CEMEX says it has successfully introduced hydrogen technology as part of the fuel mix in all of its cement plants in Europe.
The building materials giant says it is also implementing a US$40m investment programme to rapidly extend this technology to the rest of its operations around the world including Mexico, the USA, South, Central America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
CEMEX says its hydrogen technology emits zero CO2 from combustion, enables further reduction of fossil fuels, improves energy efficiency and is therefore another milestone towards CO2 emissions reduction targets.
The company executed initial trials of the technology at the Alicante Cement Plant in Spain in July 2019 and quickly confirmed its potential as a lever to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The technology was installed in 2020 in all cement plants in Europe. In 2021, CEMEX says it will roll this out to substantially all its global operations.
CEMEX says that, with this new technology, hydrogen enhances the cement kiln’s combustion process, adding another relevant tool in the company’s 2030 roadmap to reduce CO2 emissions in the short term.
“The fast adoption of this new hydrogen-based technology is a clear example of CEMEX’s innovation efforts and its strong commitment to decarbonise the cement production process,” said Roberto Ponguta, CEMEX VP of global operations, technical and energy. “We continue to identify and deploy existing technologies which have a high potential to contribute to our sustainability goals, and hydrogen is a key lever.”
In 2020, CEMEX announced its Climate Action strategy, defining a global target of a 35% reduction of CO2 emissions per ton of cementitious products by 2030. For its operations in Europe, CEMEX also defined a 55% reduction target, in line with what the European Commission set as a new goal for all its member states. To complement this strategy with a longer-term vision, CEMEX also established an ambition to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete to all its customers globally by 2050.
