LafargeHolcim and Carbon Clean to develop large-scale CCUS plant

Carbon Clean announced today that it has signed an agreement in Spain with LafargeHolcim, ECCO2, and Sistemas de Calor to develop a large-scale carbon capture and utilisation plant. 

The project, based in LafargeHolcim’s Carboneras, Almeria, cement plant in Spain will aim to capture CO₂ emitted through the cement production process to be further transformed, cleaned and reused locally. The CO₂ will be captured from the cement plant’s flue gas and will be recycled for agricultural use for accelerated crop production. By imitating and accelerating the natural photosynthesis process, this technique has the potential to increase farm efficiency by reducing water and soil ratio per kilogram of vegetable production. Starting with 10 per cent of CO₂ emissions from 2022, the commercial applicability of this viable circular carbon economy business model can potentially leverage 700,000t of CO₂ and achieve 100 per cent decarbonisation at the plant.   

This follows on from LafargeHolcim’s announcement at the end of 2019, that it would invest about €20m in Spain (close to €150m in Europe) to help support the reduction of carbon emissions as part of its Green Transition Strategy.

"As part of our Green Transition Strategy, here at LafargeHolcim we are eager to tackle the fight against climate change through innovative initiatives that will further enable us to develop low-carbon products and solutions," said Isidoro Miranda, CEO of LafargeHolcim Spain. "In our journey towards net zero, collaborative efforts are key, and we look forward to working with our partners Carbon Clean, ECCO2 and Sistemas de Calor to develop this groundbreaking circular model which has the potential to revolutionise the cement and agricultural sectors."

Aniruddha Sharma, CEO of Carbon Clean, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with LafargeHolcim España. We are confident that together with LafargeHolcim’s best-in-class knowledge in cement manufacturing, ECCO2 and Sistemas de Calor’s expertise and our technology we will achieve a CO₂ circular economy in the agricultural sector and reduce the CO₂ footprint in the region. This ambitious project will help kick-start the technology race to a CO₂ circular economy and net zero in the cement sector in Europe."

This partnership will play a crucial role in furthering technological advancements in CCUS in the cement sector, which will be critical in the transition to a low-carbon energy future for this hard-to-abate industry.