Ecocem, a cement technology company developing lower-carbon construction alternatives, is using its ACT cement in a 151-home residential development in Chessy, near Paris.
The Parker & Baker project comprises 147 apartments and four houses and uses around 9,000m³ of concrete made with ACT cement. A dedicated on-site mobile batching plant produces the concrete.
Ecocem describes the project as the first full-scale residential development anywhere in the world to use ACT cement across every concrete element under real-world construction conditions. It follows more than 40 pilot projects involving the technology across France and Europe.
ACT moves into full-scale residential construction
ACT has been developed through more than 10 years of research and innovation. The technology replaces up to 70% of clinker, the most carbon-intensive component of cement, with lower-carbon supplementary cementitious materials and limestone filler.
It is designed as a drop-in replacement for conventional cement and can be used with existing manufacturing infrastructure, batching operations and construction methods.
For Parker & Baker, Ecocem developed four ACT-based concrete formulations to meet the project’s structural, durability and operational requirements. Regular testing during construction monitored the concrete’s technical performance and quality.
The concrete is being produced by a mobile batching plant using a single cement silo. Ecocem says that testing during construction found no impact on concrete quality, construction sequencing or site operations.
Compared with the original conventional concrete specification, the use of ACT has reduced the project’s embodied carbon by about 55%.
A 151-home test of commercial readiness
The scale of the Chessy project sets it apart from the pilot work that preceded it. ACT is being applied across the concrete elements of a major residential development, rather than confined to individual trials.
Construction began in the third quarter of 2025. Structural works are scheduled for completion in September 2026, with the overall project due to be completed in the second quarter of 2027.
Legendre Immobilier and Plurial Novilia are the developers, with Arcas Paris serving as the architect.
The project is also testing whether ACT can be incorporated into conventional construction without altering how concrete is produced or used on site. Ecocem says that regular checks during the works have confirmed the required technical performance and that construction operations have continued without disruption.
Ecocem prepares ACT production capacity in Dunkirk
Ecocem is building its first dedicated ACT production line in Dunkirk, France. The line is expected to be operational by the end of 2026 and will have capacity to produce more than 300,000t of ACT cement a year.
Ecocem says it plans to begin commercialising ACT cement in early 2027. The Dunkirk capacity is intended to support the wider use of the technology across Europe.
For the Chessy project, the focus has been on demonstrating that ACT can be used throughout a residential development under normal construction conditions. The planned Dunkirk production line would provide the manufacturing capacity for the next stage.
