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Linde and Heidelberg Materials Announce Large-Scale Carbon Capture Project

| By Gerald Ondrey

Source: Heidelberg Materials

Heidelberg Materials and Linde GmbH (Pullach, both Germany) have established a joint venture (JV) under the name Capture-to-Use (CAP2U) to build and operate a state-of-the-art carbon dioxide capture and liquefaction plant. The world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture and utilization (CCU) facility in the cement industry is scheduled to start operations in 2025 at Heidelberg Materials’ Lengfurt plant in Germany (photo). The facility will enable the captured CO2 from cement production to be reused as a valuable raw material in manufacturing applications. The planned volume of purified and liquefied CO2 is around 70,000 metric tons per year.

The majority of the CO2 generated will be marketed by Linde as part of the JV. Thanks to its purity, the processed gas can be used in both the food and chemical industries, for example in carbonated mineral water. A smaller proportion will be used by Heidelberg Materials to drive forward new CO2 recycling and recarbonation technologies.

For the implementation of this project, the substantial contributions of both partners will be supplemented by funding of around €15 million from the Decarbonization of Industry funding program on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

“We are pleased to implement the world’s first large-scale CCU project in the cement industry together with our partner Linde,” says Dominik von Achten, Chairman of the Managing Board of Heidelberg Materials . “As part of our ambitious global CCUS strategy, we are currently driving forward a number of different industrial-scale carbon capture and utilization projects. This way, we aim to identify viable and efficient ways to reduce our carbon footprint and reuse CO2. The project in Lengfurt is scheduled to go into operations as early as 2025. The BMWK funding shows the importance that the German government also attaches to our joint project.”

“For our customers, a secure, high-quality supply of CO2 produced in a climate-friendly manner is of particularly high importance,” says Mathias Kranz, vice president On-Site & Bulk Linde GmbH, outlining the requirements for a CO2 supply. “With our partner Heidelberg Materials and the plant in Lengfurt, we will not only be able to expand our supply in the future, but also provide CO2 in a sustainable and climate- friendly way with short transport routes.”

“Climate protection is one of the most urgent challenges our industry is facing,” says Jürgen Nowicki, executive vice president Linde plc and CEO of Linde Engineering. “With this joint venture, two global leaders in their field are combining their expertise to create a solution that is as sustainable as it is economical. Following successful pilot applications, this industrial-scale facility will pave the way for sustainable cement production.”

The plant is being designed and built by Linde Engineering – one of the leading companies for CO2 facilities. Based on an amine scrubbing system specially developed for flue gases, the carbon dioxide will be separated directly from part of the exhaust gas stream from the cement clinker kiln. Equipment for purification and liquefaction, tanks for intermediate storage of the product, and loading facilities are also part of the project scope.

Linde brings to the JV its expertise in forward-looking, gas-based environmental technologies that allow customers around the world to increase their productivity while reducing their environmental footprint.