Holcim’s Net Zero Cement Advances Sustainable Construction
Holcim is revolutionising sustainable construction with GO4ZERO, an initiative charting a course towards producing carbon-neutral clinker and cement by 2029.
As part of the initiative, a pioneering GO4ZERO plant in Belgium has broken ground on a €500m (US$542m) project to advance Europe’s decarbonisation.
The net-zero cement plant is designed to produce two million tons of net-zero cement per annum by 2029.
Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, attended the launch: “Belgium can take great pride in the foundation of Holcim’s new plant in Obourg. This investment symbolises exactly the vision that our country has been pursuing for the past four years: build a future for industry in Europe, with the highest standards in terms of innovation and CO₂ objectives. And here, in a crucial field like construction.”
How does the plant boost decarbonisation?
“By advancing decarbonisation as a driver of profitable growth, Holcim is on course to make net-zero cement and concrete a reality at scale this decade,” says Miljan Gutovic, CEO Holcim Group.
“GO4ZERO is one of our six large-scale, European Union-supported carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects. These aim to capture a total of over five million tons of CO₂ per annum, enabling us to offer over eight million tons of fully decarbonised cement each year across Europe by 2030.”
- Energy: More than 95% of energy used will be sourced from alternative fuels
- Materials: More than 30% of its raw mix will come from partly decarbonised, alternative raw materials – predominantly waste generated by other industries
- Emissions: The plant will cut CO₂ emissions by 30% as early as 2027
It will also operate Europe’s largest installation of floating solar panels.
Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate Action, added: “The Innovation Fund drives the deployment of innovative, low-carbon technologies in Europe. With €230 million (US$249.6m) allocated from the EU Emission Trading System for the GO4ZERO project, we look forward to seeing this example of cutting-edge partnership across the value chain to create a new ecosystem for carbon capture and storage. This is exactly in line with the European Green Deal’s objective to fully mobilise industry to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.”
******
Make sure you check out the latest edition of Sustainability Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Sustainability LIVE 2024
******
Sustainability Magazine is a BizClik brand
******
