Cement Plant Lands $500M in Federal Project Funding
Germany-based Heidelberg Materials North America is pleased to announce it has been selected for award negotiation to receive up to $500 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). The purpose of this project is to advance the integration of full-scale carbon capture, transport, and storage at the new state-of-the-art cement plant in Mitchell, Indiana. The funding will build on prior funding that has been awarded by the DOE toward successfully completing the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) work necessary to verify the project’s technical feasibility.
The application was submitted in 2023, and Heidelberg Materials will participate in substantial cost share that will leverage up to $500M in DOE project funding. The selection is part of the DOE’s Industrial Demonstrations Program to provide up to a total of $6 billion in funding to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonization solutions needed to move energy-intensive industries toward net-zero across the U.S. and is one of 33 projects selected across 20 states as part of this program.
The new Mitchell cement plant, recently modernized to produce more than triple its previous capacity, incorporates features to minimize energy consumption and enable the use of alternative fuels and raw materials to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed project for this funding award will capture, treat and prepare for storage or use approximately 2 million tons of CO2 each year from the cement plant.
“This substantial federal funding will help create the first full-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage on a cement plant in the U.S.,” said Chris Ward, President and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America.
“Through this project at the Mitchell facility, Heidelberg Materials is investing in leading the development and application of CCUS in our industry, and successful implementation of this technology at scale will play a critical role in achieving our goal of decarbonization,” continued Ward.
“Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”
“I know Heidelberg, and I know their integrity and their commitment to excellence and ability to produce cement now in a new, sustainable, modern way,” said Governor Eric J. Holcomb. “This is what Hoosiers are all about. We've long been pioneers, and now we're pioneering the future of cement.”
Heidelberg Materials is committed to leading the cement industry in developing viable carbon capture projects, which are essential to achieving the company’s ambitious sustainability goals.
