Helwan Cement to install WHR system

Suez Cement Group of Companies (SCGC), owned by Heidelberg Cement group, has announced an investment of around US$20m to build a waste heat recivery system (WHR) at its Helwan cement factory in Egypt.

The new facility will be using the latest technologies to ensure an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient production process, and significantly reduce CO₂ emissions produced from the electricity supply. The WHR system will have the potential to generate up to 18MW of power for captive consumption.   

"We have been investing a lot of capital recently in alternative and renewable energy sources, replacing known sources such as fuel in the form of coal and petcoke by alternative fuels including biomass, municipal and industrial waste. We continue investing to reduce our CO₂ emissions and depollute the environment by eliminating 200,000t of waste per year that otherwise would be disposed in landfills," José Maria Magrina, CEO of the Suez Cement Group of Companies, said. 

"Our sustainability efforts are in line with both Egypt's vision of 2030 as well as our commitments to reduce our CO₂ emissions to the same level as of 1990 by 2025," he added.

"Waste heat recovery can be a crucial factor in reducing energy use, costs, and CO₂ emissions at cement plants by utilising waste energy normally vented into the atmosphere to produce up to 30 per cent of a cement plant’s electricity needs. We are happy to be the forerunners of this effort in Egypt, as this is the first time such an installation is constructed in the Egyptian Cement industry," Mr Magrina added.

SCGC started the project in mid-2021 and is expected to complete it by the end of 2022. "We are currently concluding negotiations with three of the top service providers to design and execute the facility during 2022, where the winner will be very soon declared in an event. We are keen on working with partners who will be able to demonstrate the commercial viability of the waste heat recovery system," he highlighted.