CEMEX partner with Carbon8 Systems
Companies working together in Germany and UK to develop low-carbon construction products
CEMEX are working with Carbon8 Systems to evaluate the company’s patented carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology and how CO2 captured during the cement production process can be used to develop low-carbon construction products, such as alternative aggregates.
Based in the UK, Carbon8 Systems are leaders in the permanent capture of CO2 and mineralization of thermal residues to create carbon-infused, sustainable products. The company developed a patented chemical process called Accelerated Carbonation Technology (ACT) whereby industrial residues are treated with captured CO2 emissions to transform them into valuable, low-carbon products.
ACT has made significant contributions to the circular economy for more than 10 years, delivering commercial and environmental benefits that include diverting waste from landfills, permanently capturing CO2, and replacing carbon-intensive products with low-carbon, sustainable alternatives. ACT is applied to several industries, including cement, waste-to-energy, and biomass, among others.
Both CEMEX and Carbon8 Systems are aware of the benefit of mineralization as a carbon sink and may explore the application of the technology to different by-products as well as the manufacturing of products such as alternative aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials.
Under the initiative, Carbon8 Systems will evaluate CEMEX by-products and how they can be used to develop low-carbon or even carbon-negative products through ACT. The initial focus of the programme will be to assess by-products from CEMEX’s Rüdersdorf cement plant, in Germany, and Rugby cement plant, in the UK. They will also evaluate the suitability of a lightweight aggregate product created from the by-products for sale in each market. The programme could later be deployed to other CEMEX cement sites.
‘This initiative with Carbon8 Systems is another example of the work we are doing with partners across industries, academia, and start-ups to tap into the latest innovation and disruptive technologies to achieve our ambition of delivering net-zero CO2 concrete globally to all of our customers,’ commented Juan Romero, CEMEX’s executive vice-president of sustainability, commercial, and operations development.
John Pilkington, chief executive of Carbon8 Systems, said: ‘We are delighted that CEMEX have asked us to work with them; our carbonation technology, demonstrated at cement plants in Europe and Canada, offers CEMEX and the global cement industry a proven CCUS solution.’
