Lehigh Hanson, Inc (HeidelbergCement Group) has received approximately US$3.7m funding from the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management to conduct a front-end engineering design (FEED) study retrofitting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc’s carbon capture technology at its Mitchell cement plant, Indiana.
The company is also contributing about US$1.1m in funding, which brings the total value for the project to around US$4.8m. Commercial engineering support to the project will be provided by Sargent & Lundy.
The funding was part of a DoE initiative that awarded more than US$31m in funding for 10 projects to develop carbon capture technologies capable of capturing at least 95 per cent of CO2 emissions generated from natural gas power plants, waste-to-energy power plants and industrial applications, including cement and steel.
The new Mitchell cement plant will more than triple its current capacity and incorporates features to minimise energy consumption and enable the utilisation of alternative fuels and raw materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed project will capture and sequester approximately 2Mt of CO2 per year. The primary objective of the FEED study is to evaluate the cost and performance of the overall project, including site-specific considerations for full-scale implementation. The project will also study the positive social, economic, and environmental benefits to the surrounding community.
“We are pleased to receive this funding so we can better understand what it will take to make our carbon capture project successful,” said Chris Ward, president and CEO of Lehigh Hanson Inc. “We believe that carbon capture technology will play a significant role in achieving carbon neutrality and we are very excited to take the next steps in this journey at our Mitchell cement plant.”
The new Lehigh Cement plant in Mitchell is anticipated to begin full production in early 2023.
