Denmark Funding Largest Carbon Capture Project at Cement Plant

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

Denmark has concluded its largest-ever tender for carbon capture, transport and storage with the country's only cement maker, Aalborg Portland.

Denmark's Largest Carbon Project

The Danish Energy Agency has signed a 2.2 billion-euro (US$2.5 billion) carbon capture, transport and storage deal with the country's leading cement maker, Aalborg Portland.

It is the country's largest-ever tender for carbon capture, transport and storage, and Aalborg Portland will be required to start capturing and storing 1.25 million tonnes of CO2 (MTCO2) per year by 2030 at the latest, at its 3.6 million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) cement plant in Rordal, in the northeastern part of Aalborg. The company will receive support of 117 euro (US$135) per tonne of stored CO2 for a 15-year period. The project will cover more than half of Denmark's CO2 capture target of 2.3 MTPA.  Aalborg Portland is owned by Cementir, a multinational building materials company and the world's leading producer and exporter of white cement. According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 17 carbon capture-related projects in Denmark worth almost US$3.5 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports. 

Tender Award

"The CCS tender has now been completed," said Peter Christian Baggesgaard Hansen, deputy director general of the Danish Energy Agency. "This brings us another CCS project on the agenda, joining the other projects under development in Denmark, the first of which will go into operation this year. The project will contribute with significant reductions for the benefit of the climate, and we will also gain another important building block in strengthening the overall value chain for the capture, transport and storage of CO2 in Denmark." The tender process began in late 2024, when 16 projects applied for funding. Last May, this was whittled down to 10 prequalified projects before eight initial bids were received in August. By February this year, there were just two projects in the running. 

The ACCSION Project

Aalborg Portland describes its ACCSION Project as one of Europe's "first and largest onshore carbon capture projects," while Cementir stated that it is essential to its net-zero efforts. By 2030 the group aims to reduce its Scope 1 (CO2) emissions for grey cement by 42% 418 kilograms (kg) of CO2 per tonne (CO2/t) and by 20% to 730kg CO2/t for white cement, compared with 2020 levels. Its eventual goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. 

ACCSION (Aalborg CCS using Infrastructure Onshore in North Jutland), using Cryocap capture technology from Air Liquide, aims to capture 1.4 MTPA of CO2 while supplying recovered heat from the carbon-capture process to local households. The CCS facility will be fully powered by  renewable electricity, while the kilns will operate using biogas. Smart heat integration will use 80 megawatts (MW) of surplus heat from the process to provide district heating to more than 19,000 local households annually. The project has also received substantial funding of 220 million euro (US$254 million) from the European Union's Innovation Fund.

"With this agreement, we can now take a decisive step towards finalising one of the largest industrial carbon capture projects in Europe, which will place Cementir at the forefront of decarbonisation and demonstrate how hard-to-abate industries can be transformed at scale" commented Francesco Caltagirone Jr., Chairman and CEO of Cementir Holding.

Key Takeaways

• Denmark signs a 2.2 billion euro (US$2.5 billion) carbon carbon, transport and storage deal with cement maker Aalborg Portland.
• The ACCSION Project could account for more than half of the country's CO2 capture target of 2.3 million tonnes per annum (MTA).
• Industrial Info Resources is tracking 17 carbon capture-related projects in Denmark worth almost US$3.5 billion in investment. 

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).