Heidelberg Materials and Arup collaborate on decarbonization

Companies to explore carbon capture and storage-enabled cement and concrete production and supply

HEIDELBERG Materials and Arup, one of the world’s leading built environment consultancies, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which both partners will collaborate in the field of decarbonization of the built environment by exploring deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS)-enabled cement and concrete production and supply.

From next month, Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik CCS facility in Norway will be the first CCS plant in operation at scale within the global cement industry. In combination with storage, this will enable the company to supply evoZero, the world’s first carbon-captured cement and concrete, marking an essential step in unlocking decarbonization of the cement sector across Europe.

Under the MoU, both partners will engage in joint research co-operation and technical analysis of the opportunities to deploy CCS to decarbonize cement and concrete products. Since the application of CCS in cement production does not alter product properties, this is an opportunity to advance understanding of CCS’s potential future contribution to build environment decarbonization.

‘Decarbonizing our industry is an urgent and monumental task and can only be achieved in close collaboration between the most important players. Our know-how and pioneering role in CCUS, combined with Arup’s techno-economic and strategic expertise when it comes to reducing emissions in the global built environment create a perfect fit. We’re excited to join forces and make a real difference together,’ said Dr Katharina Beumelburg, chief sustainability and new technologies officer at Heidelberg Materials.

Dame Jo da Silva, chief sustainable development officer at Arup, said: ‘The global built environment is a significant contributor to climate change and action is needed now to decarbonize critical building materials production. Carbon capture and storage technologies will play an important role in reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries, including cement and concrete. Heidelberg Materials’ first- mover investment in industrial-scale carbon capture at their Brevik facility in Norway is a notable step forward.’

The agreement builds on an earlier collaboration that began in November 2024, in which both partners explored the sustainable benefits, technical complexities, and value of carbon-captured cements and concrete.