Editorial comment
Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and one of the world’s foremost energy economists made headlines recently when he said that the prospects of reaching net zero by 2050 had improved after the “staggering” growth of renewable energy and other green investments around the world.
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He was quoted as saying: “Despite the scale of the challenges, I feel more optimistic than I felt two years ago […] Solar photovoltaic installations and electric vehicle sales are perfectly in line with what we said they should be, to be on track to reach net zero by 2050, and thus stay within 1.5°C. Clean energy investments in the last two years have seen a staggering 40% increase.”
That was certainly refreshing to read; positive news that shows real progress is being made. All too often, the commentary surrounding the world’s race to net zero can come across as cataclysmic fear-mongering, more likely turn people away than it is to inspire them. That’s not to say that we should be complacent – far from it – as Birol points out, climate-altering emissions from many sources remain “stubbornly high” and increasing numbers of extreme weather events show how the climate is changing “at frightening speed.” I suppose the point is that whilst we need to acknowledge that the challenge is great, and that the consequences of failure are grave, it is also a challenge that the world can overcome, and that things are heading in the right direction.
Case in point: progress is even being made towards one of the biggest technology challenges involved in the decarbonisation of cement production – CCUS. According to the GCCA’s 2050 Net Zero Road Map, CCUS technologies will ultimately have to account for 36% of all CO2 emissions from cement production. In order to meet this challenge, CCUS pilot projects are springing up at cement plants around the world, exploring different methodologies and techniques for not just capturing the CO2, but also for the equally complicated tasks of storage and utilisation. To give just a couple of examples (from dozens), they range from: Rohrdorfer & ANDRITZ’s recently completed pilot project which captures 1500 tpd of CO2 and converts it into formic acid for the chemicals industry; to Heidelberg Materials’ Edmonton plant, which is being prepared to capture as much as 1 million tpy of CO2, before transporting it by pipeline for underground storage. And that’s not all. In addition to CCUS, many other technologies and processes (renewable energy, alternative fuels, process optimisation, SCMs, etc.) are being developed, refined and rolled out in the cement industry’s journey to net zero.
Come join us in Lisbon on March 10 – 13, 2024 for World Cement’s first in-person conference and exhibition: EnviroTech. Featuring a 2.5 day technical presentation agenda on the decarbonisation of cement, multiple networking events, and a full exhibition, EnviroTech will allow you to network and share actionable business insights with cement industry peers from around the world.
Register today and secure your place at the gateway to green cement: www.worldcement.com/envirotech2024
I look forward to seeing you in Lisbon.
