The Norwegian government has formally proposed to the national parliament the launch of the carbon-capture project at HeidelbergCement company Norcem's Brevik cement plant.
With 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ to be captured annually and transported for permanent storage, HeidelbergCement is planning for Brevik to become the first cement production facility globally to implement an industrial-scale carbon-capture and storage (CCS) project.
The proposition of the Norwegian government is the second last step in the approval process for the project. As the final step, the Norwegian parliament is expected to sign off the project budget later this year.
“We are very pleased with the proposal of the Norwegian government,” said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. “This allows us to continue the pioneering work that we started together with our partners in Brevik. The carbon-capture and storage project in Norway is an important cornerstone in our climate strategy. It will enable us to significantly reduce otherwise unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions related to the cement production process.”
Giv Brantenberg, general manager HeidelbergCement Northern Europe and chairman of the board of Norcem, said: “We have been developing this project since the first desktop studies in 2005 and have interacted well over many years with the Norwegian authorities and our supportive partners. We are proud and honoured that we may soon initiate the building of the world’s first full-scale carbon-capture plant in the cement industry.”
The Norwegian government shortlisted Brevik for an industrial-scale CO₂ capture trial at the beginning of 2018. On 5 September 2019, a memorandum of understanding on the capture and storage (CCS) of CO₂ was signed by HeidelbergCement and the state-owned Norwegian energy Group Equinor. The Norwegian government is expected to provide the bulk of the project funding.
