The EU’s climate ambition of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and its associated taxonomy are putting pressure on most industries to meet these requirements and to secure their social legitimacy in order to continue operating.  For the cement industry, the taxonomy has set requirements for maximum emissions of 498 kg of CO₂ per tonne of cement. For HeidelbergCement, this requirement entails a 12% reduction in carbon emissions from their 2021 levels. According to a press release, HeidelbergCement has set a goal of a maximum of 400 kg of CO₂ per tonne of cement by 2030. Other major cement producers, such as Holcim and Cemex, have previously set goals of 475 kg of CO₂ per tonne of cement, under the same taxonomy requirement.

Plans to cut carbon emissions

At Heidelberg’s “Capital Markets Day” in May, the company presented its plans to cut carbon emissions, including its ambition of removing 10 million tonnes of CO₂ through CCUS by 2030. One Canadian and six European projects were mentioned in addition to several pilot projects and CCU initiatives. In May, Heidelberg also announced that their project at Slite on Gotland is going ahead with funding from Swedish authorities.

GCCA supporting start-ups

The industry is also collaborating more broadly to promote technology development for more affordable CCUS solutions in the long run. In May, the Global Cement & Concrete Association selected six start-ups to receive backing through their “Innovandi Open Challenge” programme, which has presented promising concepts that the industry may benefit from in the run up to 2050.

This is a part of the CCS environmental analysis, written by Gassnova’s analysis team. Please visit our CCS dictionary if there are professional expressions or abbreviations in this text you are not familiar with.