Carbon capture could cut cement sector emissions by 75% by 2035, helping keep major UK infrastructure projects within legally binding carbon budgets, according to new analysis from the Mineral Products Association (MPA).
The trade body warned that delays to carbon capture projects risk constraining the delivery of housing, transport, energy and digital infrastructure, while increasing the UK’s dependence on imported cement with higher carbon intensity.
Under the analysis, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) deployment in cement manufacturing could reduce construction emissions by up to 3.8 million tonnes per year of CO2 by 2035.
As a key ingredient in concrete, cement remains central to large-scale infrastructure projects, from housing developments and data centres to offshore wind foundations. But the MPA warned that without carbon capture, emissions associated with cement production will place increasing pressure on the construction sector’s contribution to UK carbon budgets.
The association said carbon capture would create the capacity needed to support major infrastructure delivery without breaching emissions limits.
According to the analysis, emissions savings linked to the Government’s target of building 1.5 million homes could exceed 5.5 million tonnes of CO2.
Construction emissions from a single hyperscale data centre could also be reduced by up to 19,400 tonnes, while emissions linked to 50 floating offshore wind foundations could fall by 58,200 tonnes.
The projections are based on cement CCUS projects at Padeswood in North Wales and the Peak Cluster in Derbyshire becoming operational by 2035. Together, the projects would reduce the average carbon intensity of UK cement production by around three-quarters, according to the MPA.
However, questions remain over the pace and cost of deploying carbon capture at scale across the cement sector.
The International Energy Agency has previously warned the cement industry is not on track to meet net zero targets and said large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies will be needed to curb emissions while meeting growing global demand for construction materials.
Supporters of cement CCUS often point to Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik CCS project in Norway, which is expected to capture around 400,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and is widely regarded as the world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture facility at a cement plant.
Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik facility ©Heidelberg Materials
However, the project has also highlighted some of the wider challenges facing deployment, including high upfront costs, reliance on government support and the need for extensive CO2 transport and storage infrastructure.
Martin Casey, Senior Director for Cement and Lime at the MPA, said carbon budgets were becoming “real delivery constraints, not abstract targets.”
“If we want to deliver the homes, energy and digital infrastructure the country needs, we must remove carbon as a limiting factor from construction,” he said.
“Cement carbon capture does that, but only if projects move quickly from commitment to investment to spades in the ground.”
Casey warned that delays could force the UK to rely more heavily on imported cement from countries with weaker environmental standards and higher carbon intensity.
“Emissions don’t wait for funding decisions to catch up, and the cost of delays will be felt in the UK’s carbon budgets if construction projects use imported carbon-intensive materials to meet demand,” he said.
The UK cement and concrete sector has already reduced emissions by 63% since 1990, according to the MPA, with the industry decarbonising faster than the wider economy. However, the association said carbon capture remains essential for reaching net zero due to process emissions released during cement production.
The findings come days after the MPA urged the Government to address what it described as worsening competitiveness pressures facing domestic cement producers.
In a separate statement, the association warned that UK manufacturers continue to face some of the highest industrial energy costs in Europe, while policy progress on carbon border protections and carbon capture has lagged behind the EU.
Chris Leese, Executive Chair of the MPA, said British cement production was facing “existential challenges” as imports continue to rise.
“UK industrial energy prices have been uncompetitive for many years, and we have been outpaced by the EU on key policy areas such as the CBAM and carbon capture, leaving domestic markets vulnerable to higher-carbon imports,” he said.
“As a country, we need to reverse the conveyor belt to deindustrialisation.”
