CEMEX and Carbon Clean work on carbon capture project in Germany
CEMEX has appointed Carbon Clean to work on a FEED study for a ground-breaking carbon capture project at its Rüdersdorf plant in Germany, as part of its Carbon Neutral Alliance at the site
The initial stage of this project aims to capture 100 tonnes per day of CO2 at the plant and combine this with hydrogen from renewable sources to produce greener synthetic hydrocarbons that can be used in other industries.
Then, the aim will be to increase the CO2 capture by an additional 300 tonnes per day, and use hydrogen supplied by a dedicated pipeline. Both project stages have already been submitted for national and European funding and will be operating by 2026. The receiving of funding is crucial for the implementation of the innovation projects.
Finally, a study will be completed to investigate how to scale up to 2,000 tonnes per day of CO2.
Sergio Menendez, President of CEMEX Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia, commented:
“This project with Carbon Clean is the latest development in CEMEX’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality at the Rüdersdorf cement plant by 2030, through our pioneering carbon neutral alliance with expert industrial consortiums. Carbon capture will play a fundamental role in the efforts to succeed at this goal and ensure our operations are more sustainable.”
CEMEX and Carbon Clean are working together with the objective of demonstrating the potential of significantly reducing CO2 capture costs and establishing technology to support this.
Last year, CEMEX already carried out a feasibility study with Carbon Clean to demonstrate the reduction in CO2 capture cost from the cement plant flue gas with an initial capacity of 100 tonnes per day.
Co-founder & CEO of Carbon Clean, Aniruddha Sharma said:
“We are looking forward to delivering this breakthrough project with CEMEX further strengthening our relationship and helping to decarbonize the cement industry.
“With many industrial plants having limited space, the biggest barriers to widespread CCUS adoption have been the size and cost of existing technology. Carbon Clean is breaking down these barriers with the world’s smallest industrial carbon capture solution. CycloneCC is the next generation of technology that will make carbon capture simple, affordable, and scalable – bringing it within reach of a huge number of industrial emitters, especially those with small to mid-size emission point sources.”
Globally, CEMEX has committed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 35% by 2025 and 40% by 2030, with its European operations being the first to align to the EU’s aspiration to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 as part of its ‘Future In Action’ strategy – committed to net zero CO2.
About Carbon Clean
Carbon Clean is a global leader in cost-effective CO2 capture technology and services. The company’s patented technology significantly reduces the costs and environmental impacts of CO2 separation when compared to existing techniques.
The technology has been proven at scale in power, cement, refineries, CHP and heavy industry boilers in over 10 locations, including the UK, USA, Germany, India, Norway, and the Netherlands. It is currently in use at the world’s largest industrial-scale carbon capture and utilisation plant in Tuticorin, India for the chemicals sector. The UK government has supported the development of Carbon Clean’s technology through competitive grants.
The company was awarded a ‘Technology Pioneer’ award by the World Economic Forum and most recently selected as one of Cemex Ventures Top50 ConTech Startups and named a 2021 Global Cleantech 100 company.
About CycloneCC
CycloneCC uses two proven technologies: Carbon Clean’s advanced, proprietary amine-promoted buffer salt solvent (APBS-CDRMax®) and rotating packed beds (RPBs).
When used together they ensure CycloneCC is far more efficient than conventional carbon capture methods, reducing costs while matching the performance. Using RPBs, instead of a conventional large chimney stack, improves the absorption of CO2 into the solvent, and has a ten times smaller footprint. It is expected to deliver cost of carbon capture of $30/tonne
Built on an easy-to-transport skid mount, each CycloneCC unit can be delivered ready to install and fully operational in less than eight weeks.
CycloneCC is currently being commercialised at 10 TPD and 100 TPD with select partners for final product roll out by summer 2022 and market roll out in 2023.
About CEMEX
CEMEX is a global construction materials company that is building a better future through sustainable products and solutions. CEMEX is committed to achieving carbon neutrality through relentless innovation and industry-leading research and development. CEMEX is at the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain, and is pioneering ways to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels in its operations with the use of new technologies. CEMEX offers cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions in growing markets around the world, powered by a multinational workforce focused on providing a superior customer experience, enabled by digital technologies.
Source:
Carbon Clean, press release, 2021-11-01.