Cemex USA is one of 12 recipients of first round grants from a $1.4-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act pool funding development of technology that will capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.; Cemex Inc., Houston
Cemex USA is one of 12 recipients of first round grants from a $1.4-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act pool funding development of technology that will capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources. Cemex’s project, which the company is designing and constructing with partner RTI International using $1.14 million in DOE funding, will demonstrate a dry sorbent CO2 capture and compression system, pipeline (if necessary), and injection station at one of its U.S. cement plants. This commercial-scale carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demo will remove as much as 1 million tons of CO2. In addition to the DOE dollars, Cemex USA will provide 20 percent of the funding for Phase 1 of its project.
The only cement company to receive CCS funding, Cemex joins projects from chemical plants, paper mills, refineries, and manufacturing facilities across the country. Among the other 11 CCS selections were entries from Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Allentown, Pa.; Archer Daniels Midland Corp., Decatur, Ill.; ConocoPhillips, Houston; and Shell Chemical Capital Co., Houston. The first phase of these projects includes $21.6 million in Recovery Act and $22.5 million in private funding. The remaining ARRA money will be awarded during a second phase for recipients demonstrating the greatest CCS potential in their seven-month,` initial phase projects.
The development of advanced technologies and innovative concepts that reduce emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is a key objective of the Obama Administration’s effort to help mitigate the effects of climate change, explained U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu when announcing the funding selections. Our commitment to sustainability is not just a goal, but one of our biggest responsibilities, said Cemex USA President Gilberto Perez. Through this project, Cemex is pioneering a new frontier, working to develop cutting-edge technology that could offer a CO2 reduction option for not only Cemex plants, but for the U.S. cement industry. This project could also lead to the creation of green jobs in America.
Cemex’s long-established corporate sustainability commitment includes looking at ways to minimize its energy use and reduce its carbon footprint. In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the DOE selected Cemex USA as the 2009 Energy Star Partner of the Year for its outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, the company decreased its total energy use equal to reducing 115,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions–equivalent to providing electricity to at least 1,500 American homes for a decade or avoiding about 21,000 passenger vehiclesÌ CO2 emissions for a year.