Yellow-themed carbon fibre factory owned by Greg LeMond heading for Grimsby, and could create 400 jobs

In what's been described as "a massive capital investment" that could create up to 400 jobs in Grimsby, Greg LeMond's carbon fibre-manufacturing company has had planning permission approved for the construction of a giant new factory.

LeMond Carbon, founded by the three-time Tour de France winner, has "applied its carbon fibre expertise in high-performance cycling to other fields, notably the manufacture of wind turbine blades and pressure vessels for hydrogen storage".

Now, the company has received planning permission to construct "a new, state-of-the-art carbon fibre-manufacturing plant" at Energy Park Way in Grimsby, with the BBC also reporting that outline planning permission has also been granted for a second production line at the site.

The facility will consist of a 306-metre-long manufacturing building, a cooling compound and two-storey offices. The design features yellow details, a nod to LeMond's racing career when he won the Tour de France three times, most famously in 1989 by just eight seconds from Laurent Fignon, the men's race's closest ever finish.

The new factory is expected to create up to 400 jobs by 2030, North East Lincolnshire Council leader Philip Jackson celebrating the "massive capital investment" and creation of "new, well-paid jobs", as well as "many additional supporting roles in the local economy".

"The innovative manufacturing of carbon fibre in Grimsby is very welcome and shows that the chemical sector continues to thrive in our area, adding to the diversification of the local economy," he said.

Planning consultants DWD worked on behalf of LeMond Carbon UK during the application process and noted that up until now the UK has been "entirely dependent upon imported carbon fibre", a material that while also used for bicycle frames and components, is also manufactured for other engineering sectors, such as in the construction of wind turbine blades.

DWD explained: "The UK Government has recognised the need for indigenous supply and has supported LeMond to set up a new facility at Energy Park Way, Grimsby. DWD were instructed in 2024, tasked with obtaining planning permission, which was achieved in January 2025."

LeMond Carbon has been outspoken in its desire to "be the the world's leading supplier of carbon fibre to the renewable energy, transportation, and industrial manufacturing sectors" and a few years ago partnered with Deakin University in Australia on the development of production technology that is said to reduce the cost of production by "30 per cent" and carbon emissions by "50 per cent".

In 2020, LeMond Carbon completed a successful test of its carbon manufacturing process by independent technical auditors Bureau Veritas (BV).

At the time, LeMond said: "This is a significant milestone for our company. Having our technology independently verified by BV validates the revolutionary nature of our technology. My team and I are excited to bring our high-performance low-cost carbon fibre to the global market and look forward to expanding into new markets where the current high cost of carbon fibre has been a significant barrier to adoption."

While it was initially reported that by investing in carbon tech LeMond simply wanted to get a jump on the bike industry and benefit his self-named bike brand, the implications of lower-cost carbon fibre would naturally also appeal to many other industries from aerospace to military and any other sectors that use the material.

"It's kind of a little bit of luck, we were trying to make carbon fibre in Oakridge [Tennessee] to get carbon fibre to our customers, and Dekerk [Buckmaster, director of Carbon Nexus at Deakin University] said 'we've created something that could change the whole industry'," LeMond said back in 2020.

> LeMond is promising "transformative change" to carbon construction with all new 8 road bike

Now, five years on, LeMond Carbon has established the carbon fibre production facility in Tennessee, and the major UK-based factory has also now been approved, construction presumably starting in due course and coming with the promise of 400 new jobs in Grimsby and a "state-of-the-art" facility.