This week Heidelberg Materials released its 2024 Sustainability Report. In 2024, Heidelberg Materials successfully reduced specific net CO2 emissions to 527kg/t of cementitious materials, down 1.3 per cent. This achievement is part of a broader effort to enhance energy efficiency, reduce clinker content in cement and scale up carbon capture initiatives.
The company has set a goal to reduce specific net CO2 emissions (Scope 1) to 400kg/t of cementitious material by 2030, representing a 24 per cent decrease from 2020 levels. To achieve this, the company relies on several decarbonisation tools, including alternative fuel, artificial intelligence and digitalisation, calcined clay as a low-carbon alternative to ordinary Portland cement, carbon capture and hydrogen fuel. Since 2016, the group has reduced Scope 1 CO2 emissions by 16.1 per cent. The group has six years to reduce CO2 emissions (Scope 1) by a further 127kg/t of cementitious materials to meet its 2030 target. It will also continue to reduce the Scope 2 and 3 CO2 emissions.
Decarbonisation at work
The launch of evoZero has offered a low-carbon alternative for the group’s cement customers, but the group's biggest decarbonisation commitment is its investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS). The year 2024 marked a major milestone with the completion of the mechanical installation of the Brevik CCS plant in Norway. The project is set to capture 0.4Mta of CO2, equivalent to 50 per cent of the plant’s emissions, when it becomes operational later this year.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence is being leveraged to optimise cement production and to reduce emissions. The SmartMix AL solution by Giatec Scientific will increase raw material efficiency and minimise CO2 output. In addition, AI predictive analysis is being implemented across 100 cement plants to enhance operational performance and reduce energy consumption.
Ghana is the location for the group’s leading calcined clay project with a 0.4Mta capacity being commissioned by the subsidiary CBI Ghana. The group has a broader cementitious materials strategy, including limestone and blastfurnace slag cements. The aim is to reduce the clinker ratio to 68 per cent by 2030 versus 74.3 per cent in 2020.
Big gains in reducing specific gross Scope 1 CO2 emissions have been achieved with alternative fuels (AF). AF will make up 45 per cent of the fuel mix by 2030, compared with 25.7 per cent in 2020. The proportion of biomass will rise from 9.9 per cent in 2020 to 20 per cent in 2030. The 2024 group AF utilisation rate reached 31 per cent, while the Edmonton cement plant in Canada achieved a 50 per cent utilisation rate.