The industrial site of the Gigafactory ACC in Billy-Berclau is exceptional in more ways than one. The challenges are many. The speed with which the ACC plan is being implemented is remarkable: the equipment for Block 1 (erected in ten months) had not yet been completed when construction of Block 2, adjoining the first, began. 

The bare, uncluttered platform prepared next to Block 1 before the summer of 2023 is now a distant memory. The site machinery took possession of the site in August 2023. In just six months, the face of the site has changed fundamentally, and the " shell " of the second building is gradually rising and closing in.

The block 2, the twin of the first, has similar dimensions: 625 metres long, 100 metres wide and up to 35 metres high. The building is erected in a constrained space, contained between Block 1 and a traffic lane that will remain where it is.

A number of construction innovations were used to combine speed and quality of execution. For example, each of the two Mixing towers was built in a fortnight using the "sliding formwork" process. The foundations of the columns closest to Block 1 rest on offset foundations, as it is impossible to literally lean on the first building.

There are still a few dizzying figures to describe this concrete construction: the 1,725 foundation piles, planted at depths of up to 15 metres, were all poured at the end of March. These piles support the 526 foundation blocks, all of which have been laid to date. As for the posts, more than 250 of them have been raised and installed.

A third of the 40,000 m2 of prefabricated concrete panels have been installed on the façades, with the roofs already completed to schedule. Block 2 as a whole has already received 850 tonnes of metal platforms. When all is done, there will be 4600 tonnes...

The construction teams are currently busy raising the walls around the second Mixing tower. A separation wall between the Mixing Cathode and the Mixing Anode is making its appearance on this site, which is benefiting from feedback from the construction of Block 1, affectionately nicknamed "BBD1". 

"BBD2" is due to be commissioned in mid-2025. But before that, other important deadlines loom, including the introduction of the first machines before this autumn.