Air Liquide to supply carbon capture tech for Holcim’s cement plant in Belgium
Industrial gases firm Air Liquide and Swiss building materials firm Holcim have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue a project to decarbonise Holcim’s new cement production plant under development in Belgium, using Air Liquide proprietary Cryocap carbon capture innovative technology. In that regard, Air Liquide and Holcim have co-applied for the European Innovation Fund supporting framework. This partnership is an important step to accelerate the decarbonisation of the industry in Belgium.
The new cement production plant announced will be replacing an existing asset. Thanks to Air Liquide’s unique carbon capture innovative technology, Holcim will be able to reduce emissions by up to 1.1 million tonnes/year of CO2. This partnership is part of GO4Zero, Holcim’s investment program that will enable the company to achieve carbon neutrality in Belgium by the end of the decade.
Air Liquide will support this initiative by leveraging its know-how and unique expertise in CO2 capture technologies. Air Liquide intends to build and operate a unit of its innovative and proprietary Cryocap Oxy technology to capture and purify up to 95% of the CO2 generated from Holcim’s production unit in Obourg. The captured CO2 will then be handled through Antwerp@C CO2 Export Hub where it will be transported, liquefied and loaded onto CO2 ships for onward permanent and safe offshore storage.
The implementation of the project will be possible as public funding from European schemes supporting decarbonisation becomes available. In this perspective, Air Liquide and Holcim have jointly applied for the European Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest programs for promoting innovative low-carbon technologies.
