Displaying items by tag: CO2

Germany: The Carbon2Business carbon capture project at Holcim Deutschland's Lägerdorf cement plant has received Euro110m in funding from the EU. Holcim Deutschland plans to use the funds to install a new oxyfuel kiln with downstream compression and a CO₂ cleaning unit at the plant in Schleswig-Holstein. The producer expects to commission the upgraded carbon neutral cement plant in 2029.

Australia: The government plans to reform its CO₂ emissions Safeguard Mechanism in line with its stated goal of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. Under the latest proposals, 215 industrial plants, including Australia's cement plants, will have to reduce their CO₂ emissions by 4.9% year-on-year every year until 2030. The Australian newspaper has reported that the government is currently receiving submissions on the proposed reform as part of its consultation process, which will end on 24 February 2023.

The Business Council of Australia and the Australian Industry Group have encouraged the government to introduce an adjustment mechanism for imports, based on the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), in conjunction with any tightening of the Safeguard Mechanism.

Thailand: ThyssenKrupp Polysius says that it has successfully supplied and installed a Prepol SC alternative fuels (AF) system at a 12Mt/yr cement plant in Thailand. The system will supply the plant's four lines with 4000t/day of AF.

ThyssenKrupp Polysius' Asia Pacific CEO Lukas Schoeneck said "Asia Pacific, with its tremendous municipal solid waste (MSW) problem, is ideal when it comes to replacing coal with AF. The Prepol SC technology significantly reduces the need to treat MSW before using the inherent calorific value. Additionally, it helps to further reduce the ambitious CO₂ limit targets in the region."

Belgium: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded Euro4.5m to a consortium consisting of Lhoist, gas provider Fluxys Belgium, concrete products company Prefer and carbonation technology developer Orbix. The collaborators are working on a project called CO2ncrEAT. The project will carbonate steel sector by-products with captured CO₂ from Lhoist's Hermalle lime plant to produce alternative building materials. CO2ncrEAT will be the first project to employ Orbix's innovative technique for the purpose. Fluxys Belgium's pipeline technology will convey the Hermalle plant's emissions over a distance of 2km to a Prefer concrete blocks plant.

The consortium said that it will use 12,000t/yr of CO₂ to produce 100,000t/yr of reduced-CO₂ concrete blocks. The use of alternative raw materials in the blocks will further reduce their carbon footprint by 8000t/yr.

Lhoist Western Europe managing director Vincent Deleers said “The project fits perfectly with our willingness to actively develop CO₂ capture and sequestration technologies that are essential to the sustainability of our industry. We are delighted that our work on innovative solutions has been recognised by the European Innovation Fund and we look forward to working with our partners to bring CO2ncrEAT to the next level.”

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has placed a Euro750m sustainability-linked bond as part of a Euro10bn medium-term note programme. Interest on the bond is linked to group CO₂ emissions reduction, according to key performance indicators up to 2026 and 2030. Heidelberg Materials is committed to reducing its emissions per tonne of cementitious product by 30% between 2021 and 2030, to 400kg/t.

Heidelberg Materials' chief financial officer René Aldach said "The placement reinforces our aspiration to achieve the most ambitious climate targets within the industry and to increase the share of sustainable financial instruments to over 70% by 2025. With the denomination of Euro1000, we are the only company on the capital market to date to also offer retail investors the opportunity to invest in sustainability-linked bonds."

India: Shree Cement has commissioned captive solar power plants with a total capacity of 40MW in Bihar and Jharkhand. A Shree Cement facility in Banka, Bihar, hosts a 30MW solar power installation, while another in Seraikela Kharsawan, Jharkhand hosts a 10MW installation. Press Trust India News has reported that Oriana Clean Energy carried out design, engineering, procurement and construction on both projects.

Australia: First Graphene has partnered with Suvo Strategic Minerals to develop graphene-enhanced metakaolin for use in cement and concrete production. Metakaolin is a pozzolanic material derived from kaolinite clay. The partners believe that the technology has commercial potential to improve concrete performance and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Egypt: LafargeHolcim Egypt supplied 8200t of its ECOPlanet reduced-CO₂ cement for construction of Alamein Downtown Towers in Alamein City. The producer said that the cement reduced the project's carbon footprint by 45% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The government contracted China-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation for construction of the five-tower development. Three of the buildings will be residential, while the remaining two will house business and events facilities.

Colombia: The Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has validated Grupo Argos Subsidiary Cementos Argos’ CO₂ emissions reduction goals. Cementos Argos aims to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂ emissions in line with a well-below 2°C climate change scenario by 2030. Its strategy includes increasing co-processing of alternative fuel (AF), reducing its cement’s clinker factor, optimising its heat and electricity consumption, investing in cleaner technologies, increasing the share of renewable power it uses and diversifying its product range to include more low-carbon products.

Canada: Chevron New Energies (CNE), a division of Chevron USA, is the lead investor in Svante’s Series E fundraising round, which raised US$318m. The capital will be used to accelerate the manufacture of Svante’s carbon capture technology. Other fundraising round participants include existing shareholders Temasek, OGCI Climate Investments, Delek US and Hesta AG, and new investors, 3M Ventures, Full Circle Capital, GE Vernova, the Japan Energy Fund, Liberty Media, M&G Catalyst, Samsung Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures and United Airlines Ventures.

Chevron Technology Ventures made an initial investment in Svante in 2014. In 2020, Chevron launched a project to pilot Svante’s technology to capture CO₂ from post combustion of natural gas. The project has received funding from the US Department of Energy. In collaboration with Svante and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the technology will be tested at Chevron’s Kern River facility in San Joaquin Valley, California, with start-up scheduled for December 2022.

Svante was founded in 2007 and it has developed carbon capture and removal technology using structured adsorbent beds, known as filters. The latest funding will support Svante’s commercial-scale filter manufacturing facility in Vancouver. Trials using Svante’s technology in the cement sector have been run at Lafarge Canada’s Richmond cement plant in British Colombia and Holcim US’s Florence cement plant in Colorado.