Heidelberg Materials has started a feasibility study for a decarbonisation project at its Rezzato Mazzano cement plant in the province of Brescia. The plant could become the first in Italy to produce carbon captured net-zero cement and concrete and may participate in the future allocation processes of CO₂ transport and storage capacities in the depleted gas fields off the coast of Ravenna.

The Ravenna CCS project is a joint venture between Italian integrated energy company Eni and energy infrastructure operator Snam and was described in a previous issue of Combustion Industry News. The project aims to convert Eni’s depleted gas fields in the Adriatic Sea for exclusive use as permanent geological CO₂storage sites. The total storage capacity of these fields is estimated at more than 500 million tonnes, making this project the reference CCS hub in the Mediterranean.

Dr Dominik von Achten, Chairman of the Managing Board of Heidelberg Materials says the company’s ambition is not only to implement a decarbonisation initiative that is highly efficient in terms of resources and energy, but also to provide an important impetus for the development of a regional CCS cluster.

As part of the initiative, Heidelberg Materials will evaluate the feasibility of capturing CO₂ from cement production and transporting it via pipeline to the Ravenna CCS storage hub. With an aspired capture rate of more than 95% of the plant’s emissions, this initiative will also explore options for industrial-scale CCS in Italy.