Hanson UK, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, has successfully completed a trial involving a cement kiln powered using hydrogen, which could provide a glimpse into fully net-zero cement production.
Hanson net zero cement apparatus. Credit: Hanson UK via Twitter
The apparatus used in the trial at the company's Ribblesdale plant in Lancashire. Credit: Hanson UK via Twitter
The project, which has government backing, took place at the company's Ribblesdale plant in Lancashire, and may yet show that cement production, which is quite energy-intensive, could be completed using renewable energy.
Read more: HeidelbergCement aims for world’s first carbon-neutral cement plant
Cement production currently accounts for around 7% of global carbon emissions, and it is considered a critical industry for decarbonisation, usually through sequestering technology.
During the demonstration - the culmination of several years of work - the proportion of the kilns burner's energy mix was gradually increased until it was made up entirely of net-zero fuels.
The mix consisted of tanker-delivered hydrogen as well as bone meal and glycerine, the company claims.
“The trial demonstrated the pathway to moving away from using fossil fuels in cement and concrete production,” said Hanson UK's sustainability manager Ian Walpole.
If fully implemented into the whole kiln system, the Ribblesdale plant alone could save "nearly 180,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide" from entering the atmosphere a year, he added, claiming the company were already "the largest producer of low-carbon concrete in the UK".
"The prospect of using hydrogen in the fuel mix at our cement plants will help us meet our ambition of supplying net-zero carbon concrete by 2050", he concluded.
The trial received £3.2 million (€3.7 million) in funding from the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and was provided through the Mineral Products Association.
It followed a 2019 feasibility study conducted by the business department which demonstrated that a combination of biomass, hydrogen and plasma energy could be used to eliminate 100 per cent of fossil fuel CO2 emissions from cement manufacturing.
There are plans to share the results of the trial worldwide in order to speed up the decarbonisation of the sector.
However, according to reports by the EU, decarbonising the fuel for cement only removes around 40% of the emissions.
Read more: How industrial innovation can drive the European Green Deal
Speaking at this year's EU Industry Days event back in February, Donal O'Riain, the managing director of a low-carbon cement developer Ecocem warned significant innovations would be required in order to fully remove emissions from cement production.
"We have to change the technology around creating cement and look at things like using it more efficiently", he added.
However, this appears to be an issue Hanson is aware of, as, according to their website, they have modified their cement formula to have "a much lower level of embodied carbon dioxide" than regular Portland cement.
It also increases durability to sulfates that occur naturally in the ground, decreasing the likelihood that the concrete will crack or warp, increasing sustainability along the value chain by ensuring the final product has to be replaced or relaid.
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