Displaying items by tag: carbon capture

Europe: Germany-based Heidelberg Materials has begun deliveries of EvoZero carbon-captured cement to customers across Europe. Subsidiary Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe produces EvoZero cement at its net-zero Brevik cement plant in Norway. Early adopters to purchase the product include Sweden-based Skanska for its construction of the Skøyen metro station in Oslo, Norway.

Heidelberg Materials launched a 400,000t/yr, 50% carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant at the Brevik plant on 18 June 2025. The plant’s capture and storage data are verified by certification organisation DNV Business Assurance Germany and digitally recorded in Heidelberg Materials' proprietary Carbon Bank.

CEO Dr Dominik von Achten said "I am proud and pleased that the entire process chain is now in place and that our CCS plant in Brevik is now directly contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in construction. EvoZero is proof of our commitment to driving real measurable decarbonisation and leading the transformation of the construction industry."

Germany/Norway: Heidelberg Materials will supply its EvoBuild 3D printing concrete for use in property developer KrausGruppe’s DreiHaus residential construction project in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg. PERI 3D Construction and Korte-Hoffmann Gebäudedruck will execute the project, which consists of three three-storey tower blocks.

Heidelberg Materials says that it will supply a concrete blend featuring its EvoZero carbon-captured cement for the third tower block, the first application of the product in Germany. Subsidiary Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe produces EvoZero cement at its net-zero Brevik cement plant in Norway.

Morocco: Ciments du Maroc has reached a milestone in its ALGACEM initiative with the first delivery of CO₂-derived products under the ALGACE brand from its Safi cement plant. The pilot project captures and recovers CO₂ using microalgae, transforming the carbon captured during the cement production process into bioproducts.

The company said the result confirms the technical and economic feasibility of the project and its compatibility with existing industrial infrastructure, laying the groundwork for a reproducible model for the wider cement sector.

Germany: Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has announced a €6bn industrial decarbonisation initiative that, for the first time, includes carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies within the country’s climate protection contracts. The programme targets energy-intensive industries such as cement, as Germany navigates stringent climate targets amid concerns over industrial competitiveness. Companies have until 1 December 2025 to register projects for next year’s bidding round, which is scheduled to begin in mid-2026, pending parliamentary budget approval and EU state aid clearance, according to Reuters.

Under 15-year contracts, the government will subsidise part of the cost for companies transitioning to low-carbon production, protecting them from energy and carbon price volatility. Contracts will be awarded through competitive auctions, prioritising projects with the lowest subsidy per tonne of CO₂ saved, alongside binding emission-reduction milestones. Industry groups have welcomed the inclusion of CCS and the flexible contract design, describing the programme as a pragmatic step toward reconciling climate objectives with the economic pressures facing German industry.

Spain: Cemex has signed a collaboration agreement with Enagás, through its subsidiary Scale Green Energy, to develop logistics solutions for the maritime transport of captured CO₂ from cement production, aiming to accelerate industrial decarbonisation. The partnership will explore options for transporting captured CO₂ via pipeline. It includes developing a full CO₂ value chain, from capture at Cemex facilities to maritime shipment in liquefied form aboard a new vessel designed by Scale Green Energy, to eventual delivery to a licensed storage site in southern Europe. Scale Green Energy plans to design a next-generation vessel with a capacity of 20,000m³ for the transport of liquefied CO₂, enabling flexible and efficient transport to multiple Mediterranean storage hubs.

Jesús Saldaña, general manager of business development and investee companies at Enagás, said “This alliance to develop comprehensive logistics for the maritime transport of captured CO₂ represents an opportunity for Enagás and Cemex to jointly lead innovation to help decarbonise the industry, boosting its competitiveness, and for Spain to play a leading role in achieving the European Commission's goal of capturing 50Mt of CO₂ by 2030.”

Benjamín Cabrera, director of cement and technology operations at Cemex Spain, added “To advance the decarbonisation of the cement industry, it is essential to develop large-scale logistics solutions that allow us to manage large volumes of CO₂ safely, efficiently, and competitively. This agreement lays the foundations for a pioneering infrastructure that will connect Cemex plants in Spain with the main storage hubs in the Mediterranean.”

