France: SPIE completes HVAC technical installations at the new Clean Cells site in the Vendée

Saint-Denis, 14 September 2023 – SPIE Building Solutions, a subsidiary of SPIE France, which specialises in expertise dedicated to building intelligence and performance, has just completed the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) installations at the new Clean Cells site. The site of this pharmaceutical subsidiary of the French group Clean Biologics is located in Montaigu in the Vendée (western part of France). This new production unit, consisting of high-performance clean rooms, allows Clean Cells to quadruple its analytical capacity and double its capacity to produce and store cell and virus banks in a designated environment.

To support its growth, which is linked to increasing demand for its services, Clean Cells has decided to create two new buildings with a total area of 5,250 m² in Montaigu in the Vendée: a technical building incorporating the quality control and production activity of Clean Cells (securing and classifying biomedicines, such as vaccines, and custom production) and a tertiary building comprising its head office. Following a consultation, Clean Cells selected SPIE Building Solutions, a French subsidiary of the SPIE group, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, to perform the technical installations for these two buildings. Work began in July 2021.

Temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.: a complete range of services to manage the internal conditions within the clean rooms

In the technical building (3500 m²), the work by SPIE Building Solutions allows the laboratory to carry out its activities in optimal conditions. The clean rooms used in the pharmaceutical industry require the complete absence of particles and, therefore, air processing, temperature and pressure control and a specific level of humidity.
For this laboratory, SPIE Building Solutions has installed:

• Nine processing units and the associated extractors, in order to control dust accumulation.
• A laboratory pressure management system to control air flows and avoid contamination of clean rooms.
• Two pieces of equipment to ensure a stable temperature:
  • A cooling system that operates via the production of chilled water.
  • Hot water production via two boilers with gas burners.
• In addition, a softened water production system will supply the laboratory’s processes.

Technical expertise that meets the energy performance requirements of the building

For the tertiary building (1,750 m²), SPIE Building Solutions’ work concerned:

• Temperature control of the offices via an energy recovery VFR (Variable Refrigerant Flow) air conditioning system.
• Air renewal in the offices via an energy recovery air processing unit.
• Installing sewerage and plumbing.

All the services, which have involved up to 25 SPIE Building Solutions staff members during the most intense periods, allow Clean Cells to benefit from an efficient and reliable work tool, characterised by autonomous and state-of-the-art installations.

“This project has been challenging from a technical point of view. Our teams are proud to have worked on this complex project, which brings together a great deal of SPIE Building Solutions’ knowledge and expertise,” comments Anthony Guilbot, Business Manager at SPIE Building Solutions. “This facility is an excellent illustration of our expertise in the pharmaceutical sector, where we want to grow further.”

“We are delighted to have worked with the SPIE Building Solutions teams on this pivotal project in our development strategy. We particularly appreciated the degree of knowledge and technical expertise of our contacts, as well as the smooth and regular exchanges that allowed the project to be carried out under the best possible conditions,” adds Cécile Guémas, Director of Infrastructure and Project Manager for this new building at Clean Cells.