Carbon capture is the imperative action that the cement industry needs to take in order to honour its pledge for a net zero future. Aniruddha Sharma, CEO, Carbon Clean, speaks about carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) entails across the globe and its role in the green evolution of the cement industry.
Carbon Clean, headquartered in London, provides all the services needed by companies to achieve net zero carbon footprint, including technology licence and end-to-end systems. Their solutions help industries capture over 90 per cent of CO2 emissions, and be a part of the global circular carbon economy. Its CCUS applications are designed for verticals such as cement, steel, refinery, bio gas and energy from waste. In this interaction, Aniruddha Sharma, CEO, Carbon Clean, speaks to ICR about the importance of CCUS.
What are the current estimates for CCUS worldwide?
To achieve net zero emissions by 2050, CCUS capacity needs to be ramped up 190-fold and urgent steps are needed to ensure CCUS is available to contribute to net zero goals, according to the International Energy Agency.
This presents a challenge but also an opportunity. Demand for CCUS solutions is unprecedented, especially from the hard-to-abate industries such as oil and gas, cement, steel and chemicals. These sectors expect over 20 per cent of their total emissions to be captured via carbon capture technology by 2030. Our latest CCUS solution, CycloneCC, will play an important role in servicing this demand, with independent third-party research suggesting that the technology’s market opportunity is set to expand by 60 per cent per year this decade.
What role does Carbon Clean play in helping cement companies with carbon capture?
Carbon Clean is a global leader in cost-effective industrial carbon capture technologies and services. We are working with several cement companies to capture the carbon dioxide from their emissions.
For example, we are partnering with CEMEX on a ground-breaking carbon capture project at its Rüdersdorf plant in Germany. The initial aim is to capture 100 tonnes of CO2 per day at the plant, combining it with hydrogen from renewable sources to produce greener synthetic hydrocarbons that can be used in other industries. We are also currently commissioning a 10 tonnes per day carbon capture plant with Taiheiyo Cement Corporation in Japan.
Meanwhile, in Spain, we are demonstrating how carbon capture can provide cement companies with a new revenue stream as part of the circular carbon economy. Our project with LafargeHolcim Spain will take carbon captured from the Carboneras cement factory and use it in greenhouses in the region to improve crop productivity.
Our latest modular industrial carbon capture technology – CycloneCC – is set to offer huge benefits to the cement industry. Some of the biggest barriers to widespread carbon capture adoption have been the size and cost of existing technology. CycloneCC uses equipment that is up to ten times smaller than conventional solutions, reducing capex and opex by up to 50 per cent.
What is your outlook on the net zero commitment pledged by cement companies, targeted at 2030?
The cement sector is a big emitter, accountable for around 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions, but carbon capture will play a significant role in ensuring the sector decarbonises and achieves its ambitious targets. The solutions are already available – it’s now time to act.
How can cement manufacturers effectively reduce carbon emissions and work on CCUS for long term impact?
Carbon capture is vital for the decarbonisation of cement manufacturing. Up to 70 per cent of CO2 emissions come from the calcining calcium carbonate chemical process, which can’t be reduced with other methods. Industrial carbon capture solutions must be deployed in the near term to start many manufacturers on the path to net zero.
What advice would you like to give to companies, especially Indian ones, regarding KPIs for carbon capture?
There is huge interest in carbon capture solutions from the cement industry. Today, historical barriers to adoption like cost and onsite space are being overcome by advances in carbon capture technology.
Carbon Clean’s latest modular technology, for example, uses equipment that is ten times smaller than conventional carbon capture solutions and has a five times smaller onsite footprint. It is prefabricated, deployable in less than eight weeks, and can be scaled over time to suit a company’s decarbonisation trajectory. This breakthrough solution reduces capex and opex by up to 50 per cent compared to conventional carbon capture, driving down the
cost of carbon capture to $30/tonne on average. At this cost, the economic case for carbon capture becomes undeniable.
We are working with cement companies across the globe to demonstrate the potential for carbon capture to meet decarbonisation targets.
The solutions today are accessible, affordable and already in use.