EU backs Heidelberg Materials CCUS project in Bulgaria

Innovation Fund provides €190 million to Heidelberg Materials and PetroCeltic for pioneering project

YESTERDAY, the EU Innovation Fund Grant Agreement for Heidelberg Materials’ pioneering carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project ANRAV was officially signed in Brussels.

ANRAV aims to be the first full-chain CCUS project in Eastern Europe, eventually covering all steps from CO2 capture, transport and geological CO2 storage to CO2 reuse.

The EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon technologies, will support Heidelberg Materials and partner PetroCeltic with around €190 million, complementing substantial contributions by both partners.

‘Driving aspirational CCUS projects across Heidelberg Materials and the geographies we are represented in is an essential part of our climate strategy, and this large-scale solution in Eastern Europe is the next step in our ambitious and promising journey,’ said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials.

‘Co-financing and regulatory support are important enablers for scaling CCUS technology in our sector. The successful Grant Agreement is testament to the strength of the technology and our partnerships.’

ANRAV will link carbon capture facilities at the Bulgarian cement plant of Heidelberg Materials’ subsidiary Devnya Cement through a pipeline system with offshore permanent storage, developed and operated by PetroCeltic, under the Black Sea.

The project is expected to be operational as early as 2028 and will have a capture capacity of about 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

‘Devnya will be the first carbon-neutral cement plant in the country and the region,’ said Ernest Jelito, member of the managing board responsible for the Group area Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia.

‘ANRAV will also enable other industrial players to join the carbon chain in the future and share storage capacity. In this way, we want to not only decarbonize our company in Bulgaria, but also provide opportunities for the whole region.’

To gain experience with a wide range of carbon capture technologies and advance them to maturity, Heidelberg Materials are pursuing a gradual investment approach based on research co-operation with other partners. With the CCUS projects already launched, the company says it will save 10 million tonnes of CO2 cumulatively by 2030.