RTI International, Norcem to Pilot Advanced Solid Sorbent CO2 Capture Technology at Cement Plant in Norway

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – RTI International and Norcem, part of HeidelbergCement Group, are partnering to carry out a pilot-scale carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture technology demonstration project in Norcem’s cement plant in Brevik, Norway.

Under terms of the three-year project, RTI will adapt and integrate its solid sorbent-based process technology, currently being developed for coal-fired power plants, into the cement plant.

If successful, RTI’s technology may provide the cement industry a viable CO₂ mitigation option. Because cement plants are large point sources of CO₂ emissions, cement manufacturers are seeking cost-effective methods for capturing CO₂ emissions. For nearly a decade, RTI has been developing novel process technologies to efficiently capture CO₂ using funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), targeted mainly at coal-fired power plants.

The solid sorbent-based technology is currently being developed in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University and is supported through a cooperative agreement with the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Co-funding is provided by Masdar in the United Arab Emirates, which is interested in the potential application of this technology for natural gas-fired power plants.

“Our solid sorbent-based technology has the potential to substantially reduce the process energy load and costs compared to conventional liquid solvent CO₂ scrubbing technology,” said Tom Nelson, RTI’s project manager. “Because the operating experience of cement plants is largely based on solids handling, we think it is an excellent fit for the cement industry.”

Under the project, the team will first develop a commercial design of the solid sorbent CO₂ capture technology for a typical cement plant, then conduct a detailed techno-economic study to show the feasibility of this technology, and finally demonstrate, on a small pilot scale, the efficient removal of CO₂ at Norcem’s plant.

“We are excited to see industry interest in our technologies at a global level,” said Markus Lesemann, Ph.D., director for business development at RTI. “Together with our ongoing efforts and collaborations focusing in coal and natural gas power plants, this collaboration with Norcem will result in a comprehensive assessment of RTI’s CO₂ capture technology across industry sectors.”

“On behalf of Norcem and the European cement industry, I am proud to announce that the planned carbon capture project will be realized,” said Gunnar Syvertsen, general manager in Norcem and CEO for HeidelbergCement Northern Europe. “We have a vision that our products in a life-cycle perspective will be carbon neutral by 2030, and we believe that carbon capture from cement production is an important part of and a long step toward achieving this vision. We are looking forward to collaborating with RTI and investigating their solid sorbent-based carbon capture technology. The collaboration with RTI also underlines the international perspective; the climate change challenges are global.”

The project is part of a larger effort by Norcem to construct and operate a CO₂ capture test facility at its Brevik plant for new CO₂ capture technologies that are suitable for the cement industry. Financial support for the facility is provided by Gassnova, the Norwegian state enterprise for CO₂ capture and storage (CCS). Gassnova’s goal is to develop ways to reduce the costs linked to CCS by establishing successful forms of cooperation between industry and research in order to enable efficient CCS technology.