Calix Awarded $15m Grant for Zero Emissions Lime and Cement CCU plant

A World-First Supported by the Australian Government 

Calix is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $15 million grant from the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program. The grant will support the construction of a world-first, renewably powered carbon capture and use (CCU) demonstration plant in South Australia to produce near-zero emissions lime and supply captured industrial CO₂ emissions to the HyGATE funded Solar Methanol Project.

Calix CEO and Managing Director, Phil Hodgson was delighted to have been awarded funding under the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program.

This highly innovative project aims to demonstrate solutions for several national priorities identified in the Australian Government’s Future Made in Australia program”

“Calix’s renewably powered technology platform can electrify mineral processing and capture unavoidable emissions to enable carbon-intensive industries like cement and lime to reach net zero.  

“Zero emissions lime will also be an important enabling material for the development of an Australian green metals industry for green steel and aluminium. Additionally, by combining captured CO₂ with Australian sunshine in collaboration with our partners in the SM1 project, we aim to demonstrate a low-cost decarbonisation pathway for cement and lime and a novel way to make low-carbon transport fuels.”

Phil Hodgson

Calix CEO And Managing Director

Demonstrating Zero Emissions Lime and Cement 

Lime is an essential material used in the iron & steel, alumina, paper, pharmaceuticals, food, farming, and chemical industries. Demand for lime in Australia is predicted to grow by 57% between 2022 and 2050. Like cement, lime is produced by heating limestone to form quicklime (calcium oxide). When heated, carbon dioxide is unavoidably released directly from the raw material, with this process accounting for the majority of the cement and lime industries’ emissions. 

Electrification plus carbon capture by the Leilac technology enables the avoidance of fuel emissions and the capture of unavoidable process emissions. The innovative CCU project aims to capture and use this unavoidable CO₂ to make a low-carbon transport fuel for the shipping sector, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of multiple industries and demonstrating a cost-effective CCU decarbonisation pathway for cement and lime.  

In a second phase of the project, the ZETA program will aim to expand production to include the processing of cement raw meal to a near-zero emissions cement clinker product, with captured process CO₂ again supplied for use. By incorporating cement clinkering as an additional process in the Leilac technology, the project aims to develop a novel route to zero emissions clinker production that reduces cost, energy consumption and footprint. 

Using captured emissions to make sustainable fuels 

The novel, renewably powered CCU project aims to generate two revenue streams through the production of near-zero emissions lime and the sale of captured CO₂ for use as a chemical feedstock.

The Leilac technology will be used in Project Zeta to capture up to 20,000 tonnes of process CO₂ emissions annually. Up to 15,000 tonnes of CO₂ will be sold to the Solar Methanol Project each year to produce green methanol, with additional captured CO₂ potentially supplied to other users in local industry. The Solar Methanol Project is being developed by a consortium including Vast (NAS: VSTE) and German energy company Mabanaft, under the Australian-German funded HyGATE initiative. 

Vast CEO, Craig Wood said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Calix on SM1, using CO2 captured from their near zero emissions lime plant to produce green methanol to decarbonise the maritime sector. It is excellent to see the Australian Government supporting companies like Vast and Calix as we develop solutions to decarbonise shipping and aviation globally.

Mabanaft’s Director New Energy, Philipp Kroepels said, “We believe that government support, such as that provided by Australia and Germany through the HyGATE initiative, is essential to stimulate development of low-carbon, sustainable fuels, including methanol. Our joint project with Calix and VAST will certainly take us forward in developing viable”.

Supporting a Future Made in Australia 

Collectively, Project Zeta aims to develop and demonstrate cost-effective solutions to manufacture sustainable lime, cement and future fuels, while also supporting the decarbonisation of other hard-to-abate sectors like steel and aluminium.

Hodgson concluded,

“It is exciting to see Australian technology companies, supported by Australian Government funding, collaborating to take advantage of the unique comparative advantages Australia can have in a decarbonising global economy.”

Phil Hodgson

Calix CEO And Managing Director

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