CEMEX is part of an innovative consortium of 21 partners to deliver a ground-breaking supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) waste heat recovery system at its Prachovice cement plant in the Czech Republic.

The project aims to generate up to 8% of the cement plant’s electricity needs.

The consortium has obtained nearly €14m funding from the Horizon 2020 Industrial (Waste) Heat to Power conversion call, to drive implementation and testing of the technology over a four year project period starting in June 2021.

Comprising of both profit and non-profit organisations, the consortium will use a special configuration of heat exchangers and heat transfer fluid for higher efficiency. The plant is expected to generate about 2 MW of electrical power, which is around 8% of the cement plant requirements.

CEMEX places Climate Action as a daily priority and supports EU policies towards net zero CO2 targets. As a global group, CEMEX aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030 compared to 1990 and to deliver net zero CO2 concrete by 2050. In 2020 CEMEX’s European operations had reduced CO2 emissions by around 35%, and became the first Company in the sector to align to the EU’s aspiration to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

“The new sCO2 technology has a smaller footprint and higher operational flexibility than conventional power plant cycles, which produce power from turbines using water or steam. The sCO2 cycles use CO2 that is in a supercritical state – at a temperature and pressure above its critical point where liquid and gas phases are not distinguishable” – said Karol Czubara, CEMEX’s Prachovice Cement Plant Director.

The project further demonstrates CEMEX’s clear Climate Action strategy which shows further progression on upscaling ground-breaking technologies to decarbonise the business and meet EU and CEMEX climate targets.

More information on the project and the consortium partners can be found at: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101022831