Carbon4Minerals: Carbon Capture and Use
From CO₂ Emissions to Innovative Construction Products
Context
According to an article by the European Commission, the construction sector ‘is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s total waste generation’. ‘Greater material efficiency could save 80% of those emissions’, the overview also stresses. A UNEP 2023 report indicates that the sector accounts for 'a staggering 37% of global emissions.’
Carbon4Minerals: A Processes4Planet Project
To address the needed ‘greater material efficiency’, Carbon4Minerals (full title Transforming CO₂ into added-value construction products) proposes innovative technologies for Carbon Capture and Use (CCU) in the production of construction materials. Implemented by a consortium of 12 partners (including three SMEs) under the coordination of the A.SPIRE member VITO, Carbon4Minerals kicked off on 1 January 2023 and is funded by Horizon Europe under a Processes4Planet call.
Goals and Vision: Eight Industrial Pilots
Carbon4Minerals aims to capture and utilise CO₂ from industrial flue gases for the production of a wide range of low-carbon building material intermediates and construction end-products. A total of eight industrial pilots (at TRL 6 and 7) will be built and operated across the process value chain from CO₂ capture to cement production and low-carbon construction products. Furthermore, the project seeks to demonstrate the technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of the solution. To foster industrial implementation and market uptake, the project team will develop co-learning modules.
Implementation and Potential Impact
At the end of 2024, the project coordinator, Ms Liesbeth Horckmans, informed us that detailed calculations still needed to be conducted but overall, reductions of 80-135% compared to cement-based reference materials are foreseen.
Furthermore, the building materials can capture 100-200 kg CO₂ /ton. An LCA analysis will be conducted to get the overall CO₂ reduction numbers. The project is expected to finish at the end of 2026.
Ms Horckmans also gave us an overview of the status of the pilots: at the moment, the first pilots are already operational (Pilot 4a, carbonated facing bricks) or very near completion (Pilot 3a, carbonation clinker trial production; Pilot 2a wet amine CO2 capture; Pilot 2b solid sorbent CO2 capture; 3c enforced carbonation SCM). The remaining pilots (3b mechanical activation SCM, 4b mineral carbonation façade panels and roof tiles, 4c low carbon fibre cement products) are expected to be operational by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
The Success Story
Asked about what makes Carbon4Minerals a Success Story, the coordinator says that the project ‘has significant potential to change the building industry by integrating CO₂ capture and use in building materials, on one site.’ So far, she mentions, ‘one of the challenges for the mineral carbonation has been to get a good source of CO₂. By capturing CO₂ from the flue gases of the industry itself, emissions can be reduced.’
Additionally, part of the capture costs can be regained by the value of the building materials that are made. These building materials can replace ordinary Portland cement and avoid the large emissions associated with this material.
Ms Horckmans also emphasises ‘the collaboration between different industries to showcase a combined CO₂ capture and use system in high TRL pilot plants.’
A.SPIRE considers Carbon4Minerals a promising project that can turn into a Success Story for the European energy-intensive industries, supporting them in achieving GHG emission reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 while fostering competitiveness through ambitious research and innovation.
Download the leaflet for more information about this success story.
Visit the Carbon4Minerals project’s website.
For more information about A.SPIRE, the Processes4Planet Partnership, and the Success Stories, contact the team.
