Further funding has been secured for a European project to demonstrate electrified, circular cement production.
SaltX Technology, Holcim and Paebbl are working together to demonstrate how electrified cement production and carbon dioxide utilisation can be combined in a circular industrial process.
The project will verify SaltX’s electric clinker reactor technology at an industrial scale at its test and research centre in Hofors, Sweden, while Paebbl’s mineralisation technology permanently binds captured carbon dioxide into carbon-negative construction materials.
The project has now received funding through CET Partnership, an EU program for energy and climate technologies.
“We have already demonstrated that high-quality cement clinker can be produced through a fully electrified process,” SaltX Technology chief executive officer Lina Jorheden said.
“This collaboration brings together leading industrial and research partners across the value chain to demonstrate how electrification and circular carbon utilisation can be integrated at an industrial scale. Together, we are laying the foundation for a new generation of cement production.”
Holcim is collaborating with its partners on a solution that may be integrated into existing and upcoming cement plants. The project receives additional support from the research institutes RISE, NCCBM, and CSIR-CBRI, as well as Université Gustave Eiffel, with a total budget of SEK 45 million.
“With our partners SaltX and Paebbl, we are scaling innovative technologies to fully electrify the production of cement, while also making it a carbon sink,” Holcim head of operational excellence Ram Muthu said.
“Our collaboration confirms that partnership is the new leadership, and this award recognises Holcim’s success in bringing the value chain together to accelerate decarbonisation for the built environment.”
The project is scheduled to begin later this year and will run for approximately three years, with SaltX making its main deliveries during the first two years.
“The cement industry faces a dual pressure: reduce energy intensity and eliminate carbon emissions at the same time,” Paebbl co-founder and co-CEO Andreas Saari said.
“This collaboration shows what it looks like when you tackle both together, electrifying the kiln and turning the captured CO₂ into a carbon-storing SCM that pushes the boundaries of carbon efficiency in the concrete mix itself. We’re thrilled to be part of an aligned consortium committed to bringing an order of magnitude better solution to the market through our joint efforts.”
