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Published on 22.09.2026 
Belgian company DESOTEC is making a major investment with the creation of an activated carbon reactivation plant in Ruitz, in the Hauts-de-France region.
This is a strategic project for industrial depollution, the circular economy and the sustainable decarbonization of local, national and European industry.
Activated carbon is used to treat liquids and gases in civil and industrial processes by purifying them of pollutants such as PFAS, VOCs, pesticides, heavy metals and odor-causing compounds.
DESOTEC’s solutions effectively capture pollutants, while ensuring their destruction during the activated carbon reactivation process. This approach offers a safe and sustainable solution for managing these persistent pollutants.
More than 150 jobs are expected to be created in the long term.
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With a processing capacity of 48,000 metric tons of activated carbon per year, DESOTEC aims to make Ruitz the world’s largest activated carbon reactivation plant.
The site will house:
The scale of the project cannot be measured by its industrial dimensions alone.
This virtuous circular process offers major environmental benefits.
Once saturated, the activated carbon undergoes a thermal reactivation process that destroys the adsorbed pollutants before regenerating the carbon for reuse.
By reactivating carbon rather than using virgin carbon, the company:
Manufacturers are facing increasingly stringent environmental requirements.
The management of PFAS, volatile organic compounds and other contaminants has become a strategic priority for many industrial sectors (chemicals, manufacturing, biogas production, etc.).
Before choosing France, the group carried out an in-depth location study of several potential sites in France.
The choice of Hauts-de-France was therefore a strategic decision based on a detailed analysis of the qualitative and quantitative factors of each location:
Choosing Hauts-de-France was an obvious decision, given the strategic importance of the French market, its industrial dynamism, and the natural synergies with our existing base in Belgium.
Johan Craeye, President of D.E.S.O.T.E.C France.
France is now a priority growth focus for DESOTEC.
The growing demand for purification solutions – particularly those related to PFAS treatment and changing environmental regulations – is creating a lasting need for the group’s technologies.
Establishing a presence in Hauts-de-France, at the heart of Northern Europe, represents a genuine springboard for DESOTEC, in line with its policy of customer proximity.
By bringing its industrial capabilities closer to its target market, the group is improving its responsiveness, securing its operations and supporting the growth of its business more effectively.
From Hauts-de-France, DESOTEC benefits from transport infrastructure linked to Northern Europe and the international markets, enabling it to optimize its logistics flows while taking advantage of a wide range of freight options (maritime, inland waterway, rail, air, and road).
The strategic location of the Hauts-de-France region in the heart of Northwestern Europe facilitates access to our markets and logistics infrastructure.
And by choosing Ruitz near the Belgian border, DESOTEC also benefits from its new facility’s proximity to its historic site.
A key asset representing a significant competitive advantage:
This strategy enables DESOTEC to build a stronger and more cohesive industrial network on a European scale.
Committed since 2013 to the Third Industrial Revolution through the Rev3 initiative, the Hauts-de-France Region has emerged in recent years as a leading hub for reindustrialization, the circular economy, decarbonization and attracting international investment.
Its appeal for innovative industrial projects and its ability to attract skilled talent were also key factors in the final decision.
🔎Hire your employees in the Hauts-de-France region
DESOTEC’s future site, equipped with an analysis laboratory, will draw on a wide range of expertise, including engineers, senior technicians, production operators, laboratory specialists, and logistics staff.
While costs, infrastructure, and market access remain key considerations, a region’s ability to support companies throughout their transition without compromising their competitiveness is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor.
For DESOTEC, whose business model is based on resource recovery and reducing the environmental impact of industrial processes, this ecosystem is a genuine catalyst for growth.
The region’s commitment to environmental transition is a key driver for the growth of our business.
While Hauts-de-France’s structural strengths weighed heavily in the group’s decision, the ability of public sector partners to provide concrete support for its development proved to be a decisive factor.
DESOTEC received support from the French government, the Hauts-de-France Region, Nord France Invest, and the local authority: Béthune Bruay Artois Lys Romanes Urban Community (CABBALR) in the following areas:
This tailored support enabled the rapid identification and resolution of a dual constraint relating to process water management at the future site, which could have jeopardized the project’s viability.
Activated carbon reactivation equipment requires continuous and back-up water supplies. The company therefore needed to:
Obtaining potable water from the public water supply while being prohibited from discharging any process wastewater into the same system represented a significant technical constraint.
To address this challenge, DESOTEC designed an in-house water treatment plant capable of treating and then reusing all process water directly on the site.
This approach creates a closed-loop water system within the plant itself, reducing withdrawals from external sources and eliminating discharges into the public network.
The savings are estimated at 221,000 m³ per year.
Aware of this issue surrounding the need for supplementary and back-up water resources, Nord France Invest and the local authorities worked together to ensure a reliable water supply to the site.
A supplementary supply of process water from the public water system will be put in place by the local authority (CABBALR), via an additional borehole, intended for use by DESOTEC and by future neighboring industrial operators.
Photo ©Samuel Dhote
Organized by Nord France Invest since 2012, the International Investment Awards recognize foreign companies whose projects make a lasting contribution to the economic development of the Hauts-de-France region.
For this sixth edition, 12 companies were selected in three categories: Jobs and Skills, Regional Integration and Rev3.
DESOTEC won the Rev3 Award, which recognizes investments that leverage the ecological transition, the circular economy, and decarbonization as key drivers of competitiveness.
This award recognizes both the technological quality of the project and its contribution to the region’s industrial transformation objectives.
Photo ©Samuel Dhote
DESOTEC’s investment illustrates the shift in the criteria now shaping the decisions of international groups.
The choice of a region is no longer based solely on land availability and location.
Investors are now seeking an environment capable of supporting their growth strategy, fostering their innovations, and addressing increasingly complex technical challenges.
By combining market proximity, industrial expertise, investor support, and a strong commitment to business transition, the Hauts-de-France region is demonstrating its ability to host high-value-added industrial projects.
DESOTEC illustrates how a new industrial site can simultaneously strengthen a company’s competitiveness, European industrial sovereignty, and the transition to a circular economy.
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Eddy
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