Displaying items by tag: decarbonisation

Sweden: Heidelberg Materials Sweden has said that it will ‘pause’ its carbon capture project at the Slite cement plant in Gotland after the Swedish Energy Agency rejected its application for co-financing under the Industrial Step programme. The producer said that the government is currently ‘not prepared’ to strategically prioritise funds for the project. The project aimed to reduce Sweden’s total CO₂ emissions by 1.8Mt/yr, or around 4% of the country’s total emissions. Heidelberg Materials said that, as production in Slite is not being given a way to adjust with secured long-term competitiveness, Sweden now risks becoming dependent on cement imports in the future and could face weakened security of supply.

Vice president Karin Comstedt Webb said “We have worked for a long time to implement one of the most powerful climate investments in Swedish industrial history with the aim of securing long-term competitiveness. But without the state's continued support for implementation, there are currently insufficient conditions to realise the project in Sweden.”

Global: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched its ‘Cement and Concrete Industry Net Zero Action and Progress Report 2025/6’, which reports a fall by 25% in CO₂ intensity of cementitious products since 1990 and sets out policy measures needed to accelerate decarbonisation. The report was launched at COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

The report highlights more than 60 decarbonisation projects across alternative fuels, alternative raw materials, carbon capture, renewable energy and recycled concrete. Examples include Fletcher’s Golden Bay plant and JSW’s Nandyal and Shiva plants. Publicly announced projects are collated and made available to see on the GCCA/LeadIT green cement technology tracker. The document also calls for policies enabling non-recyclable waste use in kilns, wider adoption of blended products, national carbon pricing mechanisms and the use of construction demolition waste as recycled raw materials.

GCCA president and Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “Our industry is collaborating and innovating across every aspect of our production - finding new ways to work and deploying exciting technologies that are already making a genuine step change. However, to achieve the industrial scale transformation that our world needs, we cannot do it by ourselves - our industry needs the support of governments, policymakers, stakeholders, and our allies across the built environment right now.”

GCCA chief executive Thomas Guillot said “The breadth of activity we are seeing across our membership is truly inspiring, with great examples of projects and work across all decarbonisation levers, where enabling policies exist. Cement and concrete are essential materials for the world, but we know they are also essential to decarbonise. Despite our progress, we know that firm policy action across the world is fundamental to enabling us to accelerate our reductions.”

Brazil: Cimento Apodi said that it has recorded a 20% thermal substitution rate (TSR), avoided 1500t/yr of CO₂ emissions and invested more than US$4.7m in a new 5MW solar park. The producer has targeted a 25% TSR by the end of 2025.

It says it will increase renewable energy use through its solar park and a waste heat recovery system. Together these will supply 25% of its electricity demand by the end of 2025. The implementation of the cement mill optimiser (CMO), an artificial intelligence-based system developed with the Federal University of Ceará and the Titan Group, has increased mill productivity by up to 13% and installed capacity by 10%. The company is also developing gasifiers that can reduce emissions by up to 10% per tonne of cement.

The integrated Quixeré cement plant coprocesses byproducts such as tyres, cashew nut shells, açaí seeds, carnauba stalks and industrial waste from other sectors. All materials undergo sorting and characterisation to meet the parameters of particle size, moisture and calorific value.

Emir Adigüzel warned that cement prices in Europe could triple under current decarbonisation policies. The director of the World Cement Association (WCA) made the comments at a conference in Germany this week. He noted that most of these carbon-related costs will be passed to consumers. His view is that carbon pricing will force price rises across the industry.

