Displaying items by tag: CCUS

Canada: Heidelberg Materials North America has secured government support from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for its carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project at its Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The project aims to capture over 1Mt/yr of CO₂.

In 2023, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry signed a letter of intent to contribute US$191m to the project, with US$34m already allocated for phase one. The remaining US$157m will be finalised through a phase two agreement to support the construction of the CCUS system and a combined heat and power (CHP) facility. The funding has been earmarked under the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) and is contingent on Heidelberg Materials making its final investment decision.

“This groundbreaking partnership with Heidelberg Materials takes us one step closer to a net-zero Canada by 2050,” Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne said. “By building North America’s first carbon capture system in cement, we’re driving innovation, cutting emissions and securing a sustainable future.”

The European Union (EU) is set to launch its Green Deal Industrial Plan, today, on 26 February 2025. It is the latest plan to help industry in the region reach net zero whilst remaining competitive. Key parts of the scheme that have been seen by the media include support for industries facing high energy prices, tax breaks for decarbonisation projects, simplifying the cross border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), linking funding for industrial CO₂ cutting more directly to revenue gathered from the emissions trading scheme (ETS) and revamping procurement rules.

Cembureau, the European cement association, presented its comments on the impending announcement earlier this week. On CBAM it said that more work was required on exports, “such as export adjustment or continued free allowances for exported goods through the application of the destination principle which merits more in-depth analysis and discussion as to its WTO compatibility.” On financing it called for 75% of ETS taxation on the cement sector to be funnelled straight back again in the form of a cement decarbonisation fund. On infrastructure it called for competitive access to low-carbon energy sources such as thermal biowaste and electricity. It also lobbied for the rapid-development of CO₂ pipelines and storage sites. Finally, on lead markets it asked that concrete carbonation and CO₂ use in construction materials be recognised as a carbon sink and that carbon capture and utilisation using CO₂ from industrial sectors be acknowledged through a review of the CO₂ accounting rules in the ETS.

Lobbyists from the other side of the argument, also ahead of the official unveiling of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, took a dim view of the ETS. A report published by Carbon Market Watch and WWF called for greater scrutiny to be placed on the scheme. Its argument is that the “current architecture of the EU ETS continues to reward heavy polluters by granting them free allowances instead of incentivising emissions reductions.” Holcim, Heidelberg Materials and Cemex were each singled out as having received more free allowances under the ETS than the actual emissions they were responsible for in 2023. The report also reflected the growing environmental backlash against carbon capture and utilisation and/or storage (CCUS). In its view the money from the ETS going into the Innovation Fund should be directed at schemes that directly reduce emissions, not at CCUS projects, although it did concede that the cement and lime industries were some of the few sectors that should be allowed funding towards CCUS. This may be a point for the cement sector to watch for in the future if there ends up being a wider backlash against CCUS in general.

The Carbon Market Watch-WWF case is that the cement sector (and others) have received far too many free allowances in the ETS for far too long. The authors admit that the allowances are set to fall fast, to 2034, as the CBAM comes in but they don’t think that anywhere near enough has been done. This has not been helped over the years by news stories occasionally emerging of idled cement plants appearing to make money from emissions allowances. These occurrences date back to the drop in production following the financial crash in 2008 but there have been more recent examples.

Graph 1: Allowances for and emissions from clinker production from the emissions trading scheme in the European Union, 2017 - 2023. Source: EU Transaction Log (EUTL).

As Graph 1 above shows the environmentalists may be overstating their point on the ETS given that emissions were higher than the free allocation in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Roughly speaking, both the allowances and emissions by the cement sector from clinker production have been dropping since 2017 and further back to the mid-2000s. The system is intended to squeeze emissions but it doesn't take into account short-term variations in market conditions. Cembureau data shows that production rose in 2021. Sure enough, emissions jumped above the allocation. Although the cement production data is yet to be released for 2023, it is looking fairly likely that it will have decreased. Hence, emissions have fallen below the allocation level.

