Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement, has set out HeidelbergCement’s 2030 targets for carbon capture and storage utilisation (CCUS) during a state visit by the German Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to Norway on 4-5 November 2021.
Dr Dominik von Achten said: “We target CO2-reductions of up to 10Mt with several CCUS projects already underway by 2030. One example is the CCS project at the Slite cement plant on the Swedish island of Gotland, announced in June 2021, which we are eager to drive forward.” The Slite plant of HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Cementa could potentially capture 1.8Mt of CO2 and become the world's first climate-neutral cement plant.
HeidelbergCement is currently building the world's first full-scale carbon capture facility at a cement plant. The facility, located at the Brevik cement plant of the Norwegian subsidiary Norcem, will be operational in 2024 and capture 400,000t annually, or 50 per cent of the plant’s emissions.
As part of the state visit, Dr Dominik von Achten participated in a roundtable event at the Norwegian classification society DNV on the topic "Energy Transition – From Fossil Fuels to Renewables," opened by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marte, Mjøs Persen.
Dr Dominik von Achten underlined HeidelbergCement’s strategic focus on CCUS and the ambition to decarbonise the company: "We are excited to be part of this pioneering project together with the Norwegian government. It enables us to further progress on our path towards carbon neutrality, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the building materials industry." Dr von Achten also had a separate meeting with Minister Mjøs Persen about the Norwegian Longship programme, in which the Brevik cement plant plays a central role.
