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
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. Designed and constructed with partner RTI International using $1.14 million in U.S. Department of Energy monies, the Cemex project 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 remaining ARRA money will be awarded during a second phase for recipients demonstrating the greatest CCS potential in their seven-month, initial-phase projects.
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.
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 by quantities equal to a reduction of 115,000 metric tons/year in CO2 emissions.