HeidelbergCement to install the world's first full-scale CCS facility in a cement plant

On 14 December 2020, the Norwegian parliament approved the investment in a full-scale carbon capture facility at the HeidelbergCement Norcem plant in Brevik/Norway. The Brevik carbon capture and storage (CCS) project will enable the capture of 400000 t of CO₂ per year and the transportation for permanent storage, making it the first industrial-scale CCS project at a cement production plant in the world. Work on the new facility in Brevik is expected to begin immediately, with the goal of starting CO₂ separation from the cement production process by 2024. The end result will be a 50% cut of emissions from the cement produced at the plant.

The Norwegian government had shortlisted Brevik for an industrial-scale CO₂ capture trial at the beginning of 2018. In September 2019, a memorandum of understanding on the capture and storage of CO₂ was signed by HeidelbergCement and the state-owned Norwegian energy Group Equinor. The project funding is largely supported by the Norwegian government as part of the Norwegian full-scale ‘Longship’ climate investment project that comprises capture, transport and storage of CO₂.

HeidelbergCement has committed itself to reduce its specific net CO₂ emissions per tonne of cementitious material by 30% compared to 1990 by 2025. This figure had previously only been targeted for 2030. To achieve this, the company has defined concrete CO₂ reduction measures for all plants worldwide. HeidelbergCement aims to offer carbon-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest.

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