UK: Environment consultancy Arup has been appointed by Peak Cluster to lead the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and prepare the technical documentation for the development consent order (DCO) for the Peak Cluster project. Around 40% of all the UK’s cement and lime is produced across Derbyshire and Staffordshire, according to Arup, supporting over 2000 jobs but emitting more than 3Mt/yr of CO₂.

To address this challenge, Peak Cluster will develop carbon capture facilities at cement and lime production plants operated by Tarmac, Buxton Lime, Breedon, and Holcim. The captured CO₂ will be transported via a proposed underground pipeline to Spirit Energy’s planned geological storage site, Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ), for permanent storage.

Supported by AECOM and Quod, Arup will oversee the delivery of the EIA and DCO, covering the consenting of the proposed pipeline and the carbon capture facilities, including a detailed assessment of environmental effects on the surrounding areas during both construction and operation. The evaluation will also consider the interface with Spirit Energy’s offshore infrastructure for CO₂ storage.

Richard Lowe, director of energy consenting and development at Arup, said “We are delighted to be playing such a key role in the development of this transformative project, in which the UK National Wealth Fund has invested, and to build on our deep involvement from its earliest stages. Peak Cluster is working to secure a sustainable future for the UK cement and lime industry and act as a blueprint for similar developments across Europe and the rest of the world.”

John Egan, CEO of Peak Cluster, added “Peak Cluster is focused on securing a sustainable future for the cement and lime industry. Together with MNZ, the UK’s biggest carbon store, we will capture, transport and store CO₂ to help the industry thrive in a low-carbon future. This essential infrastructure will secure good jobs with good wages, produce sought-after low-carbon products here in Britain, grow the UK’s supply chain and skills base, secure private investment and lead the global low-carbon technology sector.”

Denmark: TotalEnergies, through its subsidiary TotalEnergies E&P Denmark, has signed a Farm-Down Agreement with CarbonVault, the Danish affiliate of German cement producer Schwenk, for the Bifrost carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Under the deal, TotalEnergies will operate the project with a 45% interest, while CarbonVault will hold 35% and state-owned oil and gas company Nordsøfonden 20%. The Bifrost Project covers two offshore CO₂ storage licenses located about 200km west of the Danish coast and forms part of TotalEnergies’ broader North Sea CCS portfolio. Schwenk has identified Bifrost as its preferred solution for storing future emissions, aligning with its European decarbonisation strategy.

Arnaud Le Foll, senior vice president new business – carbon neutrality at TotalEnergies, said “We look forward to working with our new partner to ensure the successful deployment of the Bifrost Project, a cornerstone of Denmark’s national ambition to establish a European hub for CO₂ storage.”

Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Heidelberg Materials announced this week that it had received the funding clearance to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit at its Padeswood cement plant in Cymru (also known as Wales). Construction on the project will start later in 2025 with net zero cement production expected in 2029. The upgrade will be the group’s first full-scale carbon capture facility. It will capture around 0.8Mt/yr of CO₂ at the site or around 95% of the CO₂ emissions from the process. As the captured emissions will also include biogenic CO₂ from biomass fuels - including domestic food, wood and paper wastes - cement produced at the plant could potentially be net negative.

Just like Heidelberg Material’s first large-scale CCS project at the Brevik cement plant in Norway, the work at Padeswood is part of a larger government-backed decarbonisation cluster. In this case it’s the HyNet North West project. Captured CO₂ from Padeswood will be transported via an underground pipeline for storage under the seabed in Liverpool Bay. The wider cluster will also produce, transport and store hydrogen. A waste-to-energy company Encyclis also announced this week that it had also agreed terms with the government for its Protos CCS project.

