Air Liquide and Holcim have signed an agreement for a decarbonization project for Holcim’s new cement plant under development in Belgium. The project will utilize Air Liquide’s innovative and proprietary CryocapTM CO2 capture technology. Air Liquide and Holcim have applied for funding from the European Innovation Fund. This partnership represents an important step to accelerate the decarbonization of industry in Belgium.
The upgraded cement plant will replace an existing plant. Holcim will benefit from Air Liquide innovative carbon capture technology and will be able to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 1.1 million tons per year. The partnership will be part of Holcim’s investment program GO4Zero, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality in Belgium by 2030.
Supporting this initiative with its unique know-how and expertise in carbon capture technologies, Air Liquide intends to build and operate a facility using its innovative and proprietary CryocapTM Oxy technology to capture and purify up to 95% of the CO2 emitted from Holcim’s plant in Obourg. The captured CO2 will then be transported via the Antwerp@C* CO2 Export Hub, liquefied and loaded onto CO2 ships for permanent and safe offshore storage going forward.
The implementation of the project will be possible thanks to the public funding provided by the European Union to projects supporting decarbonization. In this perspective, Air Liquide and Holcim have jointly applied to the European Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest programs to promote innovative low carbon technologies. Pascal Vinet, Executive Board Member and Senior Vice President, Europe, Air Liquide Group, said: “Decarbonizing the industry is at the heart of our ADVANCE strategy. We will accompany our customers by offering a wide range of innovative solutions. For example, Air Liquide’s proprietary CryocapTM technology is an ideal solution for the decarbonization of the cement industry. This collaboration with Holcim demonstrates our ability to work with our customers to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint and make decarbonization of the industry a reality. Air Liquide aims to actively contribute to the emergence of a low-carbon industry in line with sustainable development goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050.”