Heidelberg Materials is at the forefront of the decarbonisation of the building materials industry and is pioneering industrial-scale carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture technology has the potential to fundamentally change cement production, thereby setting an entirely new carbon reduction benchmark.
Under its GeZero project, Heidelberg Materials intends to convert its existing facility at Geseke to create Germany’s first inland cement plant with an industrial-scale carbon capture and storage solution. Based on state-of-the-art oxyfuel technology, the project aims to capture 700,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually that will then be stored safely and permanently. Construction of the plant will start in 2026, and commissioning is planned for 2029.
The total investment amounts to more than half a billion euros, with around €191 million being provided by the EU Innovation Fund.
GeZero’s innovative approach for an entire CCS value chain will model a solution for the decarbonisation of inland cement production sites that – as is often the case – are not in proximity to a coast or waterway.
A new cement kiln – a second-generation oxyfuel kiln – will be built in Geseke. Instead of air, oxygen will be used in the combustion processes. This will enable a higher concentration of CO₂ in the exhaust gas and thus more efficient carbon capture. The company will produce the oxygen required for this in its own air separation unit. The captured carbon will then be processed in a newly built CO₂ purification and liquefaction plant for transport and subsequent storage.
GeZero also includes interim storage and rail loading facilities. The transport solution by rail will bridge the time until a CO₂ pipeline infrastructure is available. The electricity required for the processes in the new facilities will be covered exclusively by renewable energies, including a new photovoltaic system on the plant premises. To create further regional synergies, GeZero will also act as a reception hub for local, smaller CO₂ emitters, giving them access to the interim storage and rail loading infrastructure.
For permanent storage, the carbon will be transported to Wintershall Dea’s CO₂ hub in Wilhelmshaven. From there, it will be further carried via ship or pipeline to offshore storage sites in the North Sea, where it will be permanently and safely stored.
The Geseke cement plant
Geseke will be one of the first European cement plants able to produce carbon captured net-zero cement and clinker. Once GeZero has been implemented, the facility will have the capacity to capture around 700,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. This is equivalent to about 3.5 per cent of the annual emissions of the German cement industry or the yearly average carbon footprint of just under 66,700 people in Germany (calculated based on data underlying the Federal Environment Agency carbon calculator, 2023).
GeZero
Milestone for climate protection – why is GeZero so important?
The Paris Agreement of December 2015 aims to limit global warming to below 2 °C, and preferably to 1.5 °C, compared with pre-industrial levels. This is both an aspiration and a responsibility – for Germany and Heidelberg Materials as a global company. To achieve this, we now need to act quickly. The Federal Climate Change Act sets out Germany’s commitment to becoming net greenhouse gas neutral by 2045. Industry, especially the energy- and carbon-intensive primary industry, wants and needs to make a significant contribution to this transition. Here at Heidelberg Materials, we are reducing our carbon footprint in line with the 1.5°C pathway of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Based on the principle that prevention is better than capture, Heidelberg Materials is working to continuously reduce its CO₂ emissions. We are maximising the use of alternative fuels and especially the share of biomass, reducing the proportion of carbon-intensive clinker in cement by introducing alternative components, optimising the product mix, and improving plant efficiency. However, only about a third of the emissions from cement production can be reduced in this way. Two-thirds come from the raw material (during deacidification of the limestone) and are technically unavoidable. Carbon capture and utilisation or storage (CCUS) is the only solution for these unavoidable emissions, which are also a feature of some other industries. There is broad scientific consensus that CCUS technologies are absolutely necessary for unavoidable and hard-to-avoid emissions. They complement the expansion of renewable energies, the circular and hydrogen economy, the increase in energy and resource efficiency, and the potential of natural carbon sinks.
Germany and the European Union are currently in the process of setting the political and legal course for CCUS. This will be based on carbon management strategies both at European level and in Germany. In the coming years, important decisions will be made – for example, about a carbon infrastructure incorporating all actors in the value chain (capture, transport, use, and storage). Many partners will have to play a role in making this a success. GeZero and other first-of-their-kind industrial projects and partnerships are taking on the challenge of pioneering the beginnings and paving the way for practical implementation. It is crucial that German policymakers create a legal framework that will ensure feasibility and investment security.
Safety as a Priority
The safety of CO₂ capture, transport and storage is a top priority for CCUS projects of Heidelberg Materials. This applies to both our own plants - especially the separation plants at our cement sites - and to the sectors of transport and storage infrastructure for which our partners, as operators in the value chain, are responsible. We work exclusively with partners who have the highest level of expertise and experience.
Whilst no technology is entirely free of risks, good experience has been gained in previous commercial CO₂ storage projects. When used responsibly, carefully regulated and monitored, CCUS is considered so safe for people and for the environment such that Germany, like many other countries, is now setting the legal course for the use of these climate protection technologies.
Legal frameworks at national and European level and in international treaties closely regulate CCUS in order to ensure long-term safety and take precautions to prevent harm to people and to the environment. There are high requirements for authorisations. The so-called CCS Directive of 2009 is of particular importance for the EU legal framework. The German Carbon Dioxide Storage Act of 2012 is currently being revised on this basis and expanded into a Carbon Dioxide Storage and Transport Act. At the same time, plants at cement sites have to fulfil stringent emission control requirements. The legal framework is supplemented by a comprehensive and currently intensively developed set of technical regulations consisting of norms and standards.
The safety of the technologies for people and for the environment has been the subject of intensive research for decades, including real projects (pilot, demonstration and large-scale projects). For example, the risk and consequences of CO₂ leaks, the geological suitability and long-term safety of storage facilities, the best possible CO₂ specifications for transport and storage, material requirements for CO₂ pipelines, requirements for monitoring technologies and monitoring are being investigated. The findings are continuously incorporated into the application.
