Powering our Belgium operations with Europe’s largest floating solar power plant

As sustainability drives profitable growth for Holcim, we’re shifting to lower-carbon energy across our value chain. With our partners TotalEnergies, we’ve officially opened a new floating solar plant at our plant in Obourg, Belgium, with 55 000 panels.

This innovative facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, has a 31 MW capacity, and will cover up to 15% of the electrical consumption of our GO4ZERO plant by 2030 – the equivalent usage of around 8 500 homes. It will also reduce CO₂ emissions by 110 000 tons over its lifetime.

“By utilizing a unique floating design, the project finds a clever way to boost our renewable energy use while protecting wildlife and avoiding the use of valuable land,” says Stany Vaes, Holcim Belgium Head of Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and Communication.

“It’s a huge step forward in our industry-shaping sustainability roadmap, as part of the NextGenGrowth 2030 strategy."

Building a nature-positive future

This project involved revitalizing a former chalk quarry to create a lake with the solar array, giving a second life to a previous mining site and transforming it into a hub for clean energy.

The ingenious floating design unlocks massive renewable capacity without competing for land. By installing the panels onto a repurposed industrial water body, the plant protects local nature and biodiversity, helping build a nature-positive future.

To ensure that the facility is well integrated into the natural environment, engineering teams carried out more than 700 meters of horizontal directional drilling, to connect the panels to the electrical substation cleanly.

“To protect wildlife and the natural environment, we’ve anchored the solar panels only to the bottom of the pond and not to the banks. We are also suspending work during the breeding seasons and have scheduled it to take place outside these periods.” Stany says.

Partnering for clean energy progress

Our floating solar plant is a milestone in innovation, as well as a powerful demonstration of how partnerships can facilitate action and significantly reduce operational emissions.

Globally, Holcim is targeting a fossil fuel replacement rate of 50%, up from 39% in 2025 – through use of lower-carbon fuels, harnessing advanced technologies and increasing biomass content in the fuels we use, as well as shifting to clean electricity and scaling renewable energy.

By combining our industrial infrastructure with TotalEnergies’ renewable energy expertise, this large-scale project supports this ambitious target, and sets new standards for sustainable operations.

“This collaboration delivers lasting environmental benefits directly to the local region. It showcases how industrial leaders can work together to responsibly repurpose land, protect natural spaces, and drive meaningful climate action, right in the communities where they operate,” Stany concludes.