ACT (Advanced Cement Technology) Dunkirk by Ecocem: status and timeline

ACT (Advanced Cement Technology) Dunkirk

World's first large-scale commercial ACT production facility at Dunkirk, France. Low-carbon cement made by replacing traditional clinker with supplementary cementitious materials (blast furnace slag, fly ash).

PilotStage 3 of 5

Construction early 2025. Operational target second half 2026. 300,000 tpy capacity.

Updated 28 Jan 2025Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Construction begins at Dunkirk facility

Construction begins at Dunkirk facilityTarget 2025Not yet reached.
Mill equipment installationTarget Q2 2025Not yet reached.
ACT production line operationalTarget Q3 2026Not yet reached.
First ACT cement delivered to marketTarget Q3 2026Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Ecocem announces first commercial ACT facility at Dunkirk, producing 300,000 tpy of low-carbon cement28 Jan 2025

Upcoming

2025Construction begins at Dunkirk facility (next)
Q2 2025Mill equipment installation
2026EU regulations driving low-carbon adoption
Q3 2026ACT production line operational
Q3 2026First ACT cement delivered to market

Current obstacles

Supply of supplementary materialsBlast furnace slag from steel mills; fly ash from coal plants. Supply depends on those industries' health.
Regional market demand300,000 tpy serves a regional market. Building sufficient demand from construction projects requires partnerships.

Physics limits

Byproduct supply limited by other industriesSlag comes from steel production, fly ash from coal plants. As those industries decline, byproducts become scarce.
Composition varies by sourceDifferent steel mills produce slag with different composition. Ecocem must test and qualify each source for consistency.

How it works

3 parts

Clinker replacement

Byproducts instead of heated limestone

Blast furnace slag and fly ash replace clinker made by heating limestone to 1,450°C. These byproducts already exist.

Optimized blending

Precise mix proportions

Ecocem blends materials in exact proportions so cement meets all concrete standards for strength, durability, and workability.

Compatible product

No construction changes needed

ACT cement performs like standard cement in concrete. Builders use same mixing ratios, curing times, and methods.

Spec sheet

Spec	ACT (Advanced Cement Technology) Dunkirk
ACT line capacity	300,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)
Dunkirk plant total capacity	1,000,000+ tonnes/year^R (reported)
CO2 reduction vs EU average	70%^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

1 update

Tue 28 Jan 2025

Major: Ecocem announces first commercial ACT facility at Dunkirk, producing 300,000 tpy of low-carbon cementPressCommercial

About Ecocem

The team behind ACT (Advanced Cement Technology) Dunkirk

Ecocem

Low-carbon cement, ACT technology, GGBS

Dublin-based company founded 2000, producing low-carbon cement using supplementary cementitious materials. First commercial ACT production facility at Dunkirk, France (JV with CB Green) starting second half 2026.

Pioneer in low-carbon cement using waste from steel mills and coal plants.
Dunkirk facility produces 300,000 tonnes/year, 70% lower CO2 than average European cement.
€50 million facility is a JV with CB Green; €3.6 million from France 2030 programme.

ecocemglobal.com (opens ecocemglobal.com)Company profile →

Founded: 200026 yrs
Headquarters: Ireland
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Works in: MaterialsClean cement
Coverage: 1 program · 1 updatelatest 28 Jan 2025checked 10 Oct
Partners: CB Green (Groupe CB) (opens groupecb.fr)France 2030 programme (opens gouvernement.fr)
People: Donal O'Riain (opens ecocemglobal.com)Founder

Spec

ACT (Advanced Cement Technology) Dunkirk

ACT line capacity

300,000 tonnes/year^R (reported)

Dunkirk plant total capacity

1,000,000+ tonnes/year^R (reported)

CO2 reduction vs EU average

70%^R (reported)