Displaying items by tag: Department of Energy

US: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) hosted chief executive officers (CEO)from across the global cement industry at its CEO Gathering in Atlanta, Georgia, on 9 June 2022. The event explored the best ways for the sector to progress towards net zero CO₂ emissions. Speakers included: UN special advisor on climate Selwin Hart, US Department of Energy assistant secretary for fossil energy and carbon management in the Brad Crabtree, architecture firm Gensler CEO Diane Hoskins, Chair of Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) executive chair Bjorn Otto and climate economist Gernot Wagner.

GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said “To achieve net zero and enable the delivery of the sustainable built environment of the future, there needs to be ongoing engagement and deeper collaboration between our industry and government in the years ahead. Targeted government policy will be vital to removing barriers and to expediting our industry’s decarbonisation plans.”

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has received the 2022 Energy Star Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. This is the third year in a row that PCA has earned this award.

"We are proud to have won this award for the third consecutive year. This latest award confirms our commitment to reducing cement sector CO₂ emissions through longstanding, long-term efforts to improve energy efficiency," said Michael Ireland, president and chief executive officer of the PCA. "This award shows once again that the cement and concrete industries are leading the way toward a more sustainable future, even as demand for our products grows."

The 2022 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award follows the launch of PCA's Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality in October 2021. In addition to PCA's recognition, two member companies also earned awards. CalPortland and Cemex won Partner of the Year awards in the energy management category. This is the fifth year in a row that Cemex has won this award, and the 18th successive year for CalPortland.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has told the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) that federal policy and support is vital to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can decarbonise the local industrial sector. In its comments to the office, the PCA said that it shares the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 through its own Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, which lays out a pathway to achieve this across the cement-concrete-construction value chain by 2050. However, it warned that without strong federal support the AMO’s timeline to reach carbon neutrality across industry was unrealistic due to the “significant technical, legal and economic challenges regarding technologies like carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), and others including hydrogen fuel and kiln electrification.”

“Federal policy must accelerate the significant technology, funding, and market innovation needed for rapid decarbonisation while preserving economic growth and international competitiveness,” said Sean O’Neill, senior vice president of government affairs at the PCA. “The adoption of CCUS is key to achieving deep decarbonisation in the cement industry.”

The PCA added that with the right federal and state policies, CCUS could become scalable within 10 years but infrastructure, policy, permitting and funding challenges remain. It suggested that tax incentive reforms and the use of Department of Energy loan programmes could accelerate early investment and adoption of CCUS.

The use of hydrogen fuels and kiln electrification was mentioned but these technologies are seen as being at least 15 – 20 years away. The association said that hydrogen remained very expensive and there was little current infrastructure for the transport and storage of hydrogen. More research and development is required to start evaluating the efficacy of kiln electrification.

US: LafargeHolcim US has revealed more information about a commercial-scale carbon-capture study based at its integrated Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri. The project aims to deliver a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for a carbon capture retrofit that can separate up to 95% of CO₂ emissions at the plant. The captured CO₂ will be ‘pipeline ready’ for geological storage and analysis of the project socio-economic impact will also be part of the study. The US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory awarded US$4m to the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois to work on the project in early October 2021. LafargeHolcim and Air Liquide are also making cost share contributions.

The design will use Air Liquide’s Crycocap FG system at the cement plant. LafargeHolcim US says that it combines pressure swing adsorption capabilities with cryogenic refrigeration technologies to achieve high CO₂ capture rates with high CO₂ purity rates. Notably, for a carbon capture project, the Ste. Genevieve plant has one of the largest single clinker kilns in the world.

US: The US Department of Energy has awarded a grant to Cemex USA, UK-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) specialist Carbon Clean and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The grant covers the implementation of a CCS system at Cemex USA’s Victorville cement plant in California, in addition to the development of a commercially viable carbon utilisation solution. The producer says that the study is due to last 30 months.

President Jaime Muguiro said, “Cemex is committed to being part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions globally and to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete to all of our customers by 2050. We cannot achieve these aims without innovative technology and collaborative relationships with both public and private organizations who share a commitment to climate action. This grant gives us an excellent opportunity to further develop a new technology to help us all reach our goals.”

US: The Department of Energy has granted Cemex funding to “research and develop innovative carbon capture technology” at its Balcones, Texas cement plant. The company says that this will partly fund an 18-month feasibility study of partner company Membrane Technology & Research’s membrane carbon capture product at the plant. It says that, if successful, the study will be “an important advancement towards Cemex’s ambition to deliver net-zero carbon dioxide (CO₂) concrete globally by 2050.”

USA president Jaime Muguiro said, “At Cemex, sustainability is embedded in our operations and we are consistently looking for opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint. We strive to develop and gradually adapt new technology which will help us achieve our ambition to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete to all of our customers. With this grant, we will be able to leverage our expertise to define the feasibility of implementing the membrane carbon capture technology in a cost-effective manner.”

Membrane Technology & Research has supplied membrane-based separation systems to the petrochemical, natural gas, and refining industries since 1992. Vice President of Technology Tim Merkel said, “Cement plant emissions are a good target for the CO2 capture membrane technology that we’ve been developing with Department of Energy support.” He added, “We look forward to working with Cemex on this exciting project to confirm that our technology can capture cement plant emissions at a minimal cost.”

US: LafargeHolcim says that Department of Energy institution National Energy Technology Laboratory has awarded US$1.5m of federal funding to the company’s CO₂MENT Colorado project. The project aims to capture 2.0Mt/yr of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the company’s 1.9Mt/yr Portland cement plant in Florence, Colorado for sequestration underground by Occidental.

The group said, “With the successful completion of the initial scoping study in June 2020 and confirmation of Department Of Energy funding, the partnership has committed to the next project phase.”

US: The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recognised Better Plants partner CalPortland for achieving an energy intensity reduction goal of 28% since 2010. As part of DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, the Better Plants Program works with leading manufacturers and water and wastewater treatment agencies to boost their competitiveness through improvements in energy efficiency. The cement producer was presented with an award for its efforts at the Better Plants conference in late September 2019.

CalPortland used DOE programs and software tools to help identify energy savings and accelerate investment in energy efficiency technologies and practices. Additionally, the company performed DOE in-plant training sessions driving innovation, cost savings, and the sharing of solutions company-wide to reach its target.