Conversion of the Lacq industrial basin
Chemical industry brownfield sites converted into circular economy and clean, green and local energy projects
October 2020
Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT)
Launched by the Prime Minister at the National Industry Council on 22 November 2018, and relaunched for the period 2023-2027 by the President of the Republic on 11 May 2023, the national « Territoires d’industrie » programme is a strategy for industrial reconquest through territories. It aims to provide concrete solutions, in and through the regions, to the challenges of supporting industry: development of industrial skills, training, employee mobility, innovation ecosystems, attractiveness of the regions and industrial professions, accelerating the ecological transition, availability of land and revitalisation of industrial wasteland. The Lacq Orthez Béarn des Gaves region is located in the centre of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the northern part of the département. The productive sector is important, with 22% of employment in industry. 6 towns have more than 1,000 jobs, totalling 15,000 jobs, or 58% of employment in the area: Orthez, Mourenx, Lacq, Salies-de-Béarn, Artix and Monein. This is the first « Territoire d’industrie » to be signed by 15 July 2019, a scheme launched by the French government and the Ministries of Territorial Cohesion and Economy and Finance. Focus on the project
The project
Our project is a concrete example of energy transition. We have succeeded in converting brownfield sites from the chemical industry into clean energy production units.
Patrice Bernos Director of GIP Chemparc
The region’s industrial identity has historically been developed thanks to the exploitation of the Lacq gas field and the chemical industry. In order to revitalise the industrial area, the region is now turning its attention to new activities linked to the ecological transition, which provide a lever for stimulating the economy, encourage the creation of new jobs, and represent an opportunity for innovation and experimentation with new technological solutions.
Several investment projects are being developed in partnership with industry.
The Lacq-Orthez community of municipalities has acquired a number of former industrial sites. Fonroche is investing in a methanisation unit, BioBéarn, to produce biogas from agricultural waste.
Since 2019, Total Quadran has been installing four ground-mounted solar power plants covering 70 hectares of industrial wasteland and generating almost 60 MWp, enough to power 30,000 homes.
Groupe Suez is carrying out a feasibility study for the « Pavillon Vert » project, which will produce electricity and green steam through the combustion of Solid Recovered Fuel (CSR) by 2024.
Terega is developing a European-scale demonstrator project to recover CO2 from BioBéarn and, with hydrogen, produce methane for injection into its grid.
Objectives
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Revitalise the Lacq industrial basin through clean energy and circular economy projects
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Turn to renewable energies after having contributed to France’s energy independence with the exploitation of Lacq gas
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Take collective action to convert and develop industry in a given area
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Networking regional and national industrial groups
Specific features of the Territoire d’Industrie programme
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Encouraging attraction and innovation in the region Inventing a sustainable future geared towards ecological and digital transition
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Meeting recruitment and skills development needs
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Investing in the industries of the future and in key markets Promoting cooperation between manufacturers (pooled services, sharing of equipment and solutions, clubs, etc.)