From Emissions To Solutions

It is a cold and cloudy day in Northern Virginia. The wind is driving in from the east, battering the treeline and revealing the vast, grey expanses of rooftops in the area. An army of construction workers wait as concrete is poured over the freshly laid steel frame of the foundations. Then they descend, pushing, sweeping, polishing; coercing the concrete into what will be the critical floor slabs for the latest hyperscale data centre. But this concrete is different – this is a trial of low-carbon cement.

The American Cement Association (ACA) predicts that the US will require 1 million t of cement to construct data centres for AI purposes alone by 2028. Given the top-down emphasis from hyperscalers to reduce their carbon footprint, it is likely that ‘lower-carbon concrete’ will increase in significance for this application. While hyperscalers provide one potential customer base, the wider use cases and market drivers for low-carbon cement are rapidly gaining traction. Tightening government policies targeting carbon-intensive industries – such as the EU Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), rising carbon prices, and the implementation of emissions trading schemes (ETS) – along with public expectations and corporate pressure, combine to create a pivotal juncture for the cement and construction industry.

The problem remains that cement production is a carbon-intensive industry, in part due to the direct release of CO₂ as an inherent part of the chemical process. Despite industry improvements in carbon efficiency since 2015, global CO₂ emissions from cement have been rising (IEA). The industry is not currently on track to meet 2050 targets, and to achieve the required emissions cuts, approximately 8% of global cement production would need to be at near-zero emissions by 2030 (IEA). While a range of decarbonisation methods are available to cement production, from clinker composition to fuel switching and increased electrical efficiency, data from Cement Europe (formerly CEMBUREAU) 2050 roadmap indicates that approximately 40% of the required carbon reduction for the industry will be achieved by CCUS.

How can carbon capture be successfully deployed for deep decarbonisation in the cement industry? The key challenge lies in integrating new technology into daily cement operations. This journey begins with selecting a proven, mature solution that makes a project investable and extends through flawless execution to reliable, long-term operation. All of this must be achieved while ensuring economic viability, profitability, and a competitive green premium. Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies will share how projects overcome these challenges – and how they can provide support at every stage.

Selecting the right technology can be critical to project success

When cement producers consider deploying CCUS, they face a maze of options – amines, oxyfuel combustion combined with cryogenic separation, PSA or membranes processes coupled with cryogenic separation, and other emerging concepts. Each promises benefits, but not all are proven at scale. Amine technology stands apart. First introduced nearly a century ago for gas treating, it has thousands of successful installations in gas processing and petrochemicals. Approximately 30 years ago, this trusted technology was adapted for post-combustion carbon capture and has since been tailored for deployment across multiple sectors, including cement.

Why does history matter? Because selecting a proven, de-risked solution is the foundation of an investable project – one that has performed reliably for decades. Beyond capture efficiency, cement producers must also navigate additional challenges when assessing carbon capture: managing flue gas contaminants, integrating into existing brownfield sites, and ensuring operations performance is adaptable to evolving compliance requirements. Amine systems, backed by decades of operational learning, offer flexibility and confidence where it counts – helping to turn carbon capture from a technical ambition into a bankable reality.

Deploying proven solutions for challenging flue gas conditions

Cement kiln flue gas is among the most complex flue gases to treat, with high and variable levels of contaminants such as NOx, SOx, CO, particulate matter, acid gases (HCl, HF), heavy metals, and VOCs – making it far more challenging than flue gas from natural gas-fired applications. A carbon capture system must effectively manage these impurities to maintain performance and avoid costly downtime.

Shell's CANSOLV* CO₂ Capture System, an amine-based technology, has demonstrated robust commercial performance for over a decade. In 2014, SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Power Station in Canada became the first in the world to successfully implement post-combustion CCS at large commercial scale. This coal-fired plant now celebrates over 11 years of commercial operation. The lignite coal flue gas at Boundary Dam is one of the most contaminant-heavy environments for carbon capture – real-life operational learnings have helped shape optimised designs for impurity management without compromising efficiency, which are now tailored for cement applications.

Amine systems like Shell CANSOLV are designed to tolerate an ingress of contaminants. While impurities can accelerate solvent degradation, the operational experience of Shell CANSOLV and associated design refinements balance solvent management, flue gas pre-treatment, and operational strategies to minimise cost and complexity. Following the award of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the Heidelberg Materials CCS project in Edmonton, Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies collaborated with Heidelberg Materials to deploy and operate a 3 tpd pilot plant at the facility. Over 2000 hours of testing were completed to demonstrate this technology on the Edmonton cement flue gas. This campaign characterised flue gas variability and optimised contaminant management strategies, helping to enable cost-effective, high-performance carbon capture solutions for cement operations. Learnings from this pilot plant campaign are incorporated into carbon capture designs for future projects to further optimise performance.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/18032026/from-emissions-to-solutions/