Belgium: Holcim has paused the €250m ‘green transition’ decarbonisation project at its Obourg cement plant, which involved the installation of CO₂ capture, concentration and purification technology to reduce the plant’s emissions. A final investment decision was originally planned for February 2026, but Vincent Michel, programme director of the ‘Go4Zero’ project at the plant, stated that the risks are currently ‘too high’ for the company to proceed, calling a decision now ‘pure suicide’, according to The Brussels Times. This means that Holcim will now push back its target for the site to become emissions-free from 2029 to late 2030 or early 2031. The decision reportedly followed uncertainty around Belgium’s CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure. The Obourg plant produces about 25% of Belgium’s cement output and emits around 1Mt/yr of CO₂.
Holcim pauses Obourg carbon capture project
