Displaying items by tag: decarbonisation

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.”

US: Holcim US has become the first cement producer member of the Great Plains Institute’s Carbon Capture Coalition. The coalition’s 78 participating members and 23 observer organisations collaborate to build federal policy support for economy-wide, commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and related technologies. Holcim US is currently assessing the viability of commercial-scale carbon capture, with two studies underway, at its Portland cement plant in Colorado and its Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri.

Region head North America Toufic Tabbara said “Being at the forefront of developing low carbon solutions requires continuous innovative thinking and partnerships. Our efforts are most effective when we can align and join forces with other companies and organisations across industries who share this same commitment. We are proud to be part of an organisation that is similarly focused toward more efficient, innovative and sustainable practices.”

Germany: Mexico-based Cemex has joined a consortium with Sasol EcoFT and Enertrag that plans to use CO₂ and hydrogen to produce aviation fuel. The project is part of Cemex’s Future in Action program and is part of its plan to develop a carbon neutral operation at its Rüdersdorf cement plant by 2030. The consortium will source green hydrogen generated from wind and solar energy from Enertrag. The CO₂ will come from the Rüdersdorf cement plant, which will provide 100t/day CO₂ in the project’s initial stages. Sasol will then contribute its technology to produce e-kerosene, which, once certified, can be blended to constitute up to 50% of jet fuel.

The Rüdersdorf carbon neutral alliance includes over 20 start-ups, universities, companies from other industries and authorities working to develop industrial-scale solutions achieve the first carbon-neutral cement plant in the world.

Enertrag is a renewable-energy company based in Brandenburg. It operates utility-scale integrated energy plants in 10 countries. Its plants produce electricity and green hydrogen from wind and solar sources.

Sasol EcoFT is part of Sasol Group. It uses its technology to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals from green hydrogen and sustainable carbon sources, via the Power-to-Liquids process.

Switzerland: The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has informed policymakers that the best current route to reduce carbon emissions from cement production is through the increased use secondary cementitious materials and by encouraging the development and uptake of carbon capture. Alternatively, the development of new chemistries for building materials could help the situation but this is not expected in the short to medium term.

The report noted that 12Gt of CO₂ equivalent was released directly and indirectly in 2019 from buildings and emissions from cement and steel use for building construction and renovation. These emissions included indirect emissions from offsite generation of electricity and heat, direct emissions produced onsite and emissions from cement and steel used for building construction and renovation. In sections of the IPCC report yet to be finally approved the authors said, “Cement and concrete are currently overused because they are inexpensive, durable, and ubiquitous, and consumption decisions typically do not give weight to their production emissions.”

Overall, the report concluded that average annual global greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 to 2019 were at their highest levels in human history but the rate of growth had slowed. The IPCC has called on “immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors” for any chance for society to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To do this global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030. However, even if this did occur, it would take until the end of the 21st century for the temperature threshold to be stabilised.

France: The European Commission (EC) has awarded funding under its Innovation Fund 2021 for CRH subsidiary Eqiom’s upgrade to its Lumbres, Hauts-de-France, cement plant. The work includes the replacement of a kiln and the installation of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) system at the plant, in collaboration with Air Liquide. The producer says that the project is one of seven selected under the EC’s K6 programme of innovation funding in line with the EU Green Deal.

Japan: Tokuyama Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG). Under the agreement, MHIENG will install a carbon capture demonstration plant at the producer's 4.7Mt/yr Nanyo plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It plans to commission the trial plant in June 2022 and operate it until March 2023. The supplier hopes to contribute to the early realisation of carbon neutrality in cement and other industrial fields through its work.

Germany: ThyssenKrupp Uhde, Holcim and the Technische Universität Berlin have started a joint project to investigate the use of a novel amine scrubbing technology for carbon capture. The goal is to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from existing cement plants and at the same time utilise the captured CO₂ for other applications. This includes the development of new mass transfer process equipment that is more efficient and resilient to contaminations. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

The equipment is being tested using exhaust gas at Holcim’s Beckum plant. Various possibilities for using the captured CO₂ are also being examined, such as manufacturing methanol or sustainable fuels. The aim is develop a technology that can be retrofitted at existing cement plants.

Ralph Kleinschmidt, head of technology, innovation and sustainability at ThyssenKrupp Uhde said, "Amine scrubbing is already commonly used to recover CO₂ from process gases or exhaust gases. Now, we are developing the technology further and optimising it for the cement industry. Additional applications for capturing CO₂ direct at source, such as in waste incineration plants, are also possible."Arne Stecher, head of decarbonisation at Holcim Germany added that the company is testing different processes to find the best carbon capture technology.

US: The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) has approved the use of Portland limestone cement (PLC) in its projects. The California Nevada Cement Association (CNCA) says that the move has the potential to eliminate 25,500t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

The CNCA plans to achieve cement and concrete carbon neutrality by 2045 through three priority actions. These are investment in promising and critical long-term technologies (crucially carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies), increased alternative fuel (AF) substitution and the acceptance of PLC for CalTrans projects. Thus, the latest CalTrans decision marks the establishment of one pillar of the CNCA’s ambitious plan for net zero.

Germany: Australia-based Calix says that its LEILAC-2 carbon capture retrofit of HeidelbergCement's Hanover cement plant has passed its financial investment decision. The company is accordingly proceeding with detailed design and long-lead item purchasing. It will launch construction in 2023. Calix added that, due to a number of project risk flag points given the 'market situation,' it will not buy major components until closer to that time.

When commissioned, the installation will capture 0.1Mt/yr of CO₂ and cost an estimated Euro20 - 25/t of CO₂ captured.