Work accelerates on Slite CCS plant

Cementa (Heidelberg Materials group) is accelerating work to establish a full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility on Gotland, Sweden. The project, Slite CCS, is one of Sweden's most comprehensive climate change initiatives and is now being planned in a feasibility study. The goal is to transform the Swedish cement industry by 2030. When the CCS facility is ready in 2030, it will capture and store the Slite plant's total emissions of upwards of 1.8Mt aof CO₂. This corresponds to approximately three per cent of Sweden's total emissions, says Cementa. 

"The expectation that the investment in Slite will be put into operation is great and we are determined to establish one of the world's first full-scale climate-positive cement factories here in Sweden in 2030," says Karin Comstedt Webb, vice president of Heidelberg Materials Sweden. 

Feasibility study 2023
The Slite CCS project started in spring 2021 with a preliminary study. The feasibility study was started in 2022 to:
• map how the new facility will be built. The CCS facility will involve a significant rebuilding and extension of the existing factory and port.
• optimise energy flows and energy recovery, and plan to separate and liquefy up to 1.8Mt of CO₂. The CO₂ must be handled logistically on site and also be able to be transported for final storage off the Norwegian coast.
• deepen the analysis of investment and operating costs with the aim of making a final investment decision in 2026-27.
• begin the application process for environmental permits for the factory and the new CCS facility.
• act to ensure a robust electricity supply to and on Gotland.

Effective permitting processes for both the mining operations and the CCS facility, as well as a greatly enhanced electricity supply with minimal climate impact, are the two most critical factors right now to be able to put Slite CCS into operation on Gotland in 2030. A decision on investment and timetable for a mainland connection must be made by Svenska Kraftnät in the spring of 2023 to avoid delays in the electricity grid upgrade on Gotland and consequently delays for the CCS investment as a whole.