On June 13. 2023, the mayor of Barcin (City in Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship) issued a positive environmental decision for the Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project, after obtaining the opinion of the competent environmental protection authorities. The decision confirms the design solutions for the construction and operation plan of the installation in accordance with environmental standards.
“We reached another milestone in the implementation process of CCS technology in Cementownia Kujawy is behind us”, says Jolanta Zdunowska, Carbon Capture and Storage Projects Technical Director at Holcim Polska. – “Obtaining a decision is necessary to apply for a building permit. We plan to complete all the formalities needed to start construction by the end of the first half of 2024. We anticipate launching the carbon dioxide capture installation at the Kujawy Cement Plant in 2027”, adds Zdunowska.
In June, Holcim also chose Protech Sp. z o. o. from Włocławek to prepare a construction project for a CO2 capture installation. Protech specializes in the implementation of multi-branch projects for heavy industry. The CO2 capture installation at Kujawy Cement Plant will be a complex of facilities on the premises of the plant. The task of the selected company will be to prepare the documentation that is essential for the application for a building permit for the installation of CO2 capture from the exhaust gases of the clinker kiln, its liquefaction and loading onto wagons and the accompanying infrastructure.
The Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project sets standards in industrial innovations supporting decarbonisation of the EU economy. It is also a milestone in the decarbonisation of the construction chain and allows replicating the technology in other industries. The project is co-financed by the EU Innovation Fund.
During a meeting with stakeholders from the Świętokrzyskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodships that was held on 12 September, Holcim Polska summarised its environmental activities and investment projects. The Environment Day was also attended by a representative of the Marshal's Office in Kielce from the Department of Agriculture, Climate and the Environment, who touched on the development of circular economy in the region.
‘We are focusing on reducing our carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, over the past 20 years we have halved our CO2 emissions from 800 kg to 400 kg per tonne of cement. In addition, we will have implemented a modern carbon capture technology by 2030,’ said President of Holcim Polska Maciej Sypek, PhD, during the 33rd Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland (3-5 September 2024).
In its expectations of businesses, the EU repeats 'zero net emissions' like a mantra. Holcim is taking up this challenge. As a result, the Kujawy Cement Plant may become the first full ydecarbonised construction materials plant in Poland. Jolanta Zdunowska, Technical Director of Carbon Capture and Storage Projects at Holcim Polska, talks about the PLN 2-bln investment project.
The first zero-emission cement plant in Europe is to be built in 2027 in Poland, in the Kujawy region. Holcim is in the process of implementing the GO4ECOPLANET project, under which 100 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by Cementownia Kujawy will be captured.
The cement sector is characterized by a high degree of innovation in introducing solutions conducive to reducing the negative impact on the environment.
Holcim and the Innovation Fund (CINEA European Agency) signed the project grant agreement in Brussels on 19 January 2023.
Holcim has secured substantial commitments from the European Union (EU) Innovation Fund for two of its breakthrough Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage projects in Germany and Poland.
