Air Liquide and Holcim sign agreement for Obourg CCS project

Air Liquide and Holcim have signed an agreement to develop a large-scale carbon capture solution at Holcim’s Obourg cement plant in Belgium, marking a further step in the GO4ZERO decarbonisation programme.

Under the agreement, Air Liquide will supply oxygen for Holcim’s oxyfuel-ready clinker production line and deploy its proprietary Cryocap™ OXY technology to capture CO₂ emissions with high efficiency. The captured CO₂ is intended to be transported via pipeline to a CO₂ export hub, such as Antwerp@C, before shipment for permanent offshore storage in the North Sea.

The project targets the capture of approximately 1.1Mta of CO₂ and is designed to transform the Obourg facility into a large-scale near-zero cement plant. The Final Investment Decision (FID) remains subject to securing additional partnerships across the value chain and public sector support, including regulatory clarity on infrastructure and de-risking mechanisms.

The initiative forms part of Holcim’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality in Belgium by the end of the decade and would contribute to the European Union’s 2050 net-zero target.

Air Liquide said the agreement reflects its ongoing strategy to support industrial decarbonisation through carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, while Holcim described the development as a significant milestone in advancing low-carbon cement production in Europe.