HeidelbergCement announce largest CCUS project to date

Upcoming FEED study to evaluate feasibility of the project at Mitchell cement plant in Indiana

HEIDELBERGCEMENT are further expanding their portfolio of large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects with a new initiative in the US.

The project at the Mitchell, Indiana, cement plant of US subsidiary Lehigh Hanson aims to capture 95% of the CO2 emissions from the newly renovated production facility and store them in a local onshore reservoir in the Illinois Basin. This corresponds to an emission reduction of approximately 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year, making it HeidelbergCement’s largest CCUS project globally.

To advance the carbon capture project, funding of around US$3.7 million for a crucial, site-specific front-end engineering design (FEED) study has been granted by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). In addition to evaluating the cost and performance of the overall project, the study will examine social, economic, and environmental impacts.

‘CCUS continues to be a key part of our climate strategy,’ said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. ‘With now eight large-scale initiatives worldwide, our CCUS project portfolio keeps growing and is scaling up fast. Our ongoing projects in Europe and Canada are progressing very well. In Mitchell, we will build on the experience of those projects to supply carbon-free cement to our customers in the important US market at large scale.’

Lehigh Hanson’s Mitchell plant has been substantially upgraded in recent months to significantly increase energy efficiency and reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Full production is anticipated to start in early 2023, when the new facility will more than triple its current capacity to approximately 2.6 million tonnes of cement.

‘Our Mitchell plant now reflects state-of-the-art features to minimize energy consumption and enable the future utilization of alternative fuels and raw materials,’ said Chris Ward, member of the managing board and responsible for the North America Group area. ‘Carbon capture technology is essential to offering carbon-free products and we are very excited to take the next steps in this journey at our Mitchell cement plant.’