Government grants and partnerships with Adbri and Boral advance Calix’s Low Emissions Lime And Cement (LEILAC) technology in Australia and score a world-first
Following on from LEILAC’s success in Europe, Australia is set to host the world’s first commercial-scale process for the manufacture of low emissions lime.
Calix has been awarded an $11 million grant from the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Hubs and Technologies Program to work with Adbri on low emissions lime for industries such as alumina and gold.
A lime kiln plant will be located in Kwinana, Western Australia and will use Calix’s Low Emissions Intensity Lime and Cement (LEILAC) technology to demonstrate the use of renewable power, assess alternative energy sources such as hydrogen, and assess the efficient capture of CO2 process emissions.
“Using renewable energy to power the technology will create truly zero emissions lime and cement,” said Calix Managing Director Phil Hodgson.
Adbri is the largest producer of lime in Australia and the second largest cement and clinker supplier. Like the Federal Government, Adbri aspires to be net zero by 2050. To achieve this goal, the new Labor government has pledged a more ambitious emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030.
Cement production is responsible for approximately eight per cent of global CO2 emissions.
Both the International Energy Agency and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regard carbon capture technologies as essential in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Boral project a game-changer for the cement industry
A further $30 million in federal government funding will be received by Boral to explore with Calix the feasibility of developing a CCUS project at its cement and lime facilities in the NSW Southern Highlands, targeting 100,000 tonnes per year of CO2.
Boral is the largest integrated construction materials company in Australia, producing and selling a broad range of construction materials including quarry products, cement, concrete, asphalt and recycled materials.
Boral’s Chief Operating Officer, Darren Schulz, said the company is committed to investing in projects that create high performing products while reducing its carbon footprint. “This is game changing technology for our industry and will play a critical role in supporting customers’ sustainability targets,” Mr Schulz said.
“Together, Boral and Calix have access to the required infrastructure, technology and operational expertise required to deliver this project and lead the way in reducing emissions across the industry.”
“By modernising Australia’s cement industry, we are enabling the growth of lower carbon construction materials, which are essential to jobs and local economies.”
The Boral project aims to:
- Develop CO2 capture capability for Boral’s cement and lime facilites; and,
- Assess alternative energy sources such as renewable energy and alternative fuels to further reduce CO2.
Calix will be supplying its LEILAC technology to the project, which will help accelerate its expertise through development of both cement and lime deployment options, as well as alternative fuels and renewable energy use.
Phil Hodgson, Calix Managing Director said, “Calix has been working hard advancing our technology in Europe. The projects with Adbri and Boral represent an acceleration in carbon abatement ambition that has occurred in Australia over a very short time.”
“It’s great to be working with Australian companies such as Adbri and Boral on Calix’s home-grown technology in these world-leading projects.”
Captured CO2 to supply South West Hub project
The Adbri project in WA will also see Calix working with CarbonTP and the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC).
Captured CO2 is planned to be provided to the South West Hub Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project in Western Australia. When constructed, the low emissions lime kiln will:
- Produce lime using renewable power;
- Demonstrate flexibility by operating only during peak renewable electricity production or low electricity cost periods;
- Assess alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and alternative fuels; and,
- Capture the CO2 emitted from the process.
Once the proposed South West Hub CCS project is operational, CO2 can be fed into the system for permanent storage, creating truly zero emissions lime.
Adbri Managing Director and CEO, Nick Miller, welcomes the Commonwealth support and acknowledges the project represents a significant milestone in its collaboration with Calix to develop its carbon capture technology to reduce emissions from lime production.
“As a leading Australian producer of lime, we recognise it is a difficult manufacturing process to abate.”
“Transformative technology-led partnerships like this one with Calix form a key part of our own pathway to net zero by 2050, reducing our emissions profile while supporting the decarbonisation of our end-market customers in the alumina, gold and rare-earths sector.”
Felicity Lloyd, HILT CRC CEO, said the project is an important step in demonstrating pathways to reduce the emissions of CO2 from heavy industry. “The major sectors of aluminium and steel are users of lime, and the project will be of direct interest to them in better understanding how to reduce the emissions intensity of their products. Calix technology is also applicable to the green alumina and steel manufacturing process, so this project will build capacity and know-how to support such future opportunities.”
