Company signs agreement with Carbon Clean to develop efficient and affordable solution by 2021
CEMEX have announced that, through CEMEX Ventures, their corporate venture capital unit, an agreement has been signed with London-based Carbon Clean, specialists in low-cost modular carbon dioxide capture and separation technology, aimed at developing a carbon capture solution for the cement industry that lies below the line of US$30 per ton cost of CO2 captured.
CEMEX say the ambitious target of making carbon capture technology accessible and more efficient would be an unprecedented achievement for the cement sector, opening the door to opportunities for further developments.
With a responsibility for taking action to fight climate change and shift towards a carbon-neutral economy, CEMEX are joining forces with Carbon Clean to make possible the development of a technology that allows for the economically viable capture of CO2 emissions in the cement industry at an industrial scale.
As part of the agreement, both companies will further develop and adapt Carbon Clean’s third-generation modularized carbon capture technology for the cement industry. Carbon Clean use an integrated modular system that works using rotating packed beds (RPBs) to intensify the carbon capture process.
This technology could provide a significant reduction in both capital cost and equipment size, when compared with traditional capture technologies, allowing the wider-scale commercial deployment of carbon capture systems.
The technology will be tested for the first time in the cement industry at a CEMEX facility by deploying an industrial-scale pilot during the first quarter of 2021. CEMEX and Carbon Clean will jointly work toward making the solution even more efficient before the construction of what would be the most cost-effective commercial installation for carbon capture in the cement industry to date.
With the capacity to capture up to 100,000 tons of CO2 per year at a cost lower than US$30 per ton of CO2 captured, CEMEX say this represents a very relevant step in developing the technology required for adoption by the entire cement sector at a worldwide scale.
‘Accomplishing CO2 capture at an industrial scale and affordable cost is one of the biggest challenges that CEMEX is facing in its road to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete products globally by 2050,’ said Gonzalo Galindo, head of CEMEX Ventures.
‘Partnering with Carbon Clean seemed like a perfect fit for us. We believe in their technology and know that working together, we can make possible a more cost-effective carbon capture solution below the US$30 per ton threshold.
‘Carbon Clean’s vision of working with players from various industries is something we value in CEMEX Ventures. Due to the impact of CO2 emissions on global warming and the importance of implementing new solutions to reduce the environmental impact, we look forward to joining efforts with other companies that are also working towards achieving carbon neutrality.’
Aniruddha Sharma, chief executive of Carbon Clean, commented: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with CEMEX to deliver on our shared goal of decarbonizing the cement sector through the utilization of carbon capture, utilization and storage.
‘We are confident that this partnership and the operating experience of CEMEX will help us bring down the cost of carbon capture to just US$30 per ton of CO2 captured by 2021, which will help accelerate take-up of the technology across the cement industry and beyond.’
