Air Liquide and Cementir Holding Group to receive support from European Innovation Fund for Carbon Capture and Storage project in Denmark

Air Liquide and Cementir Holding Group, through its fully owned subsidiary Aalborg Portland, have launched a joint decarbonization project, named ACCSION. Located in Aalborg, Denmark, ACCSION will be one of the first full onshore Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) value chains in Europe. Aiming at significantly reducing CO₂ emissions of the Aalborg Portland cement plant, the completion of the project would allow the avoidance of 1.5 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year of operation. Air Liquide and Cementir Holding Group’s project ACCSION has been selected by the European Commission to receive 220 million euros in project support under the EU Innovation Fund.

Cement is one of the “hard-to-abate” industries as the production of its main component, clinker, requires heating limestone which inherently generates CO₂. Thanks to its proprietary and innovative technology Cryocap^TM, Air Liquide would capture, purify and liquefy approximately 95% of the CO₂ emitted by the cement kilns. The captured CO₂ would be integrated into a new pipeline infrastructure to onshore CO₂ storage facilities. 

ACCSION will be jointly developed by Air Liquide and Aalborg Portland at the Aalborg cement site to reduce the emissions in the production of cement. Planned to be operational by the end of 2029, ACCSION will avoid 1.5 million tons of CO₂ per year of operation. 

The European Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest programs for promoting innovative low-carbon technologies. Through this award, Air Liquide and Cementir Holding Group will contribute to the EU objectives set out in its Industrial Carbon Management Strategy and its ambition to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Receiving this funding is one of the key milestones in making a final investment decision and starting the execution of this project. 

Emilie Mouren-Renouard, member of Air Liquide Executive Committee, notably in charge of overseeing operations in Europe, stated: “We welcome the support from the European Commission for the ACCSION project, which illustrates Air Liquide’s commitment to accompany its customers to decarbonize their assets, in line with our ADVANCE strategic plan. Building a low-carbon society is a challenge that demands collaboration. Through this partnership, we join forces with Aalborg Portland to develop tangible decarbonization solutions, contributing to the EU's climate targets of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050”. 

Francesco Caltagirone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cementir Holding, commented: “This carbon capture project is a crucial milestone in our journey towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050. We welcome the support of the EU Innovation Fund and look forward to working closely with Air Liquide. We are proud not only to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Danish climate targets, but also to create a lasting positive impact on the local community”.