ACCSESS partner is allocating €1.5 billion to CCUS projects as part of goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 47% by 2030

On 24 May 2022, ACCSESS partner HeidelbergCement announced its intentions to reduce specific CO₂ emissions by a further 30% as part of its new sustainability targets.

The targets were presented as part of HeidelbergCement’s “Capital Markets Day 2022” event under the motto “Concrete promises”. The company committed to reducing its net CO₂ emissions to 400 kg/t of cementitious material by 2030. This would represent a 47% reduction in emissions compared to 1990 levels. The company’s previous target was to reduce emissions by 33% compared to 1990 levels in the same period.

In order to achieve this goal, HeidelbergCement is focussing on three pillars: Optimise Products, Optimise Process and CCUS. HeidelbergCement is investing €1.5 billion in carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) projects. The company aims to save 10 MT of CO₂ cumulatively by 2030 solely from the CCUS projects that have already been launched.

“CCUS is the only way so far to be able to produce CO₂-free cement and concrete,” said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “We are very well positioned here and are thus able to reduce our operating expenses, also through lower costs for CO₂ allowances. This is a clear competitive advantage for HeidelbergCement and an opportunity to sustainably improve margins, especially in Europe.”

HeidelbergCement’s investment in CCUS to reduce its CO₂ emissions makes the company a natural fit for the ACCSESS consortium. As part of the project, HeidelbergCement will trial the use of Hafslund Oslo Celsio’s mobile CO₂ capture test rig together with the CO₂ Solutions by Saipem capture technology and Prospin’s rotary-packed bed absorber to capture CO₂ emissions at its cement kiln in Górażdże, Poland. Modifications are currently being made to the rig for operations with Saipem’s capture technology, and are expected to be completed soon.

Read more: ACCSESS: A technology collaboration for carbon dioxide removal

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