A sensational and jaw-dropping 34m high construction: review of the construction site of the new ACC Gigafactory in Billy-Berclau Douvrin, in the Hauts-de-France. 

A license to impress – A LOT! The main building of the Gigafactory, which measures between 10m and 34m high, and occupies an area of 644m x 94m long is so monumental, that you could spot it from far away.  ACC’s first Gigafactory, built on Stellantis’ former Française de Mécanique site, is well underway, in line with our planned routemap! By mid-September, the slabs and covered enclosure of the main building will be completed which should allow us to provide space for the process teams to start implementing the production material before the end of the year.

Construction started in January 2022, and since then the building site has progressed rapidly. Between 40 and 60 companies and 260 people —In September, this number will rise to 300—are working together in harmony to meet our target: the start of battery production in the second half of 2023. 

The numbers are impressive: 

• 15,458 m3 of concrete and 2,983 tons of steel were necessary to build the concrete framework. 1,486 trucks delivered the material. 
• 1500 tons of steel were used to build the steel framework. 
• The construction itself utilised 11,000 m3 of CEP concrete (cast in place), 1,200 tons of steel, 1,237 posts, 330 prefabricated poles, 1,355 prefabricated beams, 3,500 prefabricated panels, 3,500 m2 of precast slabs, and 8,900 m2 of precast walls...
• 34,000 m3 of excavation and 22,000 m3 of backfill were done. 

In addition to the main building, another 20 buildings and ancillary structures (electrical, chilled water, etc.) are being built to allow for the functioning of the Gigafactory. 

A lot of numbers… that all converge to say one thing: our adventure is becoming everyday more concrete. Plans are coming off the ground!

From the air, ACC’s Gigafactory looks like the perfect place to plan the future of electric mobility: the production lithium-ion battery cells and modules on a huge scale to power the next generation of vehicles. We aim to launch production in 2023, with an initial capacity of at least 13,4 GWh and once the 3 production blocks are built, by 40 GWh at the end of 2029. The site has space to accommodate a 4th block if more space is needed. 

To be continued! 
Until then, here are a few pictures to ratchet up your excitement levels!