HeidelbergCement - September 2019

HeidelbergCement and Norwegian energy group Equinor have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the capture and storage (CCS) of CO₂. Since 2011 HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Norcem has been running a project dedicated to CO₂ storage at its Brevik cement plant in Norway. The project, initiated by the Norwegian government, will see captured CO₂ transported to empty oil and gas fields beneath the North Sea where it will be stored permanently.

The MoU includes looking at the possibility of capturing CO₂ at other HeidelbergCement plants, as well as optimising the CO₂ transport chain to help implement CCS as a Europe-wide solution for CO₂ disposal. The Brevik project aims to capture around 400,000t of CO₂ each year, equivalent to around 50 per cent of the plant’s total carbon emissions. HeidelbergCement has set a target of reducing its specific net CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. By 2018 it had already achieved a 22 per cent reduction.