Lehigh Cement, HeidelbergCement’s North American subsidiary, and Enbridge Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a carbon storage project for Lehigh’s cement plant in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The producer is currently developing North America’s first full-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCU/S) solution for the cement industry at its Edmonton operation, with the goal of capturing approximately 780,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The captured emissions are to be transported via pipeline and permanently sequestered by Enbridge.
Subject to the award of carbon sequestration rights and regulatory approvals, the project could be in service as early as 2025.
Edmonton is one of several cement plants throughout the world where HeidelbergCement is currently deploying and scaling up different technologies and solutions to substantially reduce CO2 emissions.
“As carbon capture and storage plays a decisive role on our journey toward net zero emissions, creating the infrastructure needed to scale up the technology is a key strategic priority for us,” said Dr. Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement: “Strong local partnerships for smart carbon hub solutions are essential for the successful implementation of the various ambitious CCU/S initiatives within HeidelbergCement.”
The company targets CO2 reductions of up to 10 million tonnes with several CCU/S projects already underway by 2030.
With the support of Lehigh and other partners, Enbridge will be applying to develop an open access carbon hub west of Edmonton. Once built, the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub will be among the largest integrated CCU/S projects in the world, with a combined capture potential of nearly 4 million tonnes of CO2emissions per year.
“Lehigh Cement’s pioneering CCU/S project is an exciting addition to our proposed Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub, which is poised to support the decarbonization of multiple industries, including power generation, oil and gas, and now cement,” said Colin Gruending, Enbridge executive vice president and president, liquids pipelines. “This collaboration demonstrates our focus on local, cost-effective, customer-focused carbon transportation and storage solutions that drive scale and competitiveness while minimizing infrastructure footprint to protect land, water and the environment.”
