On 10 October 2024 the Monselice cement plant in Italy hosted a meeting to present the Nuada CO2 capture and decarbonisation project, launched last spring, to the local community. 

The event began with opening remarks from Paolo Zelano, CEO of Buzzi, and Paolo Paoletti, the plant director. Group Technical Director, Luigi Buzzi, illustrated the principles of the ‘Our Journey to Net Zero’ roadmap, a long-term plan for decarbonisation, in line with the objectives set by the European Green Deal.

Next, Francesco Magli, a specialist in research and development projects, shared the reasons for the collaboration with Nuada, a UK-based supplier of CO2 capture technologies. The proceedings were closed by Conor Hamill, CEO of Nuada, who emphasised that this pilot project represents a significant innovation milestone in carbon capture and highlights the technology's potential for cement production.

Nuada’s highly energy-efficient carbon capture solution combines new solid sorbents called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with an advanced vacuum oscillating pressure adsorption (VPSA) process. This is an electrically-powered system that separates CO2 from industrial flue gases using pressure rather than heat. It offers a promising approach to overcome the challenges of energy consumption, costs and integration compared to the use of traditional carbon capture solutions in industry.

The Monselice experimental activity is aimed at acquiring useful information for the industrial-scale construction of a plant of this specific technology, potentially capable of capturing the majority of the CO2 emitted by the group’s cement plants. Buzzi’s choice to make the Monselice plant available to Nuada is dictated by logistical and plant engineering reasons and does not preclude future experiments in other plants. The first data emerging during the tests are being processed and Nuada engineers believe they are in line with the simulations carried out on a theoretical basis.

Further details on the project can be found on CemNet.