BELFAST carbon capture firm Nuada has announced new partnerships with four of the world’s biggest cement companies to test how its technology could help them reduce emissions.
The collaboration will see the Belfast firm work with Holcim, SCG, Cementos Argos and Cementos Molins on efforts to capture unavoidable emissions from the heating of limestone during cement manufacturing.
Carbon capture is expected to account for more than a third of all the emission reductions needed, in line with the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s 2050 Net Zero Concrete Roadmap.
But the economics pose challenges for the industry due to the high capital cost of equipment and the energy intensity of available solutions.
Dr Jose Casaban, co-chief executive of Nuada, formerly known as MOF Technologies, said: “Innovation in carbon capture is vital to slashing the cost of capture, enabling the ramp-up of infrastructure and ultimately improving the economics of CCS [carbon capture and storage] projects.
“Nuada redefines carbon capture by deploying a solution that addresses the cost, energy, and integrational challenges for harder-to-abate sectors like cement.”
The collaboration, facilitated through the GCCA, will work towards using Nuada’s cleantech to produce lower carbon cement.
It follows existing partnerships with Buzzi Unicem, Cementir Holding, and Heidelberg Materials.
“The commitment of these major cement players to collaborate with Nuada, attests to the potential of our carbon capture innovation as a cornerstone solution for low-carbon cement, and we eagerly anticipate working together to accelerate its deployment,” said Dr Conor Hamill, co-chief executive of Nuada.
The Belfast firm earlier this year announced it had raised £3.4 million in funding from growth capital investor BGF.
It followed a series A round that raised £4.5m and UK Government funding awarded from UKRI and the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
