluded by saying: “This new project is a concrete illustration of our commitment to build strong European sovereignty in the strategic electric batteries arena alongside our industrial partners. The result of cross-divisional collaboration across our civil engineering, metal, construction and road businesses, it highlights our integrated technical know how and our ability to deliver demanding projects in terms of safety, quality and schedule adherence.”