Few are likely to be happy with the EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan. For producers, it is unlikely to add sufficient support against the additional ‘green’ cost burden. For environmentalists, it doesn't go far enough. The usual equilibrium for EU sustainability legislation is aiming at the target of net-zero without killing industry. The current US administration has further tipped this balancing act with its threats to fight against CBAM and the like with trade tariffs. Tom Lord, Redshaw Advisors described the EU ETS as a political construct at the Global FutureCem Conference that took place in February 2025 in Istanbul. This also applies to the EU’s green legislation (like any laws). Subsequently, certainty is a word that crops up frequently in discussions about EU green policies. Can EU industry be certain that these political constraints remain should circumstances change? With the ETS allowances dropping, CBAM coming and industry facing higher energy prices than its competitors, we’re about to find out how committed the EU is on net-zero and who the winners and losers will be.

Germany: The Carbon Management Allianz (CMA), an association of emissions-intensive industrial producers in Germany, including cement companies, has urged lawmakers to legislate a framework for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in the country.

Energie & Management News has reported that CMA Chair Alexandra Decker said “Delays jeopardise investments. Regulatory clarity is urgently needed to scale these technologies and achieve the cement industry’s decarbonisation goal by 2039.”

Germany is due to elect a new parliament and government on 23 February 2025.

Spain: Holcim, Enagás and gas supplier Saggas have announced the ‘CO2necta’ project, a joint decarbonisation initiative that will capture, transmit and store over 0.56Mt/yr of CO₂. The project will involve the construction of a CO₂ capture plant at Holcim's Sagunto plant in Valencia. Captured CO₂ will be transported through Enagás infrastructure to the Saggas terminal in the Port of Sagunto, where it will be liquefied and then shipped for geological storage.

The mood music for this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan has been poor. Despite this though the decarbonisation prospects for the cement sector are looking rosier than other industries.

First, the negatives. People are starting to question whether the COPs are fit for purpose. Donald Trump’s election as President-Elect in the US before the event started pretty much set the tone given that he intends to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Again. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev described his country’s natural gas resources as a “gift from God” following reports that, once again, COP national delegates had been caught promoting fossil fuel deals. France and Argentina also withdrew their lead negotiators for differing political reasons. Meanwhile, there has been increasing lobbying against carbon capture from the environmental sector. In short the view is growing that carbon capture is a delaying tactic by fossil fuel companies rather than a viable solution. This poses a threat to the cement sector because its current net zero roadmaps require carbon capture.

The World Cement Association’s CEO Ian Riley asked in a statement whether there might be “...a shift toward negotiations driven by the major emitters - China, the US, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.” However he observed that none of these countries yet seem ready to lead on the climate agenda globally.

Now, the positives. Cement CO₂ sector emissions may have continued to fall in 2023. The Global Carbon Project published its Global Carbon Budget 2024 in mid-November 2024. It predicts that global fossil CO₂ emissions will rise by 0.8% year-on-year in 2024 with emissions from coal, oil and gas still mounting. However, emissions from cement producers are expected to fall by 0.8%. This trend started in 2022. It appears to be due to declines in China, the US and the EU but, notably, not in India. It’s worth commenting here that this decline may be principally down to the parlous state of the real estate market in China, but there is also a lot of decarbonisation work happening. We’ll take a win where we can.

Next, the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s two big announcements at COP29 have been the publication of its Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25 and the launch of international definitions for low carbon cement and concrete. The progress report proffers a nifty update on how well it’s going. Short version: 23% reduction in emissions intensity since 1990; lots going on; plenty more to do.

One of those issues that require attention is low-carbon procurement. Hence those international definitions. This may seem like an abjectly boring topic but never underestimate the power of standards upon building materials. This should help support governments, policy makers and the private sector to set low carbon procurement rules. Since governments are among the biggest buyers of building materials worldwide, both directly and indirectly, this is intended to start speeding up decarbonisation by driving demand for existing lower carbon cement and concrete products. Whether this is the tool that cracks the global adoption of low carbon building materials remains to be seen. Yet the long lead time it took the Portland Cement Association (PCA) in the US, for example, to promote the use of Portland Limestone Cement is both instructive and inspirational. It can be done and it can deliver results.

