the – Julien thibert – Great witness

A strategic territory south of Lyon, the Vallée de la chimie has been altering for nearly ten years, capitalizing on conventional experience within the fields of chemical compounds and petroleum. Julien Lahaie, director of the Vallée de la chimie mission (which is dependent upon the Métropole de Lyon), testifies to a sure reinvention of this industrial platform through the cleantech section and just lately chosen by the State as a key territory with regard to industrial relocation.
How does the Valle de la chimie mission match into the event of this historic industrial territory?
The mission was created in 2013 on the initiative of industrialists who had requested the Mtropole de Lyon for the neighborhood to intervene extra strongly on this space. A territory which was growing a degraded picture among the many nice Lyonnais and which had not skilled main developments for fifteen years. Additionally, on this interval when land was scarce, the Chemical Valley appeared as a powerful financial axis of improvement.
The mission brings collectively round ten folks with the next goal: to help industrialists already launched in carbon transition tasks but additionally of their ambition to be higher accepted in relation to their conventional actions which generate nuisances. The incident on the Lubrizol Rouen manufacturing facility final yr is a powerful reminder of this.
In 2015, we additionally developed one other part by way of L'Appel des 30! which goals to search out new industrial tasks in chemistry, vitality and the atmosphere to make this territory extra engaging and aggressive. It isn’t a lot the monetary exploitation of a few of their wasteland that pursuits the chemical trade, however slightly the sharing of providers: firm restaurant, guard put up, work physician In different phrases, the discount of mounted costs which for some Seveso labeled websites are extraordinarily heavy.
On the three editions of L'Appel des 30! , we have now 71 tasks, 30 of that are arrange or within the technique of being arrange, like Safran, which can construct an plane brake plant by 2024 Feyzin. We additionally point out Michelin and Faurecia, which have joined forces to create Symbio, a hydrogen gasoline cell plant, development of which can start on the finish of the yr on the previous BASF wasteland.
What tasks are you at the moment engaged on?
For instance, we’re working with the CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhne) on a mission for an electrolyser unit for the manufacturing of inexperienced hydrogen from the Pierre-Bnite hydroelectric dam. The Chemistry Valley is subsequently steadily shifting from a chemical exercise and oiling to a extra carbon-free chemistry-environment combine. Point out must also be manufactured from the Suez CSR (stable restoration gasoline, 50 M) tasks on the Domo Chemical compounds web site or the Metalor plant (15 M) web site which will likely be moved from Oullins Saint-Fons to put in a waste remedy plant. valuable metals for industrial makes use of.
We additionally help service tasks such because the seize of deadly warmth, ie restoration. The manufacturing processes of the foremost industrialists within the valley generate the manufacturing of steam which isn’t at all times used. This steam will then be re-injected into our district heating networks. Additionally it is a difficulty to reconnect the economic platform to the inhabited territory with a view to strengthen the acceptability of those producers among the many inhabitants.
What’s the position of the general public authorities within the invention of the Chemical Valley?
The Mtropole de Lyon performs the position of an integrator. Our help facilitates and reassures the challenges of vitality transition which producers are going through. We don’t signal a clean test once we arrange areas to facilitate the institution of producers. It’s extra of a win-win logic. I’m considering specifically of job creation in a metropolitan space which concentrates 17% of commercial employment. The metropolis subsequently helps however requires social, environmental and financial counterparts. With the thought of creating new sectors and never of going looking in different territories, the picture of Symbio.
Conversely, because of the industrialists, we created a public-private firm across the set up of 40,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels on personal land, assembly the challenges of the vitality grasp plan for the Lyon metropolitan space.
We’re additionally growing a sector across the panorama as a result of, as a result of technological dangers, we personal 400 hectares of land that can not be capable of accommodate properties, public buildings or financial actions. Nonetheless, we can’t not act. We use this land to plant biomass and provide our heating networks or pilot websites on superior soil air pollution methods. To not point out the event of fertile land with the creation of platforms that fertilize the land for all tasks within the metropolitan space.
A one-stop-shop in monetary engineering
The Chemical Valley has simply been chosen as a key web site for industrial relocation. What are the problems ?
The State has launched a course of to determine certified turnkey websites with the target of facilitating the reindustrialisation of France. In brief, facilitate regulatory procedures (constructing permits, environmental research, connections to varied makes use of). The State and the communities in addition to the economic companions commit themselves on brief deadlines to encourage corporations (specifically established overseas) to re-establish themselves rapidly in Valle de la chimie. We’ve subsequently been labeled amongst 66 nationwide websites. We’re actually a one cease store in monetary engineering. In two months you will have to have the ability to give the producer a worth, a bit of land and a hardship.
Is the Valley of chemistry precisely engaging?
