Displaying items by tag: carbon capture

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement, ITOCHU, Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, INPEX, Taisei, and ITOCHU Oil Exploration have been chosen by the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to lead the engineering design work for key carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives. This selection marks a step towards Japan's ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 46% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from financial year 2013 (FY13) levels by FY30.

The project encompasses front end engineering design (FEED) and appraisal drilling as critical next steps following a comprehensive feasibility study conducted in FY23. This prior study involved detailed assessments of CO₂ separation, capture, transportation and storage processes. The CCS initiative involves shipping CO₂ captured at Nippon Steel’s Kyushu Works in the Oita area and Daiichi Cement's Kawasaki plant, part of the Taiheiyo Cement Group, to designated storage sites.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has finalised award negotiations with the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The Mitchell cement plant in Indiana will receive US$300,000 to begin the first phase of its decarbonisation project, part of a broader initiative of up to US$500m in DOE funding to support full-scale carbon capture, transport and storage developments. The Mitchell cement plant has tripled its previous production capacity, with this project aiming to capture and process about 2Mt/yr of CO₂.

Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America, said "This critical milestone of bringing our project under award with the US Department of Energy is a significant step in building the first full-scale application of carbon capture and storage for the cement industry in the US.”

Latvia/Lithuania: Capsol Technologies has won a contract to carry out two CapsolGo carbon capture demonstration campaigns at the Brocēni cement plant in Latvia and the Akmenės Cementas cement plant in Lithuania. Both plants are owned by Germany’s Schwenk Zement. Following a feasibility study earlier in 2024, the demonstrations will run from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025 and will showcase the CapsolEoP capture technology.

Philipp Staggat, chief product officer of Capsol Technologies, said "CapsolEoP offers lower energy consumption with higher CO₂ concentration than competitive technologies, and the capture cost for cement owners is reduced further as it doesn't require external steam supply. We are looking forward to demonstrating our technology on Schwenk's cement plants.”

CEO of Akmenės Cementas, Arturas Zaremba added "In collaboration with our clients and stakeholders, we are dedicated to addressing these challenges. The implementation of CapsolEoP technology at our Latvian and Lithuanian plants is a testament to our commitment, marking a significant stride towards the goal of capturing over 1.5Mt/yr of CO₂.”

Canada: Canada-based carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) company Carbon Upcycling has been admitted to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). This new membership aims to support industry efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. The US Department of Energy previously announced over US$1.2bn in funding for PCA member companies to launch decarbonisation projects under recent federal initiatives. Carbon Upcycling has been developing a commercial CCS system at CRH’s cement plant in Mississauga.

PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland said "We are thrilled to have Carbon Upcycling join us as a member of the PCA, given our shared commitment to sustainability. Their efforts are helping the cement industry increase circularity and advance the industry's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality."

CEO of Carbon Upcycling Apoorv Sinha said "The most effective and credible pathway to decarbonising the cement industry is through strategic partnerships and collaboration with long-time industry leaders in the infrastructure sector. Joining the PCA underscores our commitment to advance sustainable practices and substantially reduce carbon emissions. We look forward to forging a low-carbon, resilient future with our fellow members."

UK: Aggregate Industries has appointed Tom Murphy as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Project Manager at the Cauldon Cement Plant in Staffordshire. He will play a leading role in managing the introduction of a carbon capture unit at the site.

Murphy joins the subsidiary of Holcim from Tata Chemical Europe where he was the Plant Manager for a first-of-a-kind post combustion carbon capture plant. Prior to that, he worked as an Energy Chemical Engineer for Tata and as a Research Engineer for the Materials Processing Institute. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester.

The CCUS project at the Cauldon Cement Plant is part of the wider Peak Cluster partnership, which was formed by cement and lime producers around the Derbyshire Peak District region and aims to cut collective annual carbon emissions by 3Mt/yr by 2030. More than 0.6t/yr is targeted to be cut at Cauldon. The project is being led by Progressive Energy. It aims to capture and transport CO₂ emissions from Cauldon and other partner plants before sequestering them beneath the eastern Irish Sea in one of the storage options which the project has access to, including the Liverpool Bay CCS or the Morecambe Net Zero project.

China: China Energy Engineering (CEEC) has announced the completion of reliability testing for ‘CarbonBox’, Asia's ‘largest direct air capture device by capacity’, according to the company. Developed jointly by a CEEC subsidiary and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, CarbonBox can reportedly capture over 600t/yr of CO₂. This technology will help to contribute to the production of green methanol and aviation fuel. The device aims to reduce the traditionally high energy consumption and costs associated with direct air capture devices.

A recent report by the Administrative Centre for China’s Agenda 21 and two other institutes revealed that China is advancing in CCUS deployment, with nearly 100 planned and operational projects.

Australia: Calix has been awarded a US$10m grant from the Australian government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program to build a commercial demonstration electric calciner for ‘near zero emissions’ lime and cement production. The grant covers up to 50% of the expenditure, contingent on meeting project milestones.

The project will utilise the Leilac technology to capture up to 20,000t/yr of CO₂ from the cement and lime manufacturing processes. The project will create two revenue streams via a ‘near zero emissions’ lime product, as well as up to 15,000t/yr of captured CO₂ being sold to the SM1 project for green methanol production.

In the second phase of the project, production will be expanded to include the processing of cement raw meal to a ‘near zero emissions’ clinker product, with captured CO₂ supplied for use.

Denmark: Aalborg Portland, a Danish cement firm, has completed testing for its second carbon capture pilot plant and will now undergo further trials in Romania and Greece, according to M-Brain News. This plant is a key component of the EU-subsidised ConsenCUS project.

A spokesperson for Aalborg Portland said "This experience offers preliminary knowledge ahead of establishing a full-scale CO₂ capture facility, and we are also contributing to the progression of this area where we, within the ConsenCUS collaboration, have verified the existence of multiple potential technologies for CO₂ capture."

Croatia: Holcim Croatia's €237m 'KOdeCO' project has been declared a strategic investment by Croatia. This will reportedly make Holcim the first producer of carbon-neutral cement in Croatia and one of the first in Europe, according to a press release by the company.

In January 2024, Holcim Croatia began implementing the carbon capture and storage project at the cement plant in Koromačno, signing a contract with the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency and securing a grant from the EU Innovation Fund totalling €117m. The project will reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 367,000t/yr.

Australia: Woodside Energy and Cemex have invested US$6.7m in Melbourne-based KC8 Capture Technologies to support its efforts in achieving net zero emissions via carbon capture and storage.

KC8 is partnering with Cement Australia to construct a commercial demonstration plant in Gladstone, Queensland, aiming to capture 15t/day of CO₂. A partnership with Cemex aims to capture over 100t/day of CO₂ at one of its major plants. Additionally, KC8 plans a commercial pilot at the US Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Centre to capture 10-15t/day of CO₂ from natural gas combustion flue gas. The initiative has also secured US$6m from Low Emission Technology Australia and US$11.26m from the US government.

Executive director Greg Ross said "The funds will be used to expand KC8’s team and expedite deployment of its technology into hard-to-abate industries, such as cement – through a number of key projects."