
Displaying items by tag: Department of Energy
US: The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has selected Cemex's Knoxville cement plant in Tennessee as the site for a carbon capture, removal and conversion test centre. The project is part of a US$101m initiative shared among five projects that aim to decarbonise cement plants and power facilities.
Cemex, in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and a coalition of US cement producers, will develop the conceptual design, business, technical and managerial frameworks for the test centre under Phase 1. Phase 2 will involve constructing and operating the centre to evaluate advanced carbon management systems.
Jaime Muguiro, president of Cemex US, said “While we are making steady progress, the cement industry has the opportunity to accelerate the pace of our decarbonisation even more. I am excited that our Knoxville cement plant has been selected as the host site for the carbon capture test centre. Through collaboration and continuous innovation with the University of Illinois and industry peers, Cemex is committed to advancing decarbonisation solutions.”
US: The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced US$101m in funding for five projects to establish carbon capture, removal, and conversion test centres for cement plants and power facilities. The test centres aim to cost-effectively research and evaluate technologies to capture and convert CO₂ into products from utility and industrial sources, or by removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The initiative aims to reduce CO₂ emissions, promote sustainable technologies and create job opportunities.
Notable projects include the University of Illinois in Urbana, which plans to design a test centre to evaluate carbon management technologies for the cement industry, and Holcim US, which intends to establish a Cement Carbon Management Innovation Centre at its Hagerstown facility in Maryland.
Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, said “Carbon management technologies such as carbon capture can significantly reduce emissions from fossil energy use and key industrial processes, like cement production. By investing in test centres, we are helping reduce barriers to commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture, conversion and removal technologies that will ultimately help reduce pollution and create jobs.”
Calix’s Leilac projects secure DOE funding
10 January 2025US: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded funding for two Leilac projects to conduct preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) studies, subject to final negotiations.
A project at Roanoke Cement Company in Virginia, led by Titan Group in partnership with Leilac, Amazon and Virginia Tech, received US$1.49m. It aims to capture over 500,000t/yr of CO₂ from cement Scope 1 emissions using Leilac’s technology.
A project at Mississippi Lime Company in St Louis, Missouri, in partnership with Leilac, Industrial Ally and Nuada, received US$1.5m. It seeks to achieve net-zero lime manufacturing by integrating Leilac’s CO₂ capture technology with Nuada’s carbon capture system for combustion emissions.
Calix CEO Phil Hodgson said “We look forward to concluding the grant agreements and developing these exciting projects that have the potential to demonstrate industry-leading solutions to produce both low-carbon cement and lime at commercial scale.”
Portland Cement Association asks US Department of Energy to consider alternative fuels
23 December 2024US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has asked the US Department of Energy to add alternative fuels to its Material Circularity Framework. It said that alternative fuels in the cement manufacturing process are better for the environment than the use of traditional fuels and that it diverted a significant amount of materials from landfill. The PCA said that the DOE’s Framework “…should address how to promote circularity through alternative fuels and replacement of raw materials to promote reducing greenhouse gases emissions.”
The DOE released its draft strategic framework ‘Circularity for Secure and Sustainable Products and Materials’ in October 2024. It asked for feedback from stakeholders by mid-December 2024. The framework is intended to identify opportunities and challenges to use circularity to decarbonise industry, secure supply chains, benefit communities and create jobs. The draft mentions recycling concrete and generating secondary cementitious materials from recovered material streams.
Vicat subsidiary to develop Lebec Net Zero project with DOE funding
16 December 2024US: Vicat subsidiary National Cement Company of California has signed a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to develop the Lebec Net Zero (LNZ) project at its Lebec cement plant in California.
The agreement commits up to US$500m, covering up to 50% of the Phase one cost. The project includes constructing a CO₂ sequestration facility with a 0.95Mt/yr capacity, enabling the plant to capture ‘almost all’ of the plant’s emissions. It will also increase alternative fuel use from locally sourced biomass and reduce the plant’s clinker factor by producing calcined clay-based cement. The plant will reportedly produce carbon-neutral cement.
The first step will be to conduct a preliminary engineering study and establish a community advisory body in charge of relations with local communities. Phase one will run through the first quarter of 2026.
US: Sublime Systems has completed negotiations with the US Department of Energy for a US$87m grant to build a ‘clean’ cement manufacturing plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The company will now commence site engineering, design and permitting. The Holyoke plant will demonstrate full-scale operations of its cement manufacturing process when production begins in 2026. Sublime Systems expects to create 70 - 90 jobs once its new plant is operational.
Terra CO2 to launch low-carbon cement production in Utah
28 October 2024US: Terra CO2 has received a US$52.6m federal grant from the US Department of Energy to support the construction of a new plant in Magna, Utah, that will produce up to 240,000t/yr of supplementary cementitious materials using mining waste from the nearby Kennecott copper mine. This method reportedly aims to cut CO₂ emissions by 70% per tonne of traditional cement replaced, according to the company’s CEO Bill Yearsley. The project is expected to create 61 jobs.
Furno Materials to build ‘low-carbon’ cement plant in Chicago
24 October 2024US: California-based climate technology startup Furno Materials has been awarded US$20m by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a new ‘low-carbon’ cement production facility in Chicago. The facility will use recycled industrial byproducts to produce cement, with the aim to reduce carbon emissions ‘significantly’, according to the Chicago Business Journal. This investment is part of a broader DOE initiative that is funding 14 projects totalling US$428m, in order to address clean-energy supply chains and boost US manufacturing. The project is expected to create 80 jobs.
Heidelberg Materials North America secures funding for Mitchell cement plant decarbonisation project
15 August 2024US: Heidelberg Materials North America has finalised award negotiations with the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The Mitchell cement plant in Indiana will receive US$300,000 to begin the first phase of its decarbonisation project, part of a broader initiative of up to US$500m in DOE funding to support full-scale carbon capture, transport and storage developments. The Mitchell cement plant has tripled its previous production capacity, with this project aiming to capture and process about 2Mt/yr of CO₂.
Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America, said "This critical milestone of bringing our project under award with the US Department of Energy is a significant step in building the first full-scale application of carbon capture and storage for the cement industry in the US.”
Australia: Woodside Energy and Cemex have invested US$6.7m in Melbourne-based KC8 Capture Technologies to support its efforts in achieving net zero emissions via carbon capture and storage.
KC8 is partnering with Cement Australia to construct a commercial demonstration plant in Gladstone, Queensland, aiming to capture 15t/day of CO₂. A partnership with Cemex aims to capture over 100t/day of CO₂ at one of its major plants. Additionally, KC8 plans a commercial pilot at the US Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Centre to capture 10-15t/day of CO₂ from natural gas combustion flue gas. The initiative has also secured US$6m from Low Emission Technology Australia and US$11.26m from the US government.
Executive director Greg Ross said "The funds will be used to expand KC8’s team and expedite deployment of its technology into hard-to-abate industries, such as cement – through a number of key projects."