CO₂ is usually injected into suitable geological formations deep underground and stored there, often at a depth of one kilometre or much deeper, both under the sea and on land. Possible deposits include saline aquifers (porous rock layers containing salt water) or depleted oil and gas deposits. This has been done successfully off the coast of Norway in rock formations under the North Sea since 1996. Over 1 million tonnes of CO₂ per year are injected into the Sleipner field (since 1996) and around 700,000 tonnes per year into the Snøhvit field (since 2008). Storage projects are currently being developed around the world. Each storage project has project- and site-specific features that need to be analysed in detail. This also applies to the German marine area, where there is still no experience with CO₂ storage.
In dialogue
Industrial transformation and the transition to climate neutrality mean much more than just building plants and solving technical problems. Society as a whole will have to collectively understand, support, and shape the changes. As a company and as a part of society, we are making a contribution to this. To facilitate GeZero’s successful implementation, we are supporting the project with numerous communication measures and participation formats and are engaging in dialogue with many stakeholders. These include the local and regional population, policymakers, administrations and authorities, NGOs and associations, our customers, employees, the scientific community, the media, and the public. As one of the major players in CCUS value chains, we are advocating the quick establishment of the legal framework in Germany and the creation of the necessary infrastructure.
FAQ and further information
What is the purpose of Carbon Capture and Storage?
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the concept of capturing CO₂ emissions produced from the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes, preventing the carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere and storing it permanently in suitable geological formations underground. Several technologies are in use to capture CO₂ from different sources of emissions.
How does the Carbon Capture technology work in general?
Carbon capture is the process of removing CO₂ from large emission sources. The purpose of carbon capture is to limit the release of CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere by capturing the CO₂ and then either using it or storing it safely. Carbon capture & storage (CCS) refers to the process of capturing, transporting, and storing CO₂ in suitable geological formations.
Based also on the knowledge gained in Brevik, Heidelberg Materials has launched around a dozen other CCUS projects, some of which come with significantly higher capture rates and will completely decarbonize some of our cement plants already before 2030 (e.g. our plants in Edmonton/Canada, Padeswood/UK, Geseke/Germany, Mitchell/US, etc.).
Why can only CCS create a net-zero cement product?
The production of cement, the “glue” in concrete, is highly carbon-intensive – and as a result, the building materials industry is one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide. Today, CCS is one key lever to significantly reduce otherwise unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions in the cement industry, and to keep CO₂ out of the atmosphere that would otherwise worsen climate change. Other technological solutions are only able to reduce some carbon emissions, not all carbon emissions.
Is it necessary to store the captured CO₂ underground in the North Sea; why not use it for other purposes?
⅔ of the direct CO₂ emissions come from the calcination of limestone into cement clinker during the burning process in the cement kiln. Because we cannot change chemistry, these emissions are unavoidable. CCUS is therefore a prerequisite to achieve net-zero emissions in our sector – and to be able to offer net-zero products.
In addition to our CCS projects aimed at capturing and storing the captured CO₂, we are also investigating, trialing, and scaling various promising options for the utilisation captured CO₂ – in the food industry, to produce synthetic fuels, in the cultivation of microalgae or for the recarbonation of recycled concrete. These applications are in constant development, and the possible applications for captured carbon are evolving rapidly as well. As of today, regulatory framework and potential business cases for CCU applications may be less developed and more challenging than for CCS. For example, in the EU Emissions Trading System and legislation many aspects of CCU need further clarifications.
Safety of CCS: The FluidFlower experiment – a video from Wintershall Dea on CO₂ storage
"CCS – What is it?" – the GEOSTOR podcast with exciting expert knowledge
The German research project GEOSTOR Submarine Carbon Dioxide Storage in Geological Formations of German North Sea deals with possible storage formations in German North Sea and, in this context, also with the assessment of environmental risks. The accompanying podcast provides clear and science-based information about CCS – well worth listening to.
Funded by the European Union. Heidelberg Materials is solely responsible for the content of this GeZero page. Neither the European Union nor CINEA, the granting authority, can be held responsible for it.
What people are saying about the project
About one third of German cement production is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, making it a key location for the sector. We are therefore delighted that the first carbon-free cement plant in Geseke in the district of Soest is a flagship project for a sustainable and climate-neutral future in the cement industry. GeZero shows how climate protection through new technologies and processes can also be achieved in energy-intensive industries. The project represents a decisive step towards future-proof cement production and the transition to a net-zero industry in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and beyond.
Mona Neubaur
Mona Neubaur is Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action, and Energy and Deputy Prime Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The successful Grant Agreement demonstrates the relevance of GeZero for the decarbonisation of our sector, and the trust that European authorities place in our approach.
Dr Nicola Kimm
Dr Nicola Kimm, Chief Sustainability Officer and Member of the Managing Board of Heidelberg Materials, on the signing of the funding agreement
With GeZero, we will once again show how Heidelberg Materials’ pioneering spirit is paving the way for the decarbonisation of our industry. I appreciate the support of the EU Innovation Fund, which expresses both an important recognition and the required backing from the political side.
Dr Dominik von Achten
Dr Dominik von Achten is the CEO of Heidelberg Materials.
Together with our partners, we walk the talk and pave the way for CCUS in Germany. GeZero will complement our global project portfolio with a truly unique approach. We are developing a promising novel solution for inland cement sites, with the intention to inspire industry peers and other emission-intensive sectors to follow.
Christian Knell
Christian Knell is the General Manager Germany of Heidelberg Materials.
