Alternatives to carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the deep decarbonisation of the Norwegian cement industry : A cost-optimisation study of GHG mitigation measures

Abstract: Norway’s two cement manufacturing plants are both among the top 10 largest national point sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and together contribute to 2% of the total GHG emissions. One of the important measures being pushed for to mitigate these emissions is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), for which the Norwegian Government is to make an investment decision in 2020/2021. Norway may end up with the first full-scale CCS project in the cement sector on a global basis, so the technology is still in its infancy in industrial applications outside of oil extraction. The aim of the study is to collate and summarise multiple data sources on the different measures that could mitigate greenhouse gases and which are feasible in a Norwegian context, in addition to CCS. The measures included are: energy effciency, fuel substitution, new types of clinkers, material effciency, clinker substitution, and substitution for wooden construction materials or biocement. The study utilises the concept of Marginal Abatement Cost (MAC) and Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) to assess and illustrate the environmental performance of the different measures versus a baseline scenario of 591 kg CO2e emitted per tonne cement manufactured. The two most promising measures are substituting part of the clinkers from the fnal cement product for a combination of calcined clays and ground limestone as well as increased use of fillers in concrete, which partially replace clinker in the final concrete product. These two measures are inexpensive and does not require any technology leap to implement. Barriers exist in the shape of a conservative construction industry where incremental innovation happen slowly. The industry is also utilising highly standardised product which make the entry of new and changed products diffcult and slow. No combination of measures achieve full decarbonisation of the cement industry, without including CCS, which indicates that it may still be necessary for the cement sector to become carbon neutral.