COP29 has been described as the ‘finance COP’ because the representatives are hoping to set a new global climate finance target. This target, or new collective quantified goal (NCQG), is seen as one of the summit's main outcomes. It is intended to replace the existing US$100bn goal that is due to expire in 2025. However, the question of how much each country pays has predictably caused disagreements between developed, developing and those countries in between. All of this is well above the ‘paygrade’ of the cement sector but is crucial to what happens next, because it’s going to get expensive. Establishing regional carbon capture infrastructure requires serious funding. Time will tell whether COP29 can actually further this aim. The arguing continues.

Spain: Heidelberg Materials Hispania and Enagás have signed a collaboration agreement for a CO₂ capture, transmission, liquefaction and storage project in Northern Spain. Heidelberg Materials Hispania says that the collaboration will support carbon capture installations at its plants in the region. The partners will now produce a feasibility study and technical designs for CO₂ transmission, liquefaction and storage infrastructure, including the use of Enagás’ existing regasification terminals.

Heidelberg Materials Hispania operates the 1.1Mt/yr Añorga and Arrigorriaga cement plants, both in the Basque Country.

Azerbaijan: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has called on governments at the COP29 climate conference to support the decarbonisation of the cement industry. The association published its Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25 to coincide with the conference. The report details the ‘extensive decarbonisation work’ currently underway in the industry, including accelerating carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), switching to renewable energy sources, advancing the circular economy and reducing cement’s clinker factor. The sector expects to commission its first net zero cement plant, following a carbon capture upgrade to Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway, later in 2024.

GCCA president Fernando González said “Our industry is engaged in the most significant transformation in its history. To fully unlock our decarbonisation progress in this crucial Decade to Deliver, we urgently need effective policy support."

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has started the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study phase on the GeZero project at its Milke plant in Geseke. The technical planning phase is being conducted by Fluor Corporation. It will focus on the design and integration of the various systems into the overall technical concept, which also includes a CO₂ transport solution. The technical planning is expected to be completed in mid-2025 with construction scheduled to start in 2026.

Christian Knell, CEO of Heidelberg Materials Germany, said “With GeZero, Heidelberg Materials will rely on CO₂ capture using state-of-the-art oxyfuel technology in combination with a CO₂ cleaning and liquefaction plant. To pave the way for domestic CCS plants, a CO₂ transport solution by rail is part of the planning until the necessary pipeline infrastructure is available. In addition, a local CO2 storage hub is to be created as interim storage. The electrical energy requirement for the operation of the plant is to be covered exclusively by renewable energies. A new photovoltaic system in the vicinity of the factory premises will help to meet the needs.”

The GeZero project is preparing to build a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) value chain for the Geseke cement plant, North Rhine-Westphalia, in inland Germany. It aims to capture 0.7Mt/yr of CO₂ starting from 2029. The project is supported by the European Union Innovation Fund.

France: Holcim has been awarded a new grant from the EU Innovation Fund for its ‘CarboClearTech’ carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project in Martres-Tolosane, France. This support marks Holcim's seventh large-scale EU-backed CCUS project. The value of the funding was not disclosed by the company.

Germany: A consortium comprising Cemex and engineering company Linde has won €157m from the EU Innovation Fund for a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) initiative at the Rüdersdorf cement plant. The project will capture 1.3Mt/yr of CO₂ from the plant’s production processes, aiming for complete decarbonisation of the site by 2030, aligning with Cemex's Future in Action climate strategy. The Rüdersdorf facility will use Linde's HISORP(R) technology for CO₂ capture, featuring a cryogenic-adsorptive process that captures CO₂ from exhaust gas at the source, ready for compression, liquification and eventual permanent sequestration at an offshore storage site in the North Sea.

Sergio Menéndez, president of Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, said "Our Future in Action climate action strategy is working hard to drive several revolutionary CCUS projects across our global operations. While we are working hard to decarbonise using existing technology, an important component of our Future in Action strategy is to develop breakthrough decarbonisation solutions for our industry to reach Net Zero. The Rüdersdorf project is Cemex's largest CCUS project to date, with all the hallmarks and credentials to make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of the cement industry."