Between 24 March - 20 June 2025, a public consultation will be held on the Rhône decarbonation project led by Vicat, SPSE, Elengy and RTE. The Rhône decarbonation project plans to create a chain for capturing, transporting, liquefying and loading CO2 into ships from the Vicat group's cement works located in the municipalities of Montalieu-Vercieu and Bouvesse-Quirieu, in Isère, via an existing transport pipeline along the Rhône valley operated by the company SPSE, and to a liquefaction and ship loading terminal planned for the Fos Tonkin site operated by the company Elengy, in Fos-sur-Mer, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
Organised in accordance with the Environmental Code, this consultation is overseen by three independent guarantors appointed by the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP). Open to all, its objectives are to inform the public, answer questions and debate aspects of the project, including its rationale, implementation and impacts. Various means of exchange and expression will be established to allow the public to learn and contribute.
Vicat, SPSE and Elengy have decided to combine their expertise to propose the Rhône decarbonation project, in favour of accelerating the ecological transition. The project aims to make the Montalieu-Vercieu plant the first zero-CO2 emission cement plant in France by 2030, and to contribute to achieving European and national objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonising industry. It also aims to contribute to industrial sovereignty and maintaining jobs in the Rhône Valley. It would represent 1.2Mt of unavoidable CO2 emissions captured from the Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant, transported by the SPSE pipeline and liquefied at the Fos-Tonkin terminal.
RTE, the public electricity transmission network operator, is involved in the project for the electrical connection of the Vicat cement plant in Montalieu-Vercieu and the increase in electrical power delivered to the Fos Tonkin terminal operated by Elengy. In accordance with the Environmental Code, RTE is systematically a co-seizure party to the CNDP on large-scale projects, whether for production or consumption.
