First UK cement works with carbon capture gets green light

Construction aggregates firm Heidelberg Materials UK has been granted planning permission to build a carbon capture plant at its Padesword cement works in north Wales.

The facility aims to capture and store up to 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from its existing cement facility, which will be transported via the  underground pipeline for secure storage under the seabed in Liverpool Bay.

CEO Simon Willis said cement was essential to the UK’s transition to Net Zero, covering everything from nuclear power stations to low-carbon infrastructure.

The production of cement is carbon-intensive, with a large proportion of these emissions resulting from the chemical process involved in cement’s manufacture, so they cannot be reduced by using low carbon or renewable energy sources.