Lhoist will use Air Liquide’s proprietary Cryocap carbon capture technology at the plant, and the two companies have jointly applied for the European Innovation Fund large scale support scheme. They add that their partnership is a new step in the creation of a low-carbon industrial ecosystem in the broader Dunkirk area.
Lime is one of the 'hard-to-abate' industries as its production primarily generates CO2 from decomposition of limestone. Hoist's Chaux et Dolomies du Boulonnais site in Réty is France’s largest lime production plant.
The partners say the project means that Lhoist will be able to reduce the CO2 emissions at Réty by more than 600,000 tons per year starting in 2028. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of about 55,000 households in France.
Leveraging its know-how and expertise in CO2 capture technologies, Air Liquide will build and operate a unit of its proprietary Cryocap FG (Flue Gas) technology to capture and purify 95% of the CO2 arising from Lhoist’s existing lime production unit in Réty.
The captured CO2 will then be transported to a multimodal CO2 export hub in Dunkirk, currently under development, and sent to be sequestered in the North Sea as part of the D’Artagnan project, which has received the PCI (Project of Common Interest) label from the European Commission.
Pascal Vinet, senior VP and a member of the Air Liquide executive committee, commented: “Decarbonising the industry is at the heart of Air Liquide’s strategy and we are committed to accompanying our customers with a wide range of solutions, in line with our sustainability development objectives. Using Cryocap to decarbonise lime production demonstrates the versatility of our innovative and proprietary carbon capture technology."
Cedric De Vicq, CEO Europe at Lhoist, added: “As a leader in the lime industry, we are very proud that for the first time, a lime plant will capture its CO2 emissions and store them in safe conditions. Carbon Capture & Storage is an indispensable part of how the lime industry addresses the reduction of its CO2 footprint for the benefit of the environment and its customers.”
