Carbon seize testing begins at Edmonton cement plant aiming to be first to carbon impartial

Article content material

An Edmonton cement plant is one key step nearer to pouring the foundations of a full-scale carbon seize utilization and storage (CCUS) system that might assist make it carbon impartial.

5 years within the making, a pilot system will pull 300 kg per day of carbon from Heidelberg Supplies’ manufacturing facility in northwest Edmonton. The brand new equipment, roughly the scale of two stacked transport containers, was formally put to work Tuesday.

Article content material

Article content material

Mission director Corwyn Bruce instructed reporters the compact system can be key to the design and construct of a standalone energy and CCUS facility that might seize a million tonnes of C02 per 12 months.

“This pilot plant is a crucial step to show that the know-how works on the precise flue gasoline at this particular plant, in order that after we begin up the plant is dependable, we perceive our working prices, and we perceive the enterprise mannequin,” stated Bruce. He stated the longer term facility, which the multinational company goals to have in operation by 2026, has an estimated finances of $1.4 billion.

“There isn’t a different facility on the earth that’s doing full-scale carbon seize on a cement plant,” stated Bruce.

The plan for the brand new full-scale carbon seize facility is for captured CO2 to be transported through pipeline and completely sequestered underground.

For now, the pilot undertaking is catch and launch.

Heidelberg, previously often known as Lehigh Hanson in North America, has seen its efforts to go carbon impartial supported with funding from the federal and provincial governments, together with $1.4 million from Emissions Discount Alberta first introduced in 2019.

Article content material

Article content material

The pilot system got here from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and, as a result of work is ongoing, Heidelberg spokeswoman Christine Myatt stated it couldn’t be assigned a greenback worth. Joerg Nixdorf, northwest area vice-president of cement operations at Heidelberg, stated the pilot plant was absolutely funded by Heidelberg.

Heidelberg can also be betting the United Conservative authorities will preserve its election promise to introduce incentive applications for costly industries like CCUS — just like the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program (APIP). That trade grant affords as much as 12 per cent of capital prices to new initiatives as soon as they’re operational.

Surroundings and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz instructed reporters Tuesday a brand new CCUS program is within the works and could possibly be rolled out inside the subsequent two months.

“We all know that these investments are completely essential for investor certainty in these areas, and so we’re transferring as rapidly as potential and gathering suggestions from trade whereas we develop what precisely that method seems to be like,” stated Schulz.

Heidelberg spokespeople stated the Edmonton plant provides 50 per cent of all cement to the Prairie provinces.

Article content material

“Internet-zero know-how would have a big impact on this trade right here in Canada,” Schulz stated. Underneath Premier Danielle Smith, the Alberta authorities has set a purpose for net-zero greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2050, and has stated it’s going to buck Ottawa’s purpose of carbon neutrality within the electrical energy grid by 2035.

Nixdorf instructed reporters the corporate has been engaged on the undertaking for a half-decade.

“We strongly encourage each the Alberta authorities and the federal authorities to finalize the monetary help for CCUS initiatives in a well timed trend in order that we will ship this undertaking by 2026,” he instructed these gathered on the plant, together with the German Consul Basic Marc Eichhorn.

[email protected]

twitter.com/reportrix

Article content material