Federal Minister Klara Geywitz visits Rohrdorfer Zement

"The decarbonisation of the cement industry is a task that can be described as a new industrial revolution, especially in view of the current tense situation in the building materials industry," said Rohrdorfer Managing Director Mike Edelmann, describing the current situation. The Rohrdorfer Group has set the goal of producing CO2-free by 2038 and has already set several milestones on this path: Since 2022, carbon dioxide has been recovered from cement flue gas in Rohrdorf and converted into formic acid, a valuable basic chemical. Many other measures, such as the in-house generation of electricity from renewable energy or the increased use of low-CO2 cements, raw materials and fuels, are just a few of the steps Rohrdorfer has already successfully taken.

The poor construction economy is unfortunately acting as a brake on new investments, said Mike Edelmann and Kai Junghänel, the commercial director of the Rohrdorfer Group, in a conversation with Federal Minister of Construction Geywitz. A clear program for an ambitious expansion of housing and infrastructure is necessary, otherwise more and more cement and concrete producers will have to fight for survival instead of driving forward decarbonisation, said the Rohrdorfer managing directors.

Federal Minister Klara Geywitz found out more about the production processes and current conditions for the company: "The cement industry is currently facing major challenges. Decarbonising the building materials industry and continuing to grow into more climate-friendly production processes in the current difficult economic conditions is not easy. Nevertheless, Rohrdorfer is showing that it can be done. And as Federal Minister of Construction, I pay attention to openness to materials and technologies. Not everything will be able to be built with wood alone. Steel is needed. And cement is needed for concrete and mortar. The solutions that I saw here in the company today are exactly what is needed and they can certainly inspire others in their transformation process."

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