RHI Magnesita and MCi Carbon won a major grant of €3.8 million under the Australia-Austria Industrial Decarbonisation Demonstration Partnership Program. This funding approval marks one of the biggest milestones in the journey to produce the first CCU plant in the refractory industry.
The Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, along with the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, will finance the development of the plant. This plant will come up in the Hochfilzen in Tyrol of Austria.
A Revolutionary Facility for CO2 Capture
The next-generation CCU plant will be commissioned by 2028 and is likely to capture up to 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum. The new facility not only captures the carbon emissions but also converts the same into carbon-negative mineral products. Thus, the added value will come from the materials rather than adding on to the environmental footprint of the refractory industry.
MCi Carbon drives the initiative with its advanced mineral carbonation technology, which efficiently converts captured CO2 into valuable resources. This technology aims to significantly reduce Scope 1 emissions in the refractory sector and other hard-to-decarbonize industries such as cement manufacturing.
The Path Toward Net-Zero
Constantin Beelitz, Regional President for Europe, CIS, and Türkiye at RHI Magnesita, emphasized the significance of this project for the industry. “This funding approval shows that we are on the right track with this project. For industries with unavoidable emissions like ours, CO2 capture is currently the only viable path to achieve net-zero by 2050, ” Beelitz stated.
He added, “However, we go one step further by not only capturing CO2, but also converting it into products that provide solutions for us and other hard-to-decarbonise sectors, such as the cement industry.”
Also read: Carbon storage operator partners with GIG-PIB to develop CCUS projects
Comprehensive Project Development
The CCUPScale project will involve a range of critical activities, including raw material analysis, pre-demonstration trials, the development of low-carbon products, process engineering, and industrial integration. These steps will ensure that the facility operates efficiently and contributes significantly to the ongoing decarbonization of the refractory sector.