That cement prices will rise due to decarbonisation policies is not in itself news. This debate is really about how much and who pays. The WCA's latest analysis asserts that the cement sector will require investment of US$200bn by 2050 to fully decarbonise. Some progress has been achieved so far. Major cement companies reduced carbon intensity from an average of 700kg CO₂/t in 2019 to 640kg CO₂/t in 2023. Adigüzel’s argument is that carbon capture (CCUS) in the cement sector has its place only “if applied correctly.” His view is that these technologies will have a limited effect on global industry decarbonisation as the required investment per cement plant exceeds the capital cost of an entire cement plant. The WCA prefers to promote decarbonisation instead via energy efficiency, alternative fuels, reduced clinker factor and new technologies. That last one includes CCUS but is not limited to it also covering things such as electrification and heat storage. Note today’s news that India-based Adani Cement has ordered a RotoDynamic Heater from Coolbrook. Adigüzel also criticised the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in incentivising non-scheme exporters to reduce their carbon footprint, particularly given the expensive investments required.

Decarbonisation is going to be expensive and CCUS is the priciest part of this. Hence, cement producers are likely to consider taking as many measures as possible before implementing CCUS. That cement companies would pass on these costs to consumers also seems likely. The other obvious outcome is that consumers will simply use less cement where possible. Yet Adigüzel doesn’t address how net zero can be achieved with continuing clinker production without using CCUS. His pricing for CCUS is at the right scale though. As Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pointed out in 2024, the cost of CCUS looks set to increase cement prices from US$90 – 130/t to at least US$160 – 240/t by 2050. As well as the capital costs to build a CCUS unit, this includes the additional energy costs required and the price of transporting the CO₂ to a sequestration site. The first two large-scale Heidelberg Materials CCUS projects in Europe, for example, both connect to government-backed transport and sequestration schemes. BCG went on to posit that decarbonisation trends would create five archetypes of cement plants: export hubs and larger plants close to CO₂ storage sites; former export sites far from storage; import grinding hubs; and stranded assets.

Finally, Carbon Brief reported this week that CO₂ emissions in China continued to stay flat in the third quarter of 2025, suggesting a stable or falling trend since early 2024. The adoption of electric vehicles and declines from cement and steel production contributed to the picture in the latest quarter. Emissions from the production of cement and other building materials fell by 7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025. This was attributed to the ongoing real-estate contraction. Note that this decarbonisation trend in China has been created by market trends.

Expect plenty more sustainability stories everywhere over the next few weeks as the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) started this week in Belém, Brazil. The GCCA will be present at a number of events including an update to the Brazil Cement Industry Roadmap on Saturday 15 November 2025

The Global FutureCem Conference on cement industry decarbonisation will take place on 21 - 22 January 2026 in Munich, Germany

India: Adani Cement and Finland-based Coolbrook have announced an agreement to implement the world’s first commercial deployment of Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic heater (RDH) at Adani’s Boyareddypalli integrated cement plant in Andhra Pradesh. The project reportedly aims to ‘significantly’ reduce CO₂ emissions from cement production.

The RDH system will decarbonise the calcination phase of cement production by supplying ‘clean’ heat powered entirely by renewable energy from Adani. The installation is expected to cut around 60,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions, with potential for a tenfold increase in future phases, according to the producer.

The partnership also includes plans to expand the use of RotoDynamic technology across other Adani Cement sites, with five additional projects targeted within two years. The first-generation RDH will deliver hot gases of around 1000°C to dry and optimise the use of alternative fuels.

Romania: Holcim has won a European Union Innovation Fund grant for its Carbon Hub CPT 01 carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Campulung cement plant. The initiative will produce an estimated 2Mt/yr of near-zero cement from 2032, marking Eastern Europe’s first full-scale onshore CCS project, according to the company.

The project, developed with Carmeuse as a key partner, will capture CO₂ from kiln flue gases, compress it and transport it for permanent underground storage. Holcim said the project supports the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and advances its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy.

With this grant, Holcim now has eight large-scale EU-supported carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects, located in Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania.

Belgium: Carmeuse’s LEOPARD project in Aisemont has been selected for funding by the European Innovation Fund. The project aims to achieve zero-carbon lime production through a hybrid process that combines CO₂ preconcentration with membrane-based carbon capture. The system increases the CO₂ concentration in kiln flue gases prior to capture, reducing operating costs compared to conventional post-combustion methods while avoiding additional air or chemical waste emissions, according to the company. The facility will also integrate bioenergy with carbon capture and storage technologies.

