October 18 (VoirNews) – Construction of a comprehensive carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project has begun at the Devnya Cement plant in Bulgaria, with a potential commissioning date as early as 2028, subject to regulatory approvals, German parent company Heidelberg announced. Materials were announced on Wednesday.
The ANRAV.beta pilot unit will be a proof of concept for OxyCal, an innovative carbon capture technology that generates carbon dioxide-rich flue gases with a high degree of purity that can be reused or stored safely, Heidelberg Materials, which is developing the project. in partnership with Petroceltic Bulgaria, said in a press release.
Construction of the pilot unit is expected to take several months, while the demonstration period is expected to last between 12 and 24 months. The project, a first in Eastern Europe, will ultimately cover carbon capture, transport, geological storage and use.
The ANRAV project was approved last year to secure an EU grant of 190 million euros ($201.1 million) and will also receive private funding. The facility is expected to have a capacity to capture approximately 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to an earlier release. Plans have been drawn up for permanent offshore storage at Petroceltic’s depleted Galata gas field in the Black Sea.
The pilot project is seen as a way to present an economically viable way to decarbonize carbon-intensive industries in Eastern Europe and will help achieve Bulgaria’s carbon emissions reduction targets. This Balkan country, dependent on coal, is still grappling with efforts to meet EU carbon emissions targets while preserving mining jobs and guaranteeing energy security.
In January, Heidelberg Materials decided to build a hybrid carbon capture unit at its Belgian Antoing cement plant using OxyCal technology, with the aim of supplying more than 15 million tonnes of carbon-free cement to the construction market in during the first ten years of operation. .
($ = 0.9448 euros)