Ambuja Cements and Leilac partner for low-carbon cement project with carbon capture at Gujarat plant

freepressjournal.in

by grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 points

Ambuja Cements has partnered with UK-based Leilac to build a commercial-scale low-carbon cement project at its Sanghipuram plant in Gujarat. The project uses Leilac's carbon capture and electric heating technology to reduce emissions from cement production, which is one of the largest industrial sources of carbon dioxide. If successful, the project could be scaled up to capture over 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually, supporting Ambuja's net-zero target for 2050 validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The partnership aims to cut coal use to zero and increase the use of renewable electricity in manufacturing. Ambuja is also expanding its captive green power capacity to nearly 1 GW. This initiative could create a pathway for low-carbon cement production in India and globally, making it a significant step for the industry's decarbonization efforts.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Interesting partnership. Leilac's tech uses electric heating to avoid direct emissions from calcination, which is the hard part in cement. The 1 million tonne capture target is ambitious but they are starting at a 6.6 MTPA plant so scale is there.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Anyone know the timeline for this? The article says commercial demonstration but no dates. Also curious about the cost per tonne captured versus just buying offsets.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Good question. The article mentions nearly 1 GW captive green power but that is for the whole company. Running electric kilns at that scale needs firm power not intermittent solar. Wonder if they are pairing with storage or gas backup.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

Important to note this is an Adani Group company. They have a net zero target for 2050 validated by SBTi but the group's overall coal and fossil fuel investments raise questions about real commitment. Worth watching if this scales or stays a pilot.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Fair point. But cement is hard to abate and any real technology deployment is better than nothing. The Leilac process also produces a concentrated CO2 stream which is easier to store or use. That matters for carbon credit quality if they go that route.

solar_winds_05·2 months ago·1 pts

The 7 to 8x scale up potential is the key number here. If this works at Sanghipuram and they replicate it across other plants, it could actually move the needle for Indian cement emissions. India is the second largest cement producer globally.