Brevik one-step away from full industrial start-up of carbon capture

The Norwegian government has proposed to parliament that Norcem's Brevik plant begins its industrial-scale carbon capture project. With 400,000t of CO₂ to be captured annually and transported for permanent storage, HeidelbergCement is planning to realise at its Brevik plant the first industrial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at a cement production facility in the world. The proposal of the Norwegian government is the second last step in the approval process for the project. As the final step, the Norwegian parliament is expected to sign the budget until the end of 2020.

"We are very pleased with the proposal of the Norwegian government," says Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "This allows us to continue the pioneering work that we started together with our partners in Brevik. The carbon capture and storage project in Norway is an important cornerstone in our climate strategy. It will enable us to significantly reduce otherwise unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions related to the cement production process."

Giv Brantenberg, general manager HeidelbergCement Northern Europe and chairman of the Board of Norcem, says: “We have been developing this project since the first desktop studies in 2005 and have interacted well over many years with the Norwegian authorities and our supportive partners. We are proud and honoured that we may soon initiate the building of the world’s first full-scale carbon capture plant in the cement industry”.

The Norwegian government shortlisted Brevik for an industrial-scale CO₂ capture trial at the beginning of 2018. On 5 September 2019, a memorandum of understanding on the capture and storage (CCS) of CO₂ was signed by HeidelbergCement and the state-owned Norwegian energy Group Equinor. The project funding is largely supported by the Norwegian government.

HeidelbergCement has committed itself to reduce its specific net CO₂ emissions per tonne of cementitious material by 30 per cent compared to 1990 by 2025. This figure had previously only been targeted for 2030. To achieve this, the company has defined concrete CO₂ reduction measures for all plants worldwide. HeidelbergCement aims to realise its vision of carbon-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest.