immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Innovationsfonds

  • Investments in the circular economy and decarbonisation strengthen CO2 strategy

    Investments in the circular economy and decarbonisation strengthen CO2 strategy

    Holcim receives a grant from the EU Innovation Fund for another major cleantech project. This brings the number of Holcim’s EU-funded CCUS projects to seven. According to a press release from the building materials manufacturer, this new carbon capture and storage (CCUS) project at its site in Martres-Tolosane in south-west France is a highly scalable plant based on mature technologies and close partnerships.

    Holcim had already announced an investment of 100 million euros in the sustainability of this cement plant in 2017. Between 2021 and 2023, Holcim invested a further 200 million euros in the decarbonisation of its French industrial facilities and made a further 60 million euros available for its continuation in May of this year.

    According to Holcim, these investments will have a leverage effect on the development of new sectors and jobs in the field of the circular economy on the one hand, and in the medium term in the field of carbon capture, storage and utilisation on the other. To this end, a new pilot platform, a real industrial test centre for open innovation, will be built at the Martres-Tolosane factory. It will be dedicated to improving new CO2 capture technologies.

    “Holcim is well on its way to making net-zero cement and concrete a reality on a large scale in this decade,” CEO Miljan Gutovic is quoted as saying in the press release. “This support from the EU Innovation Fund is a testament to the strength of our engineering teams, the maturity of our technologies and progressive partnerships across the value chain.”

  • Ground-breaking ceremony for carbon-free cement plant in Belgium

    Ground-breaking ceremony for carbon-free cement plant in Belgium

    Building materials producer Holcim, headquartered in Zug, has broken ground on a plant for the production of carbon-free cement in Belgium, according to a press release. The event in Obourg took place in the presence of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and the EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra.

    The modern GO4ZERO plant should be able to produce a total of 2 million tonnes of net zero cement per year by 2029. With a planned investment of over 500 million euros, the project aims to drive forward the decarbonisation of Europe, according to the press release. Holcim is collaborating on the project with Air Liquide, a Paris-based company specialising in gases for industry, medicine and environmental protection.

    Holcim is supporting the project with 230 million euros from the European Innovation Fund, which is financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System. “The Innovation Fund is driving the introduction of innovative, low-carbon technologies in Europe,” Wopke Hoekstra is quoted as saying.

    “By driving decarbonisation as an engine for profitable growth, Holcim is well on its way to making net-zero cement and concrete a reality on a large scale in this decade,” says Miljan Gutovic, CEO of the Holcim Group. GO4ZERO is one of six projects supported by the European Union for the capture, utilisation and storage of carbon dioxide. “These aim to capture a total of over 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year so that we can offer over 8 million tonnes of fully decarbonised cement per year across Europe by 2030,” says Gutovic.