RHI Magnesita, MCi Carbon, the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have received EUR3.8m (US$3.9m) in funding for the CCUPScale project as part of the Australia-Austria Industrial Decarbonisation Demonstration Partnership Program. The funding is provided by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, supported by the Austrian Ministry for Climate Action, and the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
This project aims to further develop MCi Carbon's mineral carbonation technology and support RHI Magnesita's plans to build the world’s first carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) plant in the refractory industry in Hochfilzen, Austria. The plant will capture, convert and utilise 50,000tpa of CO2 to produce CO2-negative mineral value-added products.
Since 2023, refractory specialist RHI Magnesita has invested millions of euros into the innovative CCU technology developed by the Australian clean-tech startup MCi Carbon. This technology aims to transform the refractory industry and neutralise CO2 emissions. With the EUR3.8m in funding, key advancements such as raw material analyses, pre-demonstration trials, low carbon product development, process engineering for scaling, and industrial integrations can now be pursued.
RHI Magnesita plans to deploy MCi Carbon’s CCU technology to significantly reduce its Scope 1 emissions. RHI Magnesita Regional President Europe, CIS & Tu¨rkiye, Constantin Beelitz, explains: "This funding approval shows that we are on the right track with this project. For industries with unavoidable emissions like ours, CO2 capture is currently the only viable path to achieve net-zero by 2050. However, we go one step further by not only capturing CO2 but also converting it into products that provide solutions for us and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, such as the cement industry."
“MCi Carbon is committed to advancing innovative, scalable solutions for decarbonising the world’s most challenging industries. RHI Magnesita is an excellent partner, investor and customer,” said Marcus Dawe, CEO of MCi Carbon.
