Vicat accelerates its circular-economy drive with the CO2ntainer system
In September 2020, Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant was equipped with the CO2ntainer system, a solution created by British company Carbon8 Systems that both helps boost growth in the use of alternate fuels in the cement-making process and uses captured CO2 to carbonate cement-plant dust and produce quality aggregate.
Vicat is consolidating its circular-economy drive and taking further steps towards carbon neutrality by installing the Carbon8 Systems process at its Montalieu-Vercieu plant. It is the first European cement manufacturer to implement the process at the industrial scale. The CO2ntainer system was installed in September and came on-line in November 2020. It is integrated into the plant’s industrial processes to make beneficial use of cement-plant dust resulting from growing use of alternate fuels. It captures and enables enduring storage of the CO2 in plant stack exhaust gases. The dust is ‘carbonated’ with the CO2 and converted into lightweight aggregate with interesting thermal-insulation properties..
Toward carbon neutrality
“Under our commitment to limiting our environmental impact, Vicat has looked at a number of innovative ideas for reducing its carbon emissions”, says Laury Barnes-Davin, Vicat Scientific Officer. “We were drawn to Carbon8 Systems’ two-part technology: capturing the CO₂ that Montalieu emits, and using it to produce an aggregate that can be marketed in the construction industry. It opens up great potential for our operations not just in France but also in all the countries where we work across the globe.”.
In other words, after a few months of trials, the installation may well be duplicated in other Vicat cement plants in France and internationally.
This patented technology (Accelerated Carbonation Technology) speeds up the circular-economy drive the Group has been pushing for several decades.
Objective ? 100% alternate fuel by the end of 2024.
100 %
alternate fuel by the end of 2024
November 2020 - Download the press release : Carbon8
June 2022 - Download the press release : Carbon8 secures £5m investment led by EDF and Vicat
