Heidelberg Materials inaugurates CCS facility in Brevik, Norway
Heidelberg Materials has inaugurated the world’s first full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in the cement industry. The CCS facility will have the capacity to capture 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to 50 percent of the direct emissions from the cement production in Brevik, Norway, enabling the delivery of CO₂ reduced cement.
Heidelberg Materials, through its wholly owned subsidiary Heidelberg Materials Sement Norge AS, has taken a major step forward in the climate transition by inaugurating the world’s first full-scale carbon capture plant for cement production at its plant in Brevik, Norway. At a time when the climate transition is essential to reduce global carbon emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays a central role. The cement industry, which accounts for around 5-7 percent of global carbon emissions, is particularly emissions-intensive. The Brevik project is an important part of the green transition as the successful implementation of CCS technology is a key prerequisite for the construction sector to reach its climate targets.
Heidelberg Materials is one of the world’s largest producers of building materials, employing more than 50,000 people in over 50 countries. Its wholly owned subsidiary Heidelberg Materials Sement Norge AS is the only cement producer in Norway. The group initiated preparations for the implementation of carbon capture technology as early as 2005. The Brevik project is the first of several ongoing CCS projects under development within the group. The Brevik CCS facility is designed to capture 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the cement production, representing approximately 50 percent of direct emissions.
The project is partly funded by the Norwegian government’s “Longship programme” and is a successful pilot for other planned large-scale implementations of CCS technology in emission-intensive production environments.
The CCS facility in Brevik is based on an amine-based capture technology developed by SLB Capturi AS (formerly Aker Carbon Capture). An amine-based carbon capture plant uses a chemical process to separate CO₂ from the flue gas stream. The flue gases from cement production are fed into an absorption column where they come into contact with a liquid containing amines (nitrogen-based organic compounds). The amines chemically react with the CO₂ in the flue gas to form a carbamate compound, effectively removing CO₂ from the flue gas. The CO₂ saturated amine solution is pumped in to a desorption column, where it is heated to break the bond between the amines and the CO₂. This releases pure CO₂ gas and regenerates the amine solution. The regenerated amine solution is cooled down and returned to the absorption column for reuse in the same process. The released CO₂ is diverted, cooled, compressed and transported for intermediate storage in tanks in liquid form, before being pumped into customised vessels for onward transport to a terminal on the west coast of Norway. It is then piped to final storage under the seabed in the North Sea, where it is eventually converted into minerals and, over time, becomes part of the bedrock.
The project has involved approximately 1.2 million hours of technical design work carried out by a large number of specialised consultants and has been integrated directly into the existing production plant. The technical integration has been particularly challenging as it involved significant interventions in key elements of the production chain, requiring careful temporal, technical and logistical coordination of various works in parallel with the full normal operation of the regular activities of the factory. The project has been technically and commercially sensitive as the technology implemented was untested in a full-scale industrial operating environment. The central carbon capture unit of the CCS facility has been designed and constructed by SLB Capturi AS under a tailor-made design-build construction contract. The remodelling of the flue gas system, involving complex works in an integrated brownfield environment, has been carried out by FLSmidth. In addition, the project has included a number of parallel contracts for civil works, balance of plant and material supply, as well as contracts with suppliers for transport and storage solutions for the captured CO₂.
The implementation of the project has been complicated by the occurrence of the Covid 19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting direct and indirect cost increases and supply chain disruptions. Despite the challenges, the commissioning of the CCS facility has now been initiated and Heidelberg Materials is looking forward to commence during 2025 the delivery of CO₂ reduced cement, marketed under the evoZero brand. Concrete manufactured using evoZero cement is intended to be certifiable as CO₂ neutral (net zero emissions).
Heidelberg Materials intends to implement CCS technology on a large scale at several of its production sites worldwide. For example, there are advanced plans to build a significantly larger CCS facility at the Slite cement plant on Gotland, Sweden. Experiences from the Brevik project will be extremely valuable for Heidelberg Materials in particular and for CO₂ emission intensive industrial segments in general.
Mannheimer Swartling is proud and pleased to have been entrusted by Heidelberg Materials to provide legal advice to the Brevik project on a start to finish basis, including inter alia state-aid negotiations with the Norwegian government, procurement strategy, drafting and negotiating customised contracts for the various work packages included in the project and continuous project support up until completion of the facility. Special thanks to Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS, who provided ongoing assistance throughout the project with regard to questions of Norwegian law and, in the latter part of the construction, overtook the continuing advice to the project.
Heidelberg Materials was advised by Mannheimer Swartling.
