Boral Limited has upgraded its carbon-reducing technology at its Berrima Cement Works facility in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales (NSW).
Boral’s Berrima Cement Works is responsible for supplying 40 per cent of cement in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The upgraded facility, which was officially opened by the Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy, Chris Bowen, is a significant milestone in the company’s decarbonisation efforts and transition from its reliance on emissions-intensive fuels.
A key part of its upgraded facility, the Chlorine Bypass (which reduces the build-up of chlorides and other alternative fuel by-products), will enable alternative fuel usage to reach 60 per cent over the next three years at the site. To date, Boral has already achieved 30 per cent coal substitution.
Around 70 per cent of the world’s population lives in a structure built with concrete and its production is responsible for more than eight per cent of global carbon emissions.
Earlier this year the two leading representative bodies of the global cement industry signed a milestone agreement to help accelerate decarbonisation of the sector across the world.
The China Cement Association (CCA), which represents more than 50 per cent of the world’s cement production and the Global Cement and Concrete Association, whose members account for 80 per cent of cement production capacity outside of China, signed the pledge.
Overseas, SLB Capturi has just completed the construction of a carbon capture plant at Heidelberg Materials’ cement facility in Brevik, Norway.
With the full-scale carbon capture plant now complete, including the carbon capture system, compression system, heat integration system, intermediate storage, and loadout facilities, the plant is now ready for testing and commissioning.
When operational, this world-first commercial-scale carbon capture plant at a cement facility will enable production of net zero cement, without compromising on the product strength or quality.
Due to the inherent emissions of cement production, the sector is dependent on carbon capture and storage to reach net zero. The carbon capture plant is designed to capture up to 400,000 metric tonnes of CO2 annually from the cement facility.
The Brevik plant will now move into commissioning phase, with operations starting during 2025.