LafargeHolcim expand carbon capture projects
US and German government funding sees CCUS portfolio exceed 20 projects across the US, Canada and Europe
LAFARGEHOLCIM’s portfolio of carbon capture projects has been reinforced after the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) announced that it will support the LH CO2MENT Colorado Project. This follows funding by the German Government for the Westküste 100 project, which was announced in August.
LafargeHolcim and consortium partners Svante Inc., Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC (OLCV) and Total have completed a study to assess the viability and design of a commercial-scale carbon-capture facility. With the confirmation of DOE-NETL funding, the partnership has committed to the next project phase to evaluate the feasibility of the facility designed to capture up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year directly from the Holcim cement plant and the natural gas fired steam generator, which would be sequestered underground permanently by Occidental.
The Westküste 100 project in Germany also received the go-ahead and funding approval from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy in August. In this project, CO2 from the LafargeHolcim Lägerdorf plant will be transformed with green hydrogen into a synthetic fuel. The potential carbon capture capacity for the cement plant is approximately 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Westküste 100 is a 10-company consortium focused on the creation of low-carbon solutions and end-to-end sustainable business practices across industries.
LafargeHolcim have also recently added to their portfolio of CCUS pilots with the ECCO2-LH project in Spain, in collaboration with Carbon Clean and Sistemas de Calor, which will capture CO2 from flue gas at their Carboneras plant and turn it to agricultural use for accelerated crop production. Starting with 10% of CO2 emissions from 2022, the commercial applicability of this viable circular economy business model can potentially leverage 700,000 tonnes of CO2 and achieve 100% decarbonization at the plant.
LafargeHolcim’s chief sustainability officer, Magali Anderson, said: ‘Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) will most likely play a key role in many industries’ decarbonization journey. That’s why we are multiplying our pilots to test various scenarios with the ambition of reaching effective, affordable and scalable solutions. It is very encouraging to receive the support of funders such as the US and German governments, as partnering with like-minded organizations is key to scale up our impact.’
LafargeHolcim are expanding their CCUS portfolio with more than 20 projects across the US, Canada and Europe. Overall, these ongoing projects could save approximately 4 million tonnes of CO2 per year. This expanding range of projects is designed to give the company maximum flexibility in applying CCUS technologies. The best solutions in terms of technology and cost efficiency could be replicated in other plants in selected regions, advancing the company’s CO2-reduction journey and adding value in the form of CO2-related materials, thereby creating new growth opportunities for the company.
Working with other multinationals as well as start-ups, CCUS pilots are evaluated in terms of cost, technical feasibility, compatibility with CO2 usage opportunities and other aspects of viability and scalability.
With the co-ordination of the LafargeHolcim Innovation Centre in Lyon, the company is also participating in a three-year project funded by the EU to support the development of low-carbon energy and industry in Southern and Eastern Europe.
The company’s objective is to work from a long menu of carbon capture, usage and storage solutions, combining them in different ways and environments to assess their potential.
