A new project which will be dedicated to developing a pioneering carbon capture, removal and conversion test centre has been selected for funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). The centre which is due to be built, will be located in Tennessee, specifically at the cement plant in Knoxville. This project is one of five which have been selected to share $101 million, with the intention of beginning and then continuing to develop test centres for cement plants, as well as power facilities.

Throughout this project a collaboration will take place between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), as well as Cemex and finally a mix of U.S. cement producers. Altogether this group will create the conceptual design, business, technical and finally, managerial structures of the test centre. Right now this project is in Phase 1 and it is overseeing the necessary designs and structures for the centre. After this, a competitive selection for Phase 2 will take place and this will involve both building and operating the processes of carbon capture, removal and also, the conversion of the test centre. Doing this will provide a platform to research and evaluate advanced systems which will be used for decarbonising the cement industry. Altogether, this research will make both cost-effective and sustainable carbon management possible.

At this point, the overarching aim for this facility, is to provide a proving ground for innovative carbon capture technologies that are required to accelerate deep decarbonisation of the cement industry on a large scale.

This is an excellent and innovative project which is also part of  larger portfolio of Cemex CCSUS solutions which includes permanent storage or even the use of CO2, which has come from biogenic sources and has the added benefit of contributing to Cemex’s 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target. It has become clear that CCUS will play a large role in the roadmap towards Future in Action, which is Cemex’s sustainability and decarbonisation program. So far, this company has made excellent progress when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint since it was launched in 2020.

President of Cemex US, Jaime Muguiro, commented, "While we are making steady progress, the cement industry has the opportunity to accelerate even more the pace of our decarbonisation. I am excited that our Knoxville cement plant has been selected as the host site for the carbon capture test centre. Through collaboration and continuous innovation with the University of Illinois and industry peers, Cemex is committed to advancing decarbonization solutions."

UIUC Director of Net-Zero Center of Excellence, Kevin C O'Brien, mentioned, "The Net-Zero Center of Excellence, part of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is proud to lead the development of a carbon capture test centre. We are thrilled to combine our expertise in capturing emissions from cement plants with Cemex's leadership in the net-zero space. This partnership aligns perfectly with the goals of our Net-Zero Center of Excellence and Cemex's net-zero objectives."