Carbon capture challenges are still in their infancy

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is now a reality for the European cement sector. As well as the start-up of Heidelberg Materials' Brevik project in Norway, Schwenk Zement has announced that its Akmenes CCS pilot project in Lithuania has completed a successful first two-month trial and its Broceni cement plant in Latvia successfully captured CO2 with its CapsolGo mobile plant for the first time on 27 May 2025.

Like all new technologies, there are teething difficulties and lessons to be learnt by the activation of the initial carbon capture projects. Some of those details are beginning to emerge. At the Carbon Capture Europe Summit, Evita Gosa, chairman of the Board at Schwenk Zement, called for the harmonisation of regulatory frameworks, including CO₂ standards and storage sites.

Schwenk plans to operate Capsol’s technology at Akmenes and Broceni, with a combined carbon capture potential of up to 1.5Mta by 2030. The challenges will keep coming for Schwenk Zement, which aims to be a carbon capture pioneer in the cement industry.

Typical CO₂ challenges
While Prof Dr George Locher, managing director of New Technologies at Schwenk Zement, explains that CCS is far from being the least expensive option to achieve decarbonisation, it also has hidden costs because it is still being developed. He admitted there will be a significant increase in renewable energy that will be required, as well as the two train loads of CO₂ carrying rail wagons needed each day to serve a typical cement plant.

One of the urgent matters for aiding the scaling up of CCS is stronger political support for CCS across the EU. But when Chris Davies, director of CCS Europe, recently challenged an audience at the CO₂Connecting Europe Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, about how many of them had spoken with an MEP about CCUS deployment, only two hands went up!

German potential remains in the starting blocks
Germany has many significant CCS and CCUS projects in the spotlight for the cement industry, but progress has often been delayed and frustrated by uncertain politics and energy requirements. Schwenk Zement wants to see carbon capture at more of its plants and Germany, as its domestic market, remains essential for the multinational. However, a German cement plant requires 25 wind turbines to cover the normal electrical operational demand and up to 100 additional wind turbines for CO₂ capture, purification and compression, says Prof Dr Locher. In addition, 300t of hydrogen per day is required to convert CO₂ into chemical products such as aviation fuel or methanol.

Time is of the essence and coordinating the infrastructure to be ready to handle the captured CO₂ in Germany is only at the early stages. Commissioning of the FNB H₂-core network is scheduled for 2032, and it will cover 9040km of gas pipework at a cost of EUR18.9bn, claims Prof Dr Locher. It will include 60 per cent of converted natural gas pipelines. Approximately 600 electrolysers with 1MW capacity each would be required for the German cement industry, for which 750 wind turbines, or 15 per cent of the country’s Suedlink capacity, would be required.

“Where CCS is happening, in Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Greece, it is because national governments are providing support to make it happen,” claims Mr Davies.

The scale of the task
The scale of the task is now apparent. On 6 February 2024, the European Commission published its communication on Industrial Carbon Management. It suggested the need to capture 280Mta of CO₂ by 2040 to achieve net zero. Yet, fewer than 1Mt of CO₂ are being captured in 2025. The Net Zero Industry Act requires 50Mta of CO₂ storage capacity to be made available by 2030. Political leadership and collaboration, as well as investment at all stages of development, are required to accelerate the cement sector’s decarbonisation with CCS and CCUS in Europe.