Displaying items by tag: CCUS

Sweden: Cementa has completed its feasibility study for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at Slite cement plant in Gotland. The producer says that it will now proceed to the next stage of the project, with the aim of producing climate positive cement from 2030. Sister company Norcem is currently building a 400,000t/yr CCS system at its Brevik cement plant in Norway. Cementa says that its new system will have four times the capacity of that at the Brevik plant, and reduce Sweden's total CO₂ emissions by 3%. One or more of 'several storage solutions' currently under development in the North Sea will serve to store the plant's captured CO₂ emissions.

General manager Giv Brantenberg said "With the knowledge we have built up through our pioneering project at Norcem in Brevik, we now have a good picture of how to move forward in Sweden. The Nordic countries have what it takes to lead the climate transition in the construction sector."

US: The US Department of Energy has granted Solidia Technologies US$2.1m in funding for the development and testing of carbonation methods for its Solidia Cement. Solidia will research synthetic supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) production methods using direct CO₂ capture and utilisation.

CEO Russell Hill said “We are proud to partner with the US Department of Energy to continue innovating and ultimately deliver on our mission to provide commercially viable decarbonisation technologies and sustainable solutions for the global construction and building materials industries. The funding will advance our carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies and synthetic SCMs that can be easily integrated into Portland cement-based concrete formulations, offering manufacturers a solution that is sustainable environmentally and economically.”

Germany: HeidelbergCement has accelerated its specific CO₂ emissions reduction target to 2030 to 400kg CO₂/t CEM compared with 1990 levels. This represents a 30% cut compared to 2021 levels and a 47% cut compared to 1990 levels. The previous target was 33% compared to 1990 levels. The company said that in the next eight years to 2030 its CO₂ emissions are set to decrease more strongly in percentage terms than in the last three decades.

The building materials producer made the announcement as part of a new set of medium-term sustainability and financial targets entitled ‘Concrete Promises’ that were presented at its Capital Markets Day event in late May 2022. The group plans to generate half of its revenue from sustainable products by 2030. Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) projects that have already been launched are expected to achieve a cumulative reduction of 10Mt CO₂ by 2030. By 2025, more than 70% of its debt will be covered by sustainable financial instruments. Among other things, the group plans to use a bond programme that it says is the first in the industry to be aligned with the climate goals of the European Union taxonomy.

Dominik von Achten, chair of the managing board of HeidelbergCement, said “We have the ambition, speed, knowledge, technologies and partners to lead the necessary change process in our sector. Our focus is on expanding our portfolio of sustainable products, reducing our CO₂ emissions quickly and significantly, proving that CO₂-free products are possible on a large scale, and creating a circular economy by consistently applying the principles of circularity. Our new sustainability targets for 2030 illustrate this ambition.”

Australia: Boral and carbon capture specialist Calix have received US$21m in government funding for the launch of carbon capture and storage (CCS) feasibility study at the producer's Berrima cement plant in New South Wales. Local press has reported that Boral aims to establish a 100,000t/yr-capacity capture facility at the plant. Initially, the project will involve commercial model and pilot design to assess the engineering and commercial viability of the project. This phase is scheduled for completion in June 2023.

Chief operating officer Darren Schulz said "This is game changing technology for our industry and will play a critical role in supporting customers' sustainability targets. Together, Boral and Calix have access to the required infrastructure, technology and operational expertise required to deliver this project and lead the way in reducing emissions across the industry." Schulz concluded "If successful, we believe this project will enable the national rollout of carbon capture technology to Australia's cement and lime industry creating smarter and more sustainable solutions for our customers."

Austria: The Austrian Cement Industry Association (VÖZ) has launched a roadmap for carbon neutrality by 2050. The initiative follows the 5C approach of Clinker, Cement, Concrete, Construction and Carbonation as prompted by the European Cement Association, Cembureau. Selected targets from the document include reducing the sector’s average clinker factor to 52% by 2040 from 70% in 2020, using carbon-neutral electricity from 2030 and meeting a recycling rate for concrete and demolition waste of 25% in 2050 from 10% in 2022. Sebastian Spaun, the managing director of VÖZ, highlighted the ‘Carbon2ProductAustria’ (C₂PAT) initiative as a key project where capture CO₂ from Lafarge Zementwerke’s Mannersdorf cement plant will be used with hydrogen to produce synthetic fuels, plastics or other chemicals.

UK: Hanson has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell to work together to explore opportunities that help the construction industry’s transition to net zero emissions.

