The cement industry’s march towards decarbonisation continues apace as leading players from around the world work to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the industry’s carbon footprint.
Heidelberg Materials, for example, has announced the launch of a feasibility study for a source-to-sink CCS solution at its Rezzato Mazzano plant in Italy’s Brescia region. If successful, this project (which will draw on lessons learned from the company’s broad range of CCUS projects) is targeting a capture rate of more than 95% and could result in Italy’s first cement plant able to produce net-zero cement and concrete via carbon capture.
And there’s another factor that makes this feasibility study particularly promising. Namely, the nearby Ravenna CCS project (a joint venture between Eni and Snam) which has entered Phase 1 of operations and offers a vital avenue for CO2 storage. The goal of the Ravenna CCS project is to leverage Eni’s depleted gas fields in the Adriatic Sea which will be converted for exclusive use as permanent geological CO2 storage sites. The total storage capacity of these fields is estimated at more than 500 million t, making this project the reference CCS hub in the Mediterranean. Snam has committed to developing a pipeline network to transport CO2 from emitters to the Ravenna CCS hub. The ideal scenario is one in which the Rezzato Mazzano plant could ultimately participate in the future allocation processes of CO2 transport and storage capacities in these depleted gas fields.
Dr Dominik von Achten, Chairman of the Managing Board of Heidelberg Materials, has high hopes for the project: “We are excited to explore the economic feasibility of a carbon capture initiative in the Mediterranean. Our ambition at Heidelberg Materials is not only to implement a decarbonisation initiative that is highly efficient in terms of resources and energy, but also to provide an important impetus for the development of a regional CCS cluster.”
Elsewhere, India’s Ambuja Cements Ltd (part of the Adani portfolio) has become the first cement producer to join the Alliance for Industry Decarbonization (AFID), a global platform for exchanging insights and experiences among private and public stakeholders in the energy-intensive sectors.
Ambuja Cements has a stated goal of achieving net zero by 2050, with its climate targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Ambuja has already announced plans to invest nearly US$1.2 billion into renewable energy supplies and waste heat recovery technology, with the goal of 60% of its production capacity being powered by green energy by 2028. In FY 2024, Ambuja Cements utilised over 8.6 million t of waste-derived resources and became 11x water-positive and 8x plastic-negative.
On the topic of sharing decarbonisation insights and experiences, early bird ticket rates for World Cement’s EnviroTech are still available! Featuring leading players from across the cement industry, EnviroTech 2025 will take place in Athens on 9 - 12 March, 2025.
Register today to secure your place at the forefront of the decarbonisation discussion: www.worldcement.com/envirotech2025
