No powder, no shells. To remedy a bottleneck which is slowing down European production, the French group Eurenco is reopening a propellant powder factory for shells in Bergerac (Dordogne) in order to cope with the shortage linked to the conflict in Ukraine, and satisfy the desire to replenish a sovereign sector in this area.
The earthworks for the factory are now complete, and the buildings will be built at the end of the year. From 2025, 1,200 tonnes of propellant powder will be produced there each year.
Less dependent on hazards abroad
“It will have taken less than two years to set up this factory, usually, we talk about 4 to 5 years to increase capacity,” explains the CEO of the public group, Thierry Francou, during a visit Tuesday from Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. Heir to the National Company of Powders and Explosives (SNPE), Eurenco, European leader in explosives, propellants and military fuels, invested 50 million euros in this new production tool and benefited from support of 10 million euros of the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA).
“It’s a showcase of what should be done (…) when there is crisis management and you have to be a little imaginative,” says Sébastien Lecornu. France, which is pushing defense manufacturers to produce more and faster to respond to the new international situation, also wants to strengthen its sovereignty by creating national production capacities in order to depend less on vagaries abroad.
Production stopped in 2007
Eurenco has been manufacturing this propellant powder since 1915 in Bergerac, the only site in France dedicated to this production. But in 2007, “for the wrong reasons, decisions were made [par l’Etat actionnaire] to separate from certain elements of sovereignty and in particular the powder sector,” according to the minister. In the midst of a period of falling defense budgets throughout Europe, orders were too small.
The 1,200 tonnes of powder produced each year in Bergerac will fill 500,000 modular charges, slipped into the cannon behind the shell to propel it. This corresponds to “95,000 complete shots”, according to Eurenco.
Order book filled until 2030
A “full shot” consists of a shell, manufactured in France by Nexter, and modular propellant charges produced by Eurenco. Depending on the distance to be reached – 40 kilometers for a Caesar cannon – up to six modular charges are required per shell fired. The group already assembles in Bergerac these modular charges made up of a nitrocellulose casing and igniter, also produced on the site, and powder, which is currently imported from the Eurenco site in Sweden or from suppliers in Germany and in Italy.
Its order book is full until 2030.