Displaying items by tag: CCUS

Spain: The Spanish cement manufacturers' association, Oficemen, has signed a two-year co-operation agreement with utilities provider Enagás. Under the agreement, the pair will explore decarbonisation techniques and solutions, including the development of infrastructure for transporting captured CO₂, as well as hydrogen and oxygen. Oficemen members reduced their total CO₂ emissions by 44% between 1990 and 2022. Europa Press News has reported that Oficemen believes that carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be crucial in realising the industry’s 2050 climate neutrality goal. Oficemen became the first industrial association in Spain to publish a net zero roadmap in 2020.

Italy: Utilities provider Snam says that it has begun selecting partners for its upcoming Ravenna carbon capture and storage (CCS) transport network. The network will connect hard-to-abate industrial facilities in Ravenna with 500Mt of CO₂ storage space in the Mediterranean Sea. The total cost of infrastructure for the project is Euro350m.

CEO Stefano Venier said "The cement industry will be a central partner in this project. A partnership with Heidelberg will be announced in a few days."

UK: Aggregate Industries has engaged energy engineering firm Petrofac to investigate a carbon capture project at its Cauldon cement plant. Petrofac is currently conducting early engineering assessments to identify CO₂ capture opportunities at the plant in Staffordshire. This includes technology selection for any future project. Upon commissioning, a carbon capture system will support the storage of up to 600,000t/yr of CO₂ from the Cauldon cement plant under the Irish Sea as part of the cross-industry Peak Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.

Aggregate Industries decarbonisation manager Luke Olly said "Aggregate Industries is excited to be launching this carbon capture study, as we are aiming to fully decarbonise our cement plant by 2030. This technology is an important part of our strategy."

Petrofac head of business development energy transition projects, Alex Haynes, said "We’re looking forward to working with Aggregate Industries UK in finding a way to reduce the carbon footprint of its cement products."

Germany: Switzerland-based CO₂ mineralisation technology developer Neustark says that it sees major potential for recycling concrete from construction and demolition waste (CDW) to produce carbon-negative products using its process in Germany. Neustark inaugurated its first German plant, and 12th overall, at Marzahn in Berlin in late 2023. Capital Online News has reported that the start-up estimates that Germany generates 60Mt/yr of CDW concrete, but only recycles 600,000t/yr (1%). This contrasts with international CDW concrete recycling rates as high as 15% in Switzerland and the US.

The start-up, founded at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 2019, currently absorbs 10kg/t of CO₂ in its recycled materials, but aims to reach 60kg/t. Its investors include Holcim.

Europe: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials has announced the launch of EvoZero carbon captured net zero cement. The company produces EvoZero cement at its Brevik cement plant in Norway. It says that this is the first cement to achieve net zero CO₂ emissions through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCUS), without relying on other methods of compensation in its carbon accounting.

Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “The launch of our unique EvoZero products is a paradigm shift in the decarbonisation of our sector. Carbon capture and storage is a breakthrough technology for the building materials industry and we are frontrunners in deploying it at scale. With EvoZero, we are offering the industry’s most innovative, globally unique product for our customers, enabling them to drive cutting-edge, environmentally friendly construction projects. I am very proud of the dedication and passion of everyone involved in our pioneering project in Brevik.”

Denmark: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark will today inaugurate the ConsenCUS CO₂ capture pilot unit at Aalborg Portland Cement’s Rørdal plant. Kadri Simson, the European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner, and Lars Aagaard, the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Supply Minister, will also attend the event. A European Commission-run carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) forum will take place in Aalborg at the same time.

Aalborg Portland Cement first established a CCUS pilot project called CORT at its cement plant in 2022 in collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) with support from the EU Innovation Fund. This is now being replaced by the ConsenCUS pilot. The new project will test a more energy-efficient CCS technology that can potentially halve the energy consumption compared to traditional CO₂ capture methods by driving the process exclusively via electricity. The project partners will also investigate converting the captured CO₂ into potassium formate, a valuable resource for the chemical industry. The ConsenCUS project is supported by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) says that provisions for investments and supportive measures in the government’s Fall Economic Statement 2023 will help to ensure the successful roll-out of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for industrial decarbonisation. The statement commits the government to advancing a CCUS Investment Tax Credits (ITC) scheme.

CAC president and CEO Adam Auer said “We commend the government’s recognition of the importance of CCUS in achieving our climate objectives. The cement industry is committed to reducing its carbon footprint, and these investments will facilitate the deployment of innovative technologies that are essential for achieving our Concrete Zero sustainability action plan objectives.”

India: A report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), funded by power provider BP, has estimated that India’s cement and steel sectors will require capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments of US$627bn in order to reach net zero CO₂ emissions. The report stated that waste heat recovery (WHR) and other efficiency-enhancing upgrades to cement plants can immediately reduce the industry’s emissions by 32%.

United News of India has reported that CEEW CEO Arunabha Ghosh said "Incentivising renewable energy will play a pivotal role in decarbonisation, through lower or no transmission charges at central and state levels. The government of India should develop a policy for and expedite the establishment of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage ecosystem to abate more than half of the emissions from the existing steel and cement plants.” Ghosh added “Since hydrogen will play a key role in its implementation, the next phase of the National Green Hydrogen Mission should focus on this agenda."

Switzerland: Holcim recorded 7.4% year-on-year growth in its organic sales to US$15.3bn in the first half of 2023. However, in real terms, its sales fell by 11% year-on-year from US$17.1bn during the first half of 2022. Its sales of cement grew by 13.8% on an organic basis to US$7.93bn, down by 21% in real terms from US$10bn. Cement constituted 52% of revenues, compared to 58% in the first half of 2022. Holcim's group share of net income rose by 9% to US$1.47bn from US$1.35bn.

Chair and chief executive officer Jan Jenisch noted 'continued profitable expansion' in the growing North American market and 'accelerated green growth' in the group's Europe and Latin America regions. He said “In line with our Strategy 2025 - Accelerating Green Growth, we reduced our overall CO₂/net sales by 18% while building billion-dollar brands with ECOPact and ECOPlanet. It’s exciting to be at the forefront of decarbonising Europe with three additional grants from the EU Innovation Fund for our carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects, making us the first in our sector with five projects supported by the EU. We look forward to finishing the year strong and to further decarbonising building.” Jenisch concluded that the results 'confirm Holcim’s strong positions across all markets, delivering superior profitability and growth with leading sustainable building solutions and brands.'

World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) launched the Green Cement Technology Tracker on 20 July 2023. The Green Cement Technology Tracker presents users with a real-time overview of active initiatives to reduce CO₂ emissions in the global cement industry. At present, the tracker covers carbon capture projects, which account for 36% of planned emissions reductions under the GCCA’s 2050 Roadmap for Net Zero Carbon Concrete. The partners plan to subsequently expand the scope of coverage to other emissions reduction technologies.

GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said “Unleashing technology such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage is key to achieving our net zero mission in our sector. Carbon capture pilots, projects and announcements are picking up pace across the world. This technology works, and our next goal is to scale up, working with stakeholders such as governments and the investment community to help transform the industry worldwide.”

The Green Cement Technology Tracker is freely accessible here on the LeadIT website.