Antoing plant set to capture 97% of its emissions

Heidelberg Materials says that it will build a new hybrid carbon capture (CCUS) unit at its subsidiary SA Cimenteries CBR's cement plant in Antoing, Belgium, that will almost completely neutralise the plant's carbon-dioxide emissions.

The German building-materials company said the new unit will capture around 800,000tpa of CO₂ from the plant, equating to a reduction of more than 97 per cent, but does not disclose when the CCUS plant is expected to be operational. The innovative second-generation OxyCal concept combines the established oxyfuel and amine capture technology in a hybrid unit that no longer requires an additional preheater tower. 

Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board, said: “From the Antoing plant alone, we will be able to offer more than 15Mt of carbon-free cement to the construction market in the first 10 years of operation."

Heidelberg Materials aims to create a complete CO₂ value chain and will be looking to set up collaborations with partners to transport and store the captured carbon, the company said. The company will seek national, regional, and European Union funding to support the construction of the new unit, it added.