Displaying items by tag: CO2
Ciments Calcia to increase rail transport
09 June 2022Belgium/France: Ciments Calcia plans to transition 60% of its truck transport of cement in Belgium and France to rail. The company says that the shift will eliminate 5% of its CO2 emissions. 400 rail cars currently distribute cement from Ciments Calcia’s 10 production sites. The producer said that the planned increase became possible due to logistics solutions developer Everysens’ transport digitisation software.
UK: The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has granted Carbon Clean Euro701,000 under its Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 programme. Carbon Clean says that it will partner with energy engineering company Doosan Babcock and Newcastle University to develop carbon capture systems which apply non-aqueous solvent (NAS) and rotating packed bed (RPB) technology together for the first time. The partners seek to overcome the challenges of scale and cost in order to advance the widespread deployment of CCUS systems.
The CCUS Innovation 2.0 programme is part of the UK government’s Euro1.17bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio scheme.
Germany: ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions’ Polysius division says that it has been commissioned by Buzzi Unicem, HeidelbergCement, Schwenk Zement and Vicat to build a pure oxyfuel kiln system at the Mergelstetten cement plant as part of the Cement Innovation for Climate (CI4C) project. No dates of the start of construction or final project commissioning of the industrial trial have been disclosed. CI4C was originally formed in 2019.
The Polysius pure oxyfuel process is a new type of clinker production process in which the otherwise normal ambient air is replaced by pure oxygen in the kiln combustion process. One advantage of the technology is that atmospheric nitrogen is eliminated from the clinker burning process leading to much higher concentrations of CO2 in the exhaust gas compared to a conventional kiln. As such the process aims to concentrate, capture and reuse almost 100% of the CO2 produced in a cost-effective manner. The medium-term goal is to further process the captured CO2 with the help of renewable energy into products such as kerosene for air traffic.
Guatemala: Cemex has secured its electricity supply for its Guatemalan operations until 2027 through the signing of a renewable power purchase agreement with Enel Green Power. Enel Green Power will supply an estimated 164GWh of renewable energy under the agreement, enabling Cemex to operate one of its Guatemalan cement facilities using 100% renewable energy.
“Transitioning to renewable energy sources is an integral part of our climate action strategy,” said Cemex South, Central America and the Caribbean president Jesús González. “We remain committed to becoming a net-zero CO2 company and are taking decisive steps to achieve this goal.”
Sweden: HeidelbergCement says that it will establish a 1.8Mt/yr carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant at its Slite cement plant in Gotland. It aims to achieve full-scale capture of the plant’s CO2 emissions by 2030. In conjunction with the CCS plant project, Cementa will increase the share of biomass in the Slite plant’s fuel mix.
Chair Dominik von Achten said “Just a few days ago, we published new sustainability targets, underlining the importance of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as one key lever to almost halve our CO2 footprint by 2030 compared to 1990, and achieve Net Zero by 2050 at the latest.” He continued “Slite CCS is the largest CCUS project yet in our group and the cement industry, and a model for what will be achievable with CCUS also beyond 2030. As this initiative contributes considerably to the climate ambitions of Sweden, and is a unique project for us in terms of scale, we are keen to make it happen.”
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."
UK: Hanson plans to install a C-Capture solvent-based carbon capture system at its Ketton cement plant in Rutland. The producer says that the technology reduces energy requirements per tonne of CO2 by 40% compared to other capture systems.
Chief executive officer Simon Wills said “Carbon capture is a critical part of our strategy to decarbonise cement production, and essential if we are to reach net zero carbon by 2050. If successful, the C-Capture process has the potential to be rolled-out across other sites across the HeidelbergCement Group.”
Germany: HeidelbergCement has replaced its existing revolving credit line with a new syndicated credit line based on the Loan Market Association’s sustainability-linked loan principles (SLLP). HeidelbergCement says that key performance indicators of its progress towards sustainability objectives will determine the credit line’s credit margin, adjusted according to its CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious material and alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate. HeidelbergCement says that its ‘solid financial base’ enabled it to reduce the syndicated credit line to US$2bn from US$3bn, and to avoid financial covenants.
Chief financial officer René Aldach said “With the conclusion of the new syndicated credit line, we have taken the first step towards sustainable financing. In addition, we were able to improve the terms and conditions compared with the previous credit line.”
Holcim US buys 10 Hyliion electric trucks
26 May 2022US: Holcim has commissioned 10 Hyliion Hypertruck ERX electric trucks in its Oklahoma and Texas cement and concrete operations. The cement producer says that the trucks reduce CO2 emissions by 89% when using renewable natural gas compared to conventional diesel vehicles.
Holcim US aggregates and construction materials CEO Jay Moreau said “This agreement with Hyliion underscores the direction Holcim is taking around the globe to reach our sustainability and environmental goals. By integrating sustainable technologies like electric vehicles into our operations, such as those of Hyliion, we are able to build on our promise of making greener cities, reducing emissions and driving the circular economy.”
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.”