HeidelbergCement steps up Slite CCS project

Following positive results from a pre-feasibility study, HeidelbergCement and its Swedish subsidiary Cementa are taking their carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Slite cement plant in Sweden to the next stage. The installation on the Swedish island of Gotland will now be scaled up to capture up to 1.8Mta of CO₂, equal to the plant’s total emissions and equivalent to three per cent of the country’s total emissions.

In terms of capturing the CO₂, the pre-feasibility study found that amine capture was the most suitable technology. When it comes to storing the CO₂, the plant’s harbour location makes it ideal for the various underground storage solutions currently in development in the North Sea. The use of biobased fuels in the cement production process at Slite will also be increased in line with HeidelbergCement’s commitment to significantly raise the share of biomass in the fuel mix.  

The full-scale capture of the plant’s CO₂ emissions is targeted for 2030. A new grant from the Swedish Energy Agency will help support this next step as part of the agency’s commitment towards carbon-neutral cement production in Sweden by 2030. “Slite CCS is the largest CCUS project yet in our group and the cement industry, and a model for what will be achievable with CCUS also beyond 2030,” said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman, HeidelbergCement. “As this initiative contributes considerably to the climate ambitions of Sweden, and is a unique project for us in terms of scale, we are keen to make it happen.”