Heidelberg Materials and Arup, one of the world’s leading built environment consultancies, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Both partners will collaborate in decarbonising the built environment by exploring the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS)-enabled cement and concrete production and supply. CCS represents an essential route to decarbonisation for cement and concrete production. These critical materials are the source of significant CO₂ emissions, and their production and supply decarbonisation is urgently needed.
From next month, Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik CCS facility in Norway will be the first CCS plant in operation at scale within the global cement industry. In combination with storage, this will enable the company to supply evoZero, the world’s first carbon-captured cement and concrete. This is an essential step in unlocking the decarbonisation of the cement sector across Europe.
Under the MoU, both partners will engage in joint research cooperation and technical analysis of the opportunities to deploy CCS to decarbonise cement and concrete products. Since applying CCS in cement production does not alter product properties, this is an opportunity to advance understanding of CCS’s potential future contribution to building environment decarbonisation.
“Decarbonising our industry is an urgent and monumental task, and can only be achieved in close collaboration between the most important players. Our know-how and pioneering role in CCUS, combined with Arup’s techno-economic and strategic expertise when it comes to reducing emissions in the global built environment create a perfect fit. We’re excited to join forces and make a real difference together”, said Dr Katharina Beumelburg, Chief Sustainability and New Technologies Officer at Heidelberg Materials.
Dame Jo da Silva, Chief Sustainable Development Officer at Arup, said: “The global built environment is a significant contributor to climate change and action is needed now to decarbonise critical building materials production. Carbon capture and storage technologies will play an important role in reducing emissions from hard-to-abate industries, including cement and concrete. Heidelberg Materials’ first-mover investment in industrial-scale carbon capture at its Brevik facility in Norway is a notable step forward.”
The agreement builds on an earlier collaboration that began in November 2024, in which both partners explored the sustainable benefits, technical complexities, and value of carbon-capturing cements and concrete.
