Devnya Cement is building a carbon capture plant

The largest cement manufacturer in Bulgaria – Devnya Cement, part of the Heidelberg Materials group - has started the construction of a pilot installation for carbon capture at its plant. Called ANRAV, the CCUS system will capture carbon emissions (CO2) from production, and then utilize and store them by combining two new technologies - Amine and Oxyfuel.

The project is pioneering not only for Bulgaria, but also for the whole of Eastern Europe, and there are only a few countries in Europe that have similar systems.

A key step

With the launch of the ANRAV.beta pilot module, the company took a key step in the implementation of the large-scale project. It was announced in early 2023 as the first full-scale CCUS project in the region.

The implementation is a partnership between Devnya Cement and the oil and gas company Petroceltic. The total value of the project exceeds 800 million euros – with part of the funds (189.7 million euros) coming from the European Innovation Fund. It’s in fact the first project to receive funds under this program in Eastern Europe. The rest of the money comes from funds of the Heidelberg Materials parent company.

Through the innovative OxyCal technology, based on the addition of pure oxygen to the clinker combustion process, the plant will capture carbon and the result will be CO2-rich flue gases with a high degree of purity that can be reused or safely stored. The plan previews the emissions to be transported by pipeline and stored at Petroceltic's depleted Galata gas field in the Black Sea. The construction of the pilot unit will last only a few months, though the demonstration phase will last between 12 and 24 months.

ANRAV.beta is an important step in our journey to offer our customers in Eastern Europe fully decarbonized cement in the near future. This pilot project will greatly facilitate the implementation of the overall ANRAV project," says Dr Nicola Kimm, Chief Sustainability Officer and Member of the Managing Board.

The pilot project at the Devnya plant aims not only to prove the effectiveness of the technology, but also its scalability to ANRAV CCUS and other Heidelberg Materials projects, such as Anthemis in Belgium.

Less CO2

With this project, Devnya Cement aims to become the first carbon-neutral enterprise in the country and the first in the Eastern European cement industry.

The annual amount of captured carbon emissions will be approximately 800 kt/ CO2, or about 99.2% of the company's emissions.

This, in turn, will lead to the prevention of the release of 7.8 Mt of CO2 for the first 10 years of operation of the capture plant and will also contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions from Bulgarian industrial sources by approximately 8.3%.

Commissioning of the CCUS plant will happen in 2028 at the earliest, as the project is subject to regulatory approvals first.

Obtaining solid operational data from industrial pilot projects such as this one is essential to ensure the successful implementation of projects under our overall CCUS investment program. At the same time, we can demonstrate an economically feasible way to decarbonize carbon-intensive industries in Eastern Europe," says Ernest Jelito, member of the Heidelberg Materials Management Board and responsible for the North and Eastern Europe-Central Asia regions.

The plant’s implementation aims to unlock the CCUS potential in Bulgaria and to significantly contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions in that country.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov