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1 The Concept of Biorefinery 37

2013
2012 Promo on
2009 Academic and
1994 Demonstrator layer development
1953 R&D layer
Industrial layer
origins

Fig. 2.8 Phases in the development of the Bazancourt-Pomacle Biorefinery from 1953 to 2012

the foundation, these firms demonstrate their open-mindedness and concern for the
development and evolution of the bioeconomy (Allais et al. 2013).
These different stages appear as the addition of different layers around an initial
core (Fig. 2.8). Four successive phases can be seen in the growth of the Bazancourt-
Pomacle site, as it evolved from a mere industrial complex into an integrated,
complete biorefinery. This representation is important, insofar as it proves that even
though the development of the site was not planned, its current shape did not come
about by accident. Indeed, the firms present on the site did not come together by
chance but are result of a strategy that sought complementary activities to diversify
the food and non-food use of agro-resources. Although its growth was far from
homogenous, in the sense that some of the stages took much longer than others, the
Bazancourt-Pomacle Biorefinery can claim to have developed in an ordered way,
and this is one of its strengths (Lapie et al. 2012).
Thanks to all these initiatives, more than 1000 people are now employed on the
Bazancourt-Pomacle site (full-time and seasonal) in addition to at least 600 indirect
jobs. They work 24 h a day to process three million tonnes of various types of
biomass (mainly sugar beet and wheat, but also alfalfa) on a site covering more than
160 ha (c.f. Table 2.1). Two agro-industrial cooperative groups are very involved
on the site: VIVESCIA 21 and CRISTAL UNION 22 (owners of CRISTANOL, 23
24
CHAMTOR, ARD etc.) Their presence guarantees the site’s industrial dynamism,
with more than 20 million euros invested annually and a global strategic vision.
The site is unusual in that it constitutes an “ecosystem,” in which “symbioses”
can develop, exchanges and interaction aimed at optimising its economic efficiency
and reducing its environmental impact. The site has reached a critical size making it
possible to optimise the basic synergies between the different players (water, steam,
energy, waste...), and to develop product synergies (flows of materials between the
units), and operational synergies (R&D, academic research...).

21
http://www.vivescia.com
22
http://www.cristal-union.fr
23
http://www.CHAMTOR.fr
24
http://www.a-r-d.fr