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    Fluor Handling Front-End Engineering for Carbon Capture at German Cement Plant

    Dec. 6, 2024
    The project, based on second generation advanced Oxyfuel technology, aims to capture 700,000 tons of CO₂ annually at the Geseke facility.
    ID 50442038 © Bogdanhoda | Dreamstime.com
    675339d4b86fd12d9fd70a16 Low Carbon Cement Dreamstime

    Fluor Corp. has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with Heidelberg Materials for its GeZero project to integrate an industrial-scale carbon capture and storage solution into its cement production facility in Geseke, Germany.

    While construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with commissioning after three years, Fluor will deal with design integration of several decarbonization technologies at the cement production facility.

    The project, based on second generation advanced Oxyfuel technology, aims to capture 700,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually. Once captured, the CO₂ will be transported to offshore storage sites in the North Sea through pipeline or ship to be stored permanently and safely.

    “GeZero is a flagship project for the decarbonization strategy of Heidelberg Materials and Fluor is excited to assist with this pioneering technology,” said Mike Alexander, Group President of Fluor’s Energy Solutions business. “Carbon capture and permanent storage is crucial in meeting sustainability goals.”

    The concrete and cement industries are in the midst of an accelerating decarbonization movement globally. One end user is Microsoft, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with low-carbon cement developer Sublime Systems to purchase the environmental attribute certificates generated at the company’s cement production plants.

    In the U.S., New Jersey-based startup Queens Carbon received a $14.5 million federal grant to finance its efforts at piloting a new low-temperature, zero carbon dioxide technology in partnership with a commercial cement producer.

    California-based Furno Materials also announced a $20 million grant to develop a modular cement plant, Project Oz, that will demonstrate a model for low carbon cement production. Concrete producer Ozinga will utilize Furno’s advanced kiln technology at the project in Illinois.

    Cement production is one of the most carbon-intensive manufacturing sectors, accounting for about 9% of global human CO2 emissions.

     

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.