Under the agreement the companies plan to explore: using hydrogen for transport and industrial processes; using capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) in cement production; looking at lower carbon fuels and electric vehicles; digital innovations in energy production, consumption and efficiency; improving bitumen and asphalt technology; and renewable energy sources such as solar installations and batteries to replace diesel generators. In addition, the companies say they will consider the possibility of collaborating in future business opportunities or new business models, which will create value and scope for further decarbonisation.

Hanson’s chief executive officer Simon Willis said, “We are already working together on several initiatives to decarbonise asphalt with bitumen materials and innovations which promote long life, increased use of recycled materials, low carbon products and the circular economy.” He added that “Hanson and Shell have a long-established working relationship and are committed to sharing knowledge and resources to jointly work on projects that will facilitate our transition to net zero emissions.”

UK: Carbon capture systems developer Carbon Clean has raised US$150m in its largest funding round to date. US-based energy company Chevron Corporation led the round, with participation from Cemex venture capital subsidiary Cemex Ventures, Marubeni Corporation, WAVE Equity Partners, AXA IM Alts, Samsung Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and TC Energy.

As a result of the new funding, Carbon Clean says that it will now scale the production of its CycloneCC fully modular carbon capture technology, increase investment in research and development grow its team to meet ‘exponential’ demand growth for its products.

Germany: Holcim Deutschland says that the preliminary test phase of a new CO₂ separation unit at its Höver cement plant in Lower Saxony has delivered positive results. Plant manager Stephan Hinrichs said that the company was “delighted” with the results so far. In late 2021 Cool Planet Technologies and Hereon signed a memorandum of understanding with Holcim Deutschland to deliver a carbon capture system for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) trial at the plant based on Hereon’s PolyActive membrane technology.

The next stage of the project will start in August 2022 and it will last until late 2024. This will include a one-year active test phase, in which the system is to be examined in long-term operation, planned to start in September 2023. If the results are good enough then the carbon capture unit will be expanded step-by-step so that after the final expansion stage it can separate around 90% of the CO₂ emissions and deliver high-purity CO₂ in liquid form for sequestration or further use. The ultimate aim of the project is to demonstrate performance, economy and operational behaviour on a larger scale in order to check whether the technology can be used at both Höver and other cement plants. Continued funding for the scheme is dependent on an application to the Competence Centre on Climate Change Mitigation in Energy-Intensive Industries (KEI) as part of the Decarbonisation in Industry program.

World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has named its first six startups to receive backing under the inaugural Innovandi Open Challenge. The startups have partnered with GCCA members to help increase cement’s sustainability towards achieving net zero CO₂ concrete production by 2050. This will lead to the formation of six consortia to further test, develop and deploy their new technologies.

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) startups CarbonOrO, MOF Technologies and Saipem, all based in Europe, are among the participants. GCCA members are currently involved in dozens of pilot projects and aim to have 10 industrial-scale carbon capture plants installed by 2030. Other startups Carbon Upcycling Technologies and Fortera, from Canada and the US respectively, use captured CO₂ to produce low-carbon cement and cementitious materials, while UK-based Coomtech has developed a low-cost drying technology using turbulent air.

GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said “It’s a proud moment to see the industry coming together to support such innovative start-ups on their journey. Our member companies were greatly impressed by their ambition to be a key part of the climate solution. The programme is another big step forward towards unlocking innovation to help us achieve our net zero goal.” He continued “As the need for resilient and sustainable communities to support a growing global population becomes more pressing , cement and concrete will be essential to providing the infrastructure and buildings that society needs. Achieving net zero concrete relies on a number of different groups playing their part, and as an industry we’re looking outwards as well as inwards, to see how start-ups like these can support our goals.”

Mexico: Cemex has reported its successful completion of laboratory tests aimed at converting CO₂ emitted by cement kilns into carbon nanomaterials. The producer said that it was able to turn 50% of available carbon in a flue gas stream into nanomaterials. Possible industrial uses for carbon nanomaterials include in building materials, biomedicines, electronics and agriculture. Cemex says that its next step will be to scale the technology for a cement plant pilot study.

CEO Fernando Gonzalez said “This breakthrough technology is significant for Cemex, not only because it offers the potential to commercialise carbon emissions, but because it demonstrates the value of our Smart Innovation platform. The path to carbon neutrality will be built with innovation, and we remain committed to being at the forefront in developing new circular technologies and processes.”