LafargeHolcim commits to further improving carbon-efficiency of its cements with Project CO₂MENT in Canada

LafargeHolcim commits to further improving carbon-efficiency of its cements with Project CO₂MENT in Canada

(PRESS RELEASE) JONA, Switzerland, 25-Jul-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — LafargeHolcim launches CO₂MENT project in Canada, increasing its efforts to further improve the carbon-efficiency of its cements. The company’s objective is to build the world’s first full-cycle solution to capture and reuse CO2 from a cement plant while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lafarge Canada, Inventys and Total team up for this project.

Project CO₂MENT will deploy Inventys’ CO₂ Capture System and a selection of LafargeHolcim’s carbon utilization technologies at its Richmond, British Columbia, Canada cement plant over the next four years. Depending on the pilot’s success, the plan is to scale up the project and explore how the facility can be replicated across other LafargeHolcim plants. The project has three phases and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020.

The partners will work on purifying the cement flue gas in preparation for CO2 capture during the first phase. The separation of CO2 from flue gas using a customized for cement version of Inventys’ carbon capture technology at pilot scale will be the focus of the second phase. As part of the final phase, the captured CO2 will be prepared for reuse and support the economical assessment and demonstration of CO2 conversion technologies onsite, such as CO2 injected concrete and fly ash.

LafargeHolcim is also further investing into ways to reduce the clinker-to-cement ratio and consume less energy per tonne of cement by using lower carbon fuels and improving the efficiency of its processes. LafargeHolcim recently launched a new and improved lower carbon fuel (LCF) system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of cement at its Richmond plant. It will also contribute to reducing landfill waste; specifically, non-recyclable plastics that are creating a backlog for municipalities across Canada.

“LafargeHolcim is committed to reducing CO2 emissions and we are excited to join forces with Inventys and Total through Project CO₂MENT. We hope to discover ways to capture emissions from our production processes and reuse them in our products, advancing a circular economy even further than today. The recent launch of the new LCF system at our Richmond plant aims to make the facility the most carbon efficient cement plant in Canada. Our investment alongside funding support from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has made the system economically viable and demonstrates a long term commitment to the environment as well as the British Columbia cement market,” said René Thibault, Region Head North America.

The CAD 28 million system is expected to replace up to 50 per cent of fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels and could result in a 20 per cent reduction of combustion emissions. It also allows Lafarge Canada to divert approximately 100,000 tonnes of waste per year from local landfills, the equivalent of about 8,300 loaded garbage trucks. Canada will be pushing to reduce its carbon footprint even further through expanded lower carbon fuels, growth in supplementary cementitious materials and energy efficiency initiatives.

LafargeHolcim cement is already among the most carbon efficient in the world. The company has reduced its net carbon emissions per tonne of cement by 25 percent since 1990, making LafargeHolcim the leader of international cement companies, with the highest reduction compared to the 1990 baseline.

For more information:
media@lafargeholcim.com

Zug: ​+41 (0) 58 858 87 10

SOURCE: LafargeHolcim