Cement and lime decarbonisation technology company, Leilac, is pleased to announce it has signed a perpetual global licence agreement for the use of its decarbonisation technology with Heidelberg Materials, one of the world’s largest cement producers and building materials companies.
The innovative licence agreement for Leilac’s ground-breaking technology applies to any Heidelberg Materials facility where the Leilac decarbonisation technology is installed. Heidelberg Materials operates 149 cement plants across 5 continents.
Leilac CEO, Daniel Rennie described the agreement with Heidelberg Materials as a key milestone in the development and commercialisation of the Leilac technology.
“It forms the basis for the technology’s use throughout Heidelberg Materials, providing a model for the commercialisation of the technology at global scale,” Rennie said.
“Together, Leilac and Heidelberg Materials continue to de-risk, prove and scale Leilac’s decarbonisation technology.
“The agreement is an important step in our journey towards providing cement and lime producers with access to a low cost carbon abatement solution, allowing them to take urgent action against climate change and protect their industries’ jobs and prosperity.”
Head of Heidelberg Materials’ Global Competence Centre Cement, Antonio Clausi said, “Heidelberg Materials has been working together with Leilac since 2014, developing this promising technology as a means of decarbonising the cement sector’s unavoidable CO2 emissions.”
Mr Clausi continued, “We look forward to our continued collaboration towards developing and implementing the technology at full scale, with this global, perpetual licence agreement marking an important milestone and commercial framework for the widespread use of the technology.”
Decarbonisation technology
Leilac, a 93% owned Calix subsidiary with 7% owned by Carbon Direct, is a collaborative technology partner enabling sustainable decarbonisation of cement and lime.
Leilac’s unique technology is being developed to efficiently separate and capture unavoidable CO2 process emissions in cement and lime production, with no additional chemicals or processes.
Leilac’s modular, scalable and retrofittable technology is designed to be energy agnostic and electrification ready, providing viable, flexible and economical pathways to carbon free cement and lime.
Leilac CEO, Daniel Rennie said, “Scalable and low cost decarbonisation technology solutions for cement and lime are essential to ensuring a just transition to net zero that balances social, economic and environmental sustainability.
“Leilac’s technical approach, and the innovative commercial agreement that has been reached, paves the way for our continued and collaborative journey towards sustainable cement and lime.”
Heidelberg Materials and Leilac partnership
Heidelberg Materials is a founding and key member of a consortium of companies and institutions partnering to develop and apply the Leilac technology. The global licence agreement with Heidelberg Materials follows many years of close collaboration and partnership.
Leilac-1, located at Heidelberg Materials’ plant in Lixhe, Belgium, is a pilot plant supported by EU funding, with a capacity to capture 25,000 tonnes per annum of CO2. In operation since 2019, Leilac-1 has successfully piloted separation of unavoidable process CO2 emissions from cement and lime production using the Leilac technology.
Leilac-2, also supported by EU funding and due to commence construction in 2023, will be located at Heidelberg Materials’ plant in Hanover, Germany. Once retrofitted to Heidelberg Materials’ operational plant, Leilac-2 should have the capacity to capture 100,000 tonnes per annum of CO2 or 20% of a typical cement plant’s emissions, and is aiming to have a low CO2 capture cost. The project paves the way for future deployments of the Leilac technology that scale to capture all of the unavoidable process CO2 emissions from cement and lime plants.
Cement, lime and climate change
Cement and lime provide the foundations of our societies and economies. They are also amongst the largest industrial contributors to climate change, accounting for 8% of global CO2 emissions[1].
Unlike other industries, most of the CO2 produced in the manufacture of cement and lime is unavoidable. It is estimated that 1.37 billion tonnes of CO2 from cement will need to be captured and stored annually by 2050.[2]
With no additional chemicals or processes, Leilac’s technology efficiently separates CO2 process emissions for use or storage. It aims to be energy agnostic and electrification ready, providing flexible and economical pathways to net zero cement. The Leilac technology’s unique, modular design is being designed to be retrofitted to cement plants with minimal operational impact, providing a transformational implementation approach that can be adopted at any scale.
[1] Trends in global CO2 emissions; 2016 Report, The Hague: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
[2] Global Cement & Concrete Association. Getting to net zero
