Texas-based Fluor Corp. has won a front-end engineering and design contract from the building materials giant Materials from Heidelberg for a proposed $500 million upgrade of an existing cement plant in Germany that will add carbon capture and sequestration technology.
Heidelberg says it aims to decarbonise its production facility in Geseke, Germany, to enable it to capture up to 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by process in a purification and liquefaction plant for transport and storage. The project is part of the company GeZero project, which the Heidelberg, GermanyGlobal manufacturers’ claims based on will be a model for producing carbon-captured cement and clinker net-zero.
Fluor did not disclose the value of its FEED contract, or whether it is also a contractor on the project.
The cost of the project includes about 200 million dollars that Heidelberg received from the EU Innovation Fundwhich helps subsidize innovative low-carbon technologies. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with commissioning expected three years later.
“GeZero is a flagship project for Heidelberg Materials’ decarbonization strategy and Fluor is excited to help with this pioneering technology,” said Mike Alexander, group president of the contractor’s energy solutions unit.
Fluor has steadily increased its footprint in the CCS technology area, announcing earlier this year that Chevron New Energies signed a license agreement to use its proprietary Econamine FG PlusSM process to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a cogeneration plant in California owned by the energy giant. It involves using a solvent to capture CO2 from post-combustion sources that emit more than 10,000 tonnes per day.
According to Heidelberg, the Geseke plant, near the city of Munster, will use injected oxygen to produce a higher concentration of CO2 in its exhaust gases, allowing for more efficient carbon capture.
Transporting CO2 to the plant by rail is part of the project’s planning “until the necessary pipeline infrastructure is available,” he said. Christian Knell, CEO of Heidelberg Materials, in a statement. “Also, a local CO2 storage center should be created as interim storage.”
Knell said the power to operate the plant will be “exclusively” renewable, noting that a new solar PV system nearby will “help meet the needs.”
Fluor ranks No. 8 on the 2024 Top 400 ENR Contractors list with $9.4 billion in revenue.
