Cemex and Orcan Energy extend collaboration

Cemex and Orcan Energy have today announced a large-scale partnership to decarbonise cement production through waste heat recovery. Building on the initial waste heat recovery collaboration at Cemex’s cement plant in Rüdersdorf, Germany, the partners will now start to exploit Orcan Energy’s flexible and modular technology for Cemex globally.

The goal of this multi-site portfolio approach is to convert large waste heat volumes into clean energy, profitably reducing carbon emissions for Cemex overall.

Cemex and Orcan Energy AG, a leading cleantech company turning waste heat into clean electricity, will analyse the scale up of the heat-to-power solutions pioneered by Orcan Energy in parallel at several Cemex plants to capitalise on the benefits resulting from a portfolio of installations.

The representative findings will be collected to draw a holistic picture for an upcoming global waste heat recovery programme. The portfolio approach with detailed multi-site data collection allows the partners to efficiently and quickly deploy Orcan Energy’s modular applications at scale in the second phase of the collaboration.

Sergio Menéndez, president of Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, said: ‘We already have an initial collaboration with Orcan. Based on the modularity of their solution, Orcan offer the flexibility of both installation and contracts. Thanks to this crucial flexibility, we can adapt to any upcoming changes in our plants. This approach enables us to reduce carbon emissions right now without limiting ourselves in implementing any future technologies such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). This partnership will help us achieve our sustainability targets and contribute to our aim to use all available heat.’

Andreas Sichert, chief executive officer of Orcan Energy, said: ‘We are looking forward to entering this large-scale decarbonisation partnership with Cemex after our initial co-operation in Germany. This step is testament to Cemex’s forward-looking strategy and the company’s commitment to achieving net zero.

‘For Orcan Energy, this is another milestone in scaling the business internationally with global enterprises. We are proud to be the partner of choice for the cement industry. Our large footprint across the industry shows the economic capability and the technical excellence of our modular and flexible solution, especially in view of uncertain future economic and regulative developments.’

In 2021, Cemex and Orcan Energy started their first joint project in Rüdersdorf, Germany, near Berlin, with the installation of six waste heat recovery modules which could produce up to 8,000MWh per year, reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 3,000 tonnes. Following this ongoing co-operation, the companies decided to enter a large-scale decarbonisation partnership, exploring the deployment of waste heat recovery solutions in several further sites, multiplying today’s electricity savings and CO₂ reductions.

In industrial production, 30–60% of the energy is usually lost in the form of heat. Cement production is particularly energy and CO₂ intensive, so the cement industry is actively searching for ways to reduce carbon emissions and utilise its waste heat.

Modular waste heat recovery technology is a proven and commercially viable energy efficiency solution that can be flexibly installed in several applications. The heat-to-power modules can be placed at the pre-heater as well as the clinker cooler. Both heat sources can either be utilised combined or separately. If the waste heat availability changes over time, the modules can be redeployed at other waste heat sources and sites or even be returned. Thanks to this flexibility, various other heat users can be included in the future – the heat extraction will retain its value in any event.