Air Liquide starts CO2 capture pilot unit for cement industry

Air Liquide has announced the start-up of its first industrial-scale pilot unit specifically designed for the cement sector, based on its Cryocap proprietary technology. This pilot is located at the CaptureLab launched by Holcim and is a significant milestone to support the scaling up of industrial carbon capture solutions in hard-to-abate sectors.

The Cryocap FG (Flue Gas) is a version of Cryocap in particular designed for the cement sector. As part of Cryocap FG, this industrial-scale pilot unit introduces key technologies for the pre-treatment of flue gas, which remains one of the primary challenges in the decarbonisation of these hard-to-abate sectors. With a capacity of 3,000 Nm³/h of flue gas, the unit enables the removal of impurities from the flue gas and preconcentration of CO2 prior to final CO2 purification, an essential step for reliable and large-scale deployment of carbon capture technologies for the cement industry.

Designed with a modular approach for easy transport and installation, the unit can be easily relocated to other industrial sites after its initial phase at Holcim’s CaptureLab in France, the world’s first capture test platform for the cement industry.

The scale-up validated by this pilot unit is a significant milestone for the roll-out of the Cryocap technology across the cement industry, where most CO2 emissions result from the chemical breakdown of limestone rather than energy use alone, making the process particularly difficult to decarbonize.

This pilot builds upon Air Liquide’s decade of industrial expertise at Port-Jérôme, France, with Cryocap H 2 and paves the way for the next cement and lime projects, featuring the pioneering Air Liquide technology, it adds.