ANRAV CCUS project funding signing completed

The EU Innovation Fund Grant Agreement for Heidelberg Materials’ pioneering CCUS project ANRAV has been officially signed in Brussels. ANRAV aims to be the first full-chain CCUS project in eastern Europe, eventually covering all steps from CO₂ capture, transport and geological CO₂ storage to CO₂ reuse. The EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon technologies, will support Heidelberg Materials and PetroCeltic with around EUR190m, complementing substantial contributions by both partners.

“Driving aspirational CCUS projects across Heidelberg Materials and the geographies we are represented in is an essential part of our climate strategy. And this large-scale solution in eastern Europe is the next step in our ambitious and promising journey”, said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the Managing Board. “Co-financing and regulatory support are important enablers for scaling CCUS technology in our sector. The successful Grant Agreement is testament to the strength of the technology and our partnerships."

ANRAV will link carbon capture facilities at the Bulgarian cement plant of Heidelberg Materials’ subsidiary Devnya Cement through a pipeline system with offshore permanent storage, developed and to be operated by the partner PetroCeltic, under the Black Sea. The project is expected to be operational as early as 2028 and will have a capture capacity of about 800,000tCO₂/a.

"Devnya will be the first carbon-neutral cement plant in the country and the region," says Ernest Jelito, member of the Managing Board responsible for the Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia group area: "ANRAV will also enable other industrial players to join the carbon chain in the future and share storage capacity. In this way, we want to not only decarbonise our company in Bulgaria, but also provide opportunities for the whole region.”