CEMEX is working with UK technology firm Carbon8 Systems to evaluate and develop the use of CEMEX's patented carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology.
The partnership will look at how CO2 captured during the cement production process can be used to develop low-carbon construction products such as alternative aggregates.
Carbon8 Systems provides technology for the permanent capture of CO2 and mineralisation of thermal residues to create carbon-infused, sustainable products. The company developed a patented chemical process called Accelerated Carbonation Technology (ACT) where industrial residues are treated with captured CO2 emissions to transform them into valuable, low-carbon products.
CEMEX says that ACT has made significant contributions to the circular economy for more than 10 years, delivering commercial and environmental benefits that include diverting waste from landfills, permanently capturing CO2 and replacing carbon-intensive products with low-carbon, sustainable alternatives. ACT is applied to several industries, including cement, waste to energy, biomass, among others.
CEMEX and Carbon8 Systems state that they recognise the benefit of mineralisation as a carbon sink, and may therefore explore the application of the technology to different byproducts as well as the manufacturing of products such as alternative aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials.
Under the initiative, Carbon8 Systems will evaluate CEMEX byproducts and how they can be used to develop low-carbon or even carbon-negative products through ACT. The initial focus of the programme will be to assess byproducts from CEMEX’s Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany and Rugby cement plant in the UK. They will also evaluate the suitability of a lightweight aggregate product created from the byproducts for sale in each market. The programme could later be deployed to other CEMEX cement sites.
“This initiative with Carbon8 Systems is another example of the work we are doing with partners across industries, academia, and startups to tap into the latest innovation and disruptive technologies to achieve our ambition of delivering net-zero CO2 concrete globally to all of our customers,” said Juan Romero, executive vice president sustainability, commercial, and operations development of CEMEX.
Carbon8 Systems chief executive John Pilkington added: “We are delighted that CEMEX has asked us to work with them; our carbonation technology, demonstrated at cement plants in Europe and Canada, offers CEMEX and the global cement industry a proven CCUS solution.”
