Heidelberg Materials announced this week that plans for its GeZero project in Geseke, Germany, have been paused. This follows similar hiatuses this year for other projects by Heidelberg Materials in Sweden and Canada and by Holcim in Belgium. Yet this stands in contrast to the latest Global CCS Institute report that noted over 100 commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in operation.
The GeZero suspension has been blamed partly on the CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure for the Geseke cement plant. The company’s exact words were “Current framework conditions are not yet sufficient to support a robust business case. In particular, the relevant value chains are not yet mature enough to ensure that CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure solutions will be available on time, and at an acceptable level of economic risk for us as a CO₂ producer.” The group took pains to point out that continued cement production at the unit will remain unaffected by this decision. It also flagged its operational carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Brevik in Norway and work on the Padeswood CCS project in the UK, which started in late 2025.
The Heidelberg Materials’ pilot carbon capture project at its Edmonton cement plant in Canada was reportedly put on hold in August 2026. In a statement to local press it said, “Heidelberg Materials regularly reviews project requirements, external support needs, and resource allocations to ensure responsible stewardship of company resources and shareholder capital.” One commentator at the time linked the decision to uncertainty on government support and low local carbon prices. The group’s CCS project at Slite in Sweden was paused in late 2025 and it then withdrew its permit application in March 2026. The decision to pause the project in November 2025 followed confirmation that the Swedish Energy Agency had rejected a funding application.
Holcim’s Go4Zero project at its Obourg cement plant in Belgium is a distinctive case because the group appears to have decided to delay the second phase of the project. Phase one was to build a new air-oxyfuel switchable kiln at the unit. Ground-breaking on this started in mid-2024. However, in late January 2026 local press reported that the second phase of the project had been paused due to uncertainties surrounding nearby CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure. Phase two was to deploy “the end-to-end CO2 value chain alongside our industry partners.” To this end Holcim signed a deal with Air Liquide in February 2026 whereby the supplier would provide the oxygen for the kiln line and the cryogenic capture technology. However, local press also noted that the final investment decision required more partnerships along the value chain and further government support. To be fair to Holcim though, even building the air-oxyfuel switchable kiln is a major achievement. Commissioning is expected in early 2027.
The examples contrast with the somewhat upbeat message from the Global CCS Institute last week in its Global Status of CCS 2026 report. Its headline figures were that 113 commercial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are currently operational and capacity is set to exceed 100Mt/yr when projects being built are commissioned. This is across all industries though, not just cement. It also noted the emergence of transport networks, storage hubs and said that around one in three projects being tracked by the Institute are transport and storage schemes. Clearly this does not fit with two of the examples above where transport and storage infrastructure issues and supporting frameworks have been blamed for projects being wound down although the institute does have a more general perspective.
Some quick takeaways here are that CCS projects are massively expensive for cement plants, require significant government support, need suitable infrastructure and networks to move the CO2 onwards after capture, call for legislative support to enable this and are subject to a variety of market indicators, including carbon pricing. Capturing CO2 is the first part of the challenge. The second half is working out what happens next and enabling government frameworks to make it viable. Echoing this article’s theme of issues with CO2 transport infrastructure, a proposed route of CO2 pipeline in the UK’s peak district was revised in September 2026 following opposition. This network, if built, will potentially support three cement plants in the UK. Thankfully for Heidelberg Materials it will not connect to its Padeswood CCS project. To end on a more positive note, the EU Innovation Fund approved funding for a 1.1Mt/yr CCS project at Molins’ Sant Vicenç dels Horts cement plant in Barcelona this week. Enagás will be responsible for the CO₂ transport infrastructure. If governments are still serious about net zero, they may need to work on resolving the kinds of issues mentioned above that are pausing CCS projects at cement plants.
