Heracles appoints Air Liquide for Olympus FEED contract

Heracles General Cement Co (Holcim group) has signed a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract with Air Liquide Engineering and Construction for the CO₂ capturing, liquefaction, storage and dispatch facilities as part of  Heracles’ large-scale Olympus carbon capture & storage (CCS) project in Greece.

Olympus is one of the largest CCS projects in Europe, enabling the Hercales plant's CO₂ emissions in the area of Milaki to capture and store 1Mta of CO₂. In 2023 the project was selected for a grant from the EU Innovation Fund and is scheduled to enter full operation in 2029. 

Air Liquide will upgrade and equip the Milaki plant with innovative and fully integrated systems for CO₂ capture, which will be accomplished by oxygen enrichment and cryogenic separation. Captured CO₂ will be liquefied and transported by sea to the Greek offshore sequestration facility of Prinos in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.

This agreement represents a crucial milestone towards the final investment decision (FID) of Olympus CCS project. It underscores Heracles’ commitment  to fulfil net zero pledge by materialising a robust large-scale CO₂ capturing unit. 

The FEED study will provide a detailed blueprint to address technical considerations, define the layout, estimate the investment cost for the design, operation and innovative integration of the carbon capture plant into the existing production facilities and pave the way for the subsequent equipment procuring and construction phases.

Dimitris Chanis, CEO of Heracles Group, stated: “This collaboration with Air Liquide, embodies a shared vision of two industry leaders that are committed to innovation and environmental responsibility. For Heracles, Olympus CCS project is a key lever to accelerate our net zero journey. We are committed to driving forward the industry’s decarbonisation and energy transition to a more sustainable future."