Sustainable construction specialist Holcim has broken ground on a state-of-the-art net zero cement plant in Obourg, Belgium
With a planned investment of €500m, the Go4Zero plant will be engineered to produce 2m tonnes of net zero cement a year by 2029.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Belgium prime minister Alexander De Croo and Wopke Hoekstra, European commissioner for climate action.
Miljan Gutovic, CEO of Holcim Group, said: “By advancing decarbonization as a driver of profitable growth, Holcim is on course to make net zero cement and concrete a reality at scale this decade.
“Go4Zero is one of our six large-scale, European Union-supported carbon capture, utilization and storage projects. These aim to capture a total of over 5m tonnes of CO₂ per annum, enabling us to offer over 8m tonnes of fully decarbonized cement each year across Europe by 2030.”
Transforming cement manufacturing
The Go4Zero project aims to transform cement manufacturing at every stage.
More than 95% of its energy will be sourced from alternative fuels. The plant will operate Europe’s largest installation of floating solar panels.
Meanwhile, over 30% of its raw mix will come from partly decarbonized alternative raw materials. This will predominantly come from waste generated by other industries.
As a result, the plant will cut CO2 emissions by 30% as early as 2027, Holcim said.
Holcim is partnering with Air Liquide on the project, with €230m in support from the Innovation Fund, which is financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System.
‘Building an innovative future for construction’
Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium: “Belgium can take great pride in the foundation of Holcim’s new plant in Obourg.
“This investment symbolizes exactly the vision that our country has been pursuing for the past four years: build a future for industry in Europe, with the highest standards in terms of innovation and CO2 objectives. And here, in a crucial field like construction.”
Wopke Hoekstra, European commissioner for climate action, added: “With €230m allocated from the EU Emission Trading System for the Go4Zero project, we look forward to seeing this example of cutting-edge partnership across the value chain to create a new ecosystem for carbon capture and storage.
“This is exactly in line with the European Green Deal’s objective to fully mobilize industry to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.”