We depend on Aderly to search out new channels. For the remainder, we capitalize on the inner experience of the mission and the cleantech section in chemistry-environment. We thus help start-ups, corporations and younger entrepreneurs who work on these topics, by way of actual property and land paths (laboratory leases) in order that they will mission themselves into the long run, the picture of Deltalys which develops biogas options. and winner of L'Appel des 30! .
What in regards to the land accessible and the related points?
Once we began The Name of the 30! in 2013, there have been 60 hectares of land accessible in fallow land. In 2020, 20 hectares are nonetheless accessible, together with 15 hectares situated on Seveso websites. Our redevelopment mission for the Chemical Valley runs till 2030. With this in thoughts and anticipating an absence of land, we have now launched a program to help producers of their renewal of web sites, some buildings as we speak not a lot extra inevitably used, they may very well be upgraded. We additionally strongly consider in a logic of enormous territory, in relation with the Valle du Gier and the Industrial Park of the Plaine de l'Ain which have land and to which we redirect sure corporations that ask us.
We’re not a technople however an industrial platform
Can we discuss relocation within the Valley of chemistry?
Quite, we consider in finding new actions. The relocation of chemical compounds to the Valley might slightly be carried out on the stage of R&D and researchers from massive teams based mostly overseas, for instance, which the territory might welcome because of the pool of skills and industrialists already current. By guaranteeing that the Valley of chemistry doesn’t develop into a campus both. The chance that would come up can be that in the long run, productive actions will go away and that solely researchers stay. We’re not a technople however an industrial platform.
Precisely, what are the extra actions that you just promote?
With round thirty regionally implanted tasks through The Name of the 30! , the chemistry-oil DNA broadens in the direction of bio-source chemistry. The Carbios mission, an SME from Clermont-Ferrand, units up in Saint-Fons at Kem One to recycle plastic endlessly through reprocessing of plastic bottles. The topic of recent energies resembling hydrogen, biomass and photovoltaics additionally animates us quite a bit.
We even have many tasks on composite supplies and earths. Like Terenvie, which associates Serpol (Serfim group) Vicat and who’ve constructed a air pollution management platform through phyto-remdiation. The target is to speed up the transition of the big current industrial websites in the direction of these new topics which contribute to the decarbonisation of the territory.
A horny territory can also be an accessible territory. What are the mobility subjects that drive you?
This can be a main difficulty for the area as a result of we’re counting increasingly more workers within the Valle de Chimie who’re much less and fewer self-reliant with an actual liking for gentler journeys. Over the 2014-2020 interval, we have now initiated a program to deal with infra-ruptures to decompartmentalize sure passages between the Rhine, the navigation canal, the motorway, the system and the motorway. There is just one crossing between Vernaison and Solaize and between Gerland and Givors. A brand new bridge will likely be constructed between Vernaison and les. We’ve additionally accomplished 15 km of routes in delicate mode. The principle demand considerations the bicycle. We’ve additionally arrange an on-demand transport system in partnership with Sytral for all the Chemical Valley for workers but additionally residents.
The problem can also be to depend on the rail whose infrastructure already exists however which isn’t used sufficient to serve the Chemical Valley. Between the south of Gerland, Givors and Pierre-Bnite, there are eight railway stops, besides that the frequency and the service usually are not appropriate. An RER-type system with a mixed tariff might meet this main journey problem.
The businesses themselves have understood the challenges of decarbonizing their actions
Is the Valley of chemistry additionally an inhabited territory with robust public coverage points?
It’s a territory with 100,000 inhabitants. Almost 5,000 housing items are at the moment being rehabilitated as a result of technological dangers inherent in industrial actions. That is obligatory work for house owners, specifically with the substitute of openings and doorways (filming, bolstered frames, containment components) lined 100% by the producer, the supply of the chance, the Mtropole, the Area and the State.
What are the safeguards by way of environmental prevention?
The businesses themselves have understood the challenges of decarbonizing their actions. The state through The Regional Directorate for the Atmosphere, Planning and Housing (Dreal) carries out air and water quality control. These checks are carried out on an ongoing foundation.
The Lyon metropolitan space can also be very mobilized as a result of it has an bold plan on air high quality, through which we need to get producers on board. They’re already engaged on these environmental points. Atmo (Index which assesses the air high quality in areas inhabited by not less than 100,000 folks) goal on air high quality to co-construct data in relation to those dangers. Engaged on the thermal renovation of buildings, mobility, and trade will permit us to work on bold objectives.
Interview by Julien Thibert
Its key dates
2018: Director of the Valle de la chimie / Mtropole de Lyon mission
2010: City planner Lyon Metropolitan Space
2008: Saint-Etienne public improvement institution mission supervisor
2007: Metropolis of Melun mission supervisor
2005: Marketing consultant Social Union for Housing