ABB and green tech company SaltX have signed an agreement to accelerate the commercialization of SaltX’s electrification and carbon separation technology. ABB will also become a minority shareholder in SaltX.
Under the new agreement, SaltX will further develop its innovative Electric Arc Calciner, a technology that makes it possible to reach several thousand degrees Celsius. The electric plasma solution, noted the companies, reinvents industrial calcination and replaces fossil-driven heating with renewable electricity while capturing the CO₂ emissions released. ABB will contribute with control and electrical systems for the calciner, creating a strong joint offering to the market.
“SaltX gains an optimal industrial partner with extensive experience in scaling up and implementing new industrial technologies on a global scale, together with a substantial capital injection,” said Carl-Johan Linér, CEO of SaltX. “This strengthens us as a company and enables us to progress with our growth plans. With ABB and our other partners, we can significantly improve our capability to take a leading role in the electrification wave sweeping through the industrial sector.”
The companies first initiated a collaboration for electrifying the industrial process of calcination in 2022. This intensified in 2023 with the construction of SaltX’s research and test facility in Hofors, Sweden.
“At ABB, we are at the core of accelerating decarbonization in the cement and other emission-intensive industries whilst providing world-class solutions to our customers,” said Michael Marti, global growth industries business line manager, ABB Process Industries. “Our collaboration with SaltX marks a significant milestone in this journey. The technology benefits are two-fold; replacing the use of fossil fuels through renewable electricity in the calcination process and enabling cost efficient capture of the carbon emissions at the same time. It will be a highly effective way of curbing lime production emissions.”