Carmeuse said the project will prevent more than 70,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions and remove additional CO₂ from the atmosphere through bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The process runs solely on electricity, supporting the company’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Europe: The EU Innovation Fund has selected four of Heidelberg Materials’ carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) projects for grant agreement preparation under its Net-Zero Technologies Call. Selected projects were assessed in terms of their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, their degree of innovation, project maturity, replicability and cost efficiency. The selected projects are Anthemis in Belgium, AirvaultGOCO₂ in France, DREAM in Italy, and HuCCSar in Poland.

The Anthemis project in Belgium will equip the Antoing clinker plant with an oxyfuel carbon capture unit capable of capturing over 95% of the plant’s emissions, or more than 800,000t/yr of CO₂. The company also plans to transport and permanently store the captured CO₂. The AirvaultGOCO₂ project in France will capture nearly 1Mt/yr of CO₂ at the Airvault cement plant and transport it to permanent storage under the North Sea. The DREAM project in Italy will capture around 1Mt/yr of CO₂ from the Rezzato-Mazzano cement plant for storage in the Ravenna CCS hub beneath the Adriatic Sea. The HuCCSar project in Poland will develop the country’s first onshore CCS value chain and validate local CO₂ storage potential.

Chair of the managing board Dr Dominik von Achten said “This is a great day for the company and for the decarbonisation of the cement industry in Europe. The support from the Innovation Fund is a strong vote of confidence for our approach and our projects. Today’s milestone confirms that we are on the right track with the next chapters of our journey – building on the successful launch of our Brevik CCS project in Norway and the recent Final Investment Decision for Padeswood CCS in the UK.”

Member of the managing board Jon Morrish said “The selected projects in four of our European core markets are important drivers of innovation. We call on the four member states – France, Belgium, Italy and Poland – to work closely with us to enable the right framework conditions in order for us to reach Final Investment Decision for these projects. This will allow our customers to access carbon captured near-zero products under our evoZero brand at much larger scale.”

Europe: Capsol Technologies has signed a rental agreement with a large European cement producer for a six-month CapsolGo carbon capture and liquefaction demonstration campaign at a cement plant. Delivery and testing of the unit are scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The turnkey project will include installation, operation and testing to generate operational data supporting the producer’s future carbon capture and storage investment decisions. The campaign follows a previously completed CapsolEoP feasibility study.

CEO Wendy Lam said “We're proud to support the European cement producer on its path toward decarbonisation and to demonstrate how our carbon capture solution can deliver efficient, cost-effective emissions reductions in hard-to-abate sectors. During the carbon capture and liquefaction process, we will perform an extensive gas and liquid analysis to support the producer's CCS investment decisions in what will be our fourth demonstration campaign for the cement industry.”

Italy: Federbeton, which represents the cement and concrete industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Assocarta, the association of paper, cardboard and pulp producers, to develop synergies in circular economy and decarbonisation initiatives.

The agreement aims to recover paper industry waste as a resource for reducing CO₂ emissions in cement production. Recycled waste and sludge will be used to produce solid fuel recovered (SRF). The protocol includes joint technical discussions to identify suitable recovery conditions, cooperation in securing national and EU funding and engagement with public authorities to improve regulatory frameworks.

Federbeton president Stefano Gallini said “If decarbonisation is a systemic challenge, achieving this goal necessarily requires collaboration and shared commitment. The agreement with Assocarta stems precisely from this awareness and is a concrete tool to accelerate the path towards carbon neutrality. Replacing fossil fuels with solutions like SRF represents an immediate opportunity for the environment, the community and the country's energy independence. It is a lever already widely adopted in Europe, where the average substitution rate is 56%. In Italy, we still stand at 26%, due to inconsistent application of regulations and cultural mistrust.”