Texas-based Lehigh Hanson Inc. plans a Q1 2023 transition to Heidelberg Materials following last month’s abrupt adoption of the new banner by German parent company HeidelbergCement AG. Heidelberg Materials represents “a brand with global reach and focus on sustainability, digitalization and leadership in the building materials industry,” management notes. In North America, it will unify—and gradually succeed—Lehigh Portland Cement Co. and sister legacy brands to better serve cement, aggregate and concrete customers.
“This is a major step for our company, both globally and here in North America,” says Lehigh Hanson President and CEO Chris Ward, who also serves on the Heidelberg Materials Managing Board. “I am thrilled to lead this transformation in North America and take the next steps in our global journey to grow our business beyond cement and aggregates and become the most sustainable company in the sector.”
DOE FUNDING ‘CAPTURED’
Concurrent with the Heidelberg rebranding announcement, Lehigh Hanson reported approximately $3.7 million in U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management funding for a front-end engineering design study to apply carbon capture technology at its upgraded Mitchell, Ind. cement operation. The funding is part of a $30-million DOE initiative supporting 10 projects to develop technologies capable of capturing at least 95 percent of carbon dioxide emissions generated from natural gas or waste-to-energy power plants, and industrial applications, including cement and steel.
Lehigh Hanson is contributing about $1.1 million to the project, centered on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America carbon capture equipment, bringing the total value toward $5 million. Work set for early-2023 completion will more than triple Mitchell cement plant capacity to 2 million-plus metric tons/year, and include features to minimize energy consumption and enable utilization of alternative fuels and raw materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed project will deploy Mitsubishi Heavy Industries technology to capture and sequester approximately 2 million metric tons of CO2 per year or 95 percent of the carbon emissions from the mill. The primary objective of the FEED study is to evaluate the cost and performance of the overall project, including site-specific considerations for full-scale implementation.
The new Lehigh Cement plant in Mitchell is anticipated to begin full production in early 2023.