It is worth noting the differences between Heidelberg Material’s first two large-scale CCS projects. Padeswood, like Brevik, will use an amine-based carbon capture system but the technology is likely to be provided by a different supplier. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Worley were awarded the contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase of the project in 2024 with the intention of using MHI’s Advanced KM CDR Process. The funding model is also different for Padeswood. In Norway the original estimate was that over three-quarters of the carbon capture unit would be paid for using state aid and over two-thirds of the funding for the transport and storage of CO₂ would come from the government. Large sums of government grant funding could be seen entering Heidelberg Materials’ balance sheet in 2024 for example. By contrast, Heidelberg Materials says it has agreed a ‘contract for difference’ (CFD) with the UK government. Under the terms of this contract the cement company will provide the upfront investment to build the project and will also be responsible for any additional costs over the agreed contract price. The CFD will likely track the carbon price in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The wider picture is that the UK government allocated just under €25bn in late 2024 towards two decarbonisation clusters with the funding to be made available over 25 years. However, the completion date for the Padeswood CCS of 2029 is, coincidentally, the latest year by which the next UK parliamentary election could be held. The incumbent Labour party is currently behind in the polls to the populist Reform UK party. The deputy leader of the latter said that his party would cut all "net stupid zero" policies if they entered government. It is likely that the arrangement between Heidelberg Materials and the UK government is legally binding for decades to come with provision for all sorts of eventualities. Yet readers may recall the decision by the second Trump administration in the US to cancel funding for various carbon capture projects including at least one cement project. There is also opposition from various groups in the UK to carbon capture generally and from some groups to HyNet specifically. HyNot, for example, applied for a judicial review in August 2025 challenging the government’s decision to allow Italy-based Eni to store carbon dioxide in Liverpool Bay.

Another issue is that UK cement production dropped to 7.3Mt in 2024, the lowest level since 1950. The impending carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), due in 2027, should help local producers fight off imports but if the market stays down then the production base may need to be rationalised. A cement plant with a new CCS unit linked to the government’s flagship decarbonisation cluster doesn’t seem an obvious choice for closure anytime soon though.

From here it’s all about building new carbon capture projects at different cement plants in different locations with different technologies and so on to determine what works and what doesn’t. A major part of this phase is deciding what kind of government involvement fits and trying it out over the coming years. To end, a CCS project in the north of the UK is poignant given that the Industrial Revolution started here in the late 18th Century. ‘Pob lwc’ (good luck) to all concerned!

UK: Holcim UK has appointed Jan-Willem Verkaik as the Project Director for its carbon capture project at its cement plant at Cauldon in Staffordshire.

Verkaik holds over 30 years’ project management experience, having overseen the planning and execution of gas developments in countries including Brunei, Iraq, Norway, Russia and the UAE. Much of his career has been spent working for Shell and related companies. He worked for Brunei Shell Petroleum on offshore projects from 2007 to 2013. He later held positions with Shell and joint-venture Basrah Gas Company. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Thailand: The Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of Saskatchewan in Canada, represented by the Ministry of Trade and Export Development, to strengthen cooperation in sustainable industrial development and decarbonisation. The agreement focuses on energy transition and advanced carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies, with potential pilot projects to be explored under the Saraburi Sandbox project. A joint working group will be established to drive implementation and progress will be reviewed annually.

Nopadol Ramyarupa, vice chair and acting chair of TCMA, said “This collaboration aims to accelerate the Thai cement industry’s progress toward achieving the Net Zero 2050 goal by facilitating collaboration on technological advancements on green energy transition and CCUS technologies. Furthermore, if a pilot project can be established in Saraburi Sandbox, it would be beneficial in supporting Thailand’s green economy. It could serve as a role model on industry decarbonisation and inspire the regional and beyond.”

Warren Kaeding, Minister of Trade and Export Development, Saskatchewan, said “This partnership demonstrates how Saskatchewan’s expertise in clean energy and innovation is creating global opportunities. The collaboration with TCMA provides not only an opportunity to share knowledge and experience with Thailand and ASEAN but also reinforces Canada–Thailand relations in advancing greenhouse gas reduction, a critical global agenda, alongside expanding trade and investment opportunities between our countries.”