ALLICE Members’ Club, 17 March 2026: Discovering a Roullier Group production site in Saint-Malo!

The ALLICE Members’ Club: The official gathering of the network’s members and partners

On Tuesday 17 March 2026, ALLICE members gathered in Saint-Malo for an immersive day at the heart of the production site of Timac Agro, a subsidiary of the Roullier Group. For nearly 70 years, this company has been developing innovative solutions in the fields of soil nutrition, fertilisation, biostimulants and livestock production.

The day began with a welcome coffee at the Roullier Endowment Fund, before the participants split into two groups. Alternating between the two, one group took a tour of the factory located on the Quai Intérieur in the Port of Saint-Malo, whilst the other group took part in a discussion focusing on ways to make the most of the ALLICE studies.

During the tours, members were able to learn about the various stages involved in the manufacture of granular fertilisers for plant nutrition and salt licks for animal nutrition, from the receipt of raw materials right through to the dispatch of finished products to destinations in France and abroad.

A tour of Timac
Agro’s industrial and energy innovations

Among the raw materials required to manufacture these fertilisers, marine calcium carbonate now plays a central role, replacing the traditional ‘maërl’ (accumulations of calcareous red algae growing freely on sandy or muddy seabeds). Extracted and transported by sea, it is then dried, ground and mixed with other agricultural additives (such as phosphate).

This mixture of minerals is then fed into a pre-granulator and then into a granulator to gradually refine the granulation. The resulting granules are then dried again and screened. During this screening stage, non-compliant granules (too large or too fine) are removed and returned to the earlier stage of the process; no material is wasted! The compliant granules are then cooled and coated before being packaged in bags or in bulk for storage and subsequent delivery.

Particular attention is paid to controlling energy consumption and emissions:

• The drying process operates at high temperatures (450 °C at the inlet, 90 °C at the outlet) and is capable of processing more than 35 tonnes of marine calcium per hour. The heating system, which was historically fuelled by natural gas, has for several years now been partly powered by a biomass boiler (for the first stage of drying prior to granulation). In fact, the Roullier Group began installing biomass boilers as early as the early 2000s.
  
  
• Fine dust is captured by bag filters and returned to the production process. Gaseous compounds, meanwhile, are treated in a 17-metre-high scrubbing tower using a water spray system.

The tour concluded with a look at the final stages of salt lick production: moulding, drying and packaging.

All the participants then gathered for a presentation on the Timac Agro factories’ energy action plan, which highlighted specific initiatives relating to the energy transition.

The lunch break, organised as a buffet, provided a convivial occasion that encouraged informal discussions. Participants also had the chance to explore the Minerallium, the Endowment Fund’s permanent exhibition dedicated to minerals and their essential role in plant, animal and human nutrition.

The afternoon continued with pitches from new members – Packgy, Acciona Energía and Alpiq – providing an opportunity to highlight new projects and areas of expertise within the network. The day concluded with an update on ALLICE’s latest news: the 2026 roadmap, the AAC FIRE scheme, the ongoing evaluation of studies, upcoming events, the PRODICEE programme, the “Foundations for Decarbonisation” initiative, and more.

This day, rich in discussion and new insights, fully illustrates ALLICE’s collective dynamism and its members’ commitment to tackling industrial and energy challenges.

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to our member Roullier, and in particular to Yves Roques for making this visit possible, and to Marie Prestigiacomo for organising the logistics of this event!

We look forward to seeing you on 18 June in Lyon for the next ALLICE Members’ Club event.