Cement manufacturers want to "accelerate" their decarbonization

This response from cement manufacturers to the decarbonization pact proposed by Emmanuel Macron to the most polluting industries on November 8 is based on "two types of levers", explained Thursday Bruno Pillon, president of the cement workers' union (formerly Sfic, now France Ciment ), in an interview with AFP: the decarbonization of manufacturing processes and materials and carbon capture.

The stakes are high: traditional cement, the result of firing limestone for hours at more than 1.400 degrees Celsius to obtain the basic element, clinker, emits almost one tonne of CO2 per tonne of cement produced.

"We presented a roadmap three years ago where we said + we will reduce our emissions by 24% by 2030 +. Today, we come with a much more ambitious roadmap, we think that 50% is achievable,” said Mr. Pillon.

To decarbonize production, the profession wishes to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel in these furnaces, by bringing "the share of alternative fuels (non-recyclable waste from neighboring communities and industries) to 80% by 2030", against approximately 45% today.

An approach "already initiated", according to Mr. Pillon, who indicates for example that the Heidelberg Materials group, of which he directs the French subsidiary, has started to invest 600 million euros in this area.

Another process under development, the reduction of the clinker content of cement, by replacing it with calcined clay, a component "much less emissive" in CO2, according to Mr. Pillon. Manufacturers would like to reduce the clinker content from the current 75% to 68% in 2030 and 62% in 2050. These processes would reduce emissions by 27%.

"To achieve the 50% objectives, there is only one solution, it is carbon capture", estimated Mr. Pillon, who hopes that the sector will be able to rely on "the development of capture, storage and recovery of shared carbon at the heart of territorial hubs".

When asked about the tight schedule, Mr. Pillon replied that "these technologies exist": "the group I represent will, next year, bury its first ton of CO2 in its Brevik plant in Norway" with a long-term objective of 400.000 tons per year, before a similar operation in 2025, in the Swedish factory of Slite.

Given the heavy investments, "all of this must be supported by the government", however supports Mr. Pillon.

Emmanuel Macron had proposed on November 8, 2022 a decarbonization pact to the industrialists who emit the most CO2 in France with a doubling of public aid to 10 billion euros in exchange for a doubling of their effort in this area.

He then received the leaders of the 50 French industrial sites that emit the most CO2, which represent half of the emissions of industry, or 10% of the country's emissions. Of these 50 sites, there were 22 cement plants, according to Mr. Pillon.