Case study: Carbon capture materials (sorbents, membranes) — a city or utility pilot and the results so far

In September 2023, Heidelberg Materials activated the world's first industrial-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility integrated into a cement plant at its Brevik site in southern Norway. The Brevik CCS project captures approximately 400,000 metric tons of CO2 annually from cement production flue gas using an amine-based solvent system, compresses the captured CO2, and transports it via ship to permanent geological storage beneath the North Sea. This pilot represents a critical proof point for carbon capture materials deployed in one of the hardest-to-abate industrial sectors, and the operational data generated over its first two years provides essential lessons for engineers, policymakers, and project developers evaluating similar deployments.

Why It Matters

Cement production generates approximately 2.8 gigatons of CO2 annually, representing roughly 7 to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike power generation, where emissions can be eliminated through fuel switching, cement manufacturing produces two distinct CO2 streams: combustion emissions from fuel burned to heat kilns to 1,450 degrees Celsius, and process emissions from the calcination of limestone (CaCO3 to CaO + CO2). Process emissions account for approximately 60% of total cement plant CO2 output and cannot be eliminated through electrification or alternative fuels alone. Carbon capture applied to cement plant flue gas therefore represents one of the few viable pathways to deeply decarbonize this sector.

The Brevik project matters beyond cement. It serves as a demonstration case for an entire class of post-combustion capture technologies based on chemical sorbents and membranes that can be adapted to steel production, waste incineration, hydrogen manufacturing, and other industrial processes generating concentrated CO2 streams. The operational performance, cost data, and engineering challenges documented at Brevik directly inform investment decisions and technology selection for the approximately 60 industrial CCS projects in various stages of development across Europe as of early 2026.

The Norwegian government provided approximately NOK 16.8 billion ($1.7 billion) in funding for the Longship CCS project, of which the Brevik capture facility received roughly NOK 8 billion. This public investment was predicated on the assumption that Brevik would demonstrate technical viability, establish cost benchmarks, and generate learnings that de-risk subsequent commercial deployments. The project's performance against these objectives shapes the trajectory of European industrial decarbonization policy.

Project Context and Design Choices

Site Selection and Integration

The Brevik cement plant, operational since 1919, produces approximately 1.2 million metric tons of cement annually. The plant was selected for the CCS pilot based on several factors: its coastal location enables direct ship loading of liquefied CO2 for transport to the Northern Lights offshore storage site; the existing plant infrastructure includes waste heat recovery systems that partially offset the capture process energy penalty; and the plant's flue gas composition, with CO2 concentrations of 15 to 20% by volume, is representative of typical cement plant exhaust, making results transferable to other facilities.

The capture facility was designed as a retrofit installation adjacent to the existing kiln line, connected through a new flue gas duct with pre-treatment systems for particulate removal and flue gas cooling. This retrofit approach was deliberately chosen over greenfield design to demonstrate that CCS can be integrated into existing industrial infrastructure, a critical requirement given that the average age of European cement plants exceeds 40 years and replacement cycles span decades.

Sorbent Technology Selection

The project team evaluated three primary capture technology categories before selecting the amine-based solvent approach: solid sorbents (including metal-organic frameworks and functionalized silica), polymeric membranes, and liquid chemical solvents. The selection of Aker Carbon Capture's proprietary amine solvent system, marketed as the Advanced Carbon Capture (ACC) technology, reflected several engineering considerations.

Amine solvents offered the highest technology readiness level (TRL 8 to 9) at the time of final investment decision in 2020. The ACC system uses a proprietary blend based on 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) promoted with piperazine, achieving CO2 absorption rates of 85 to 95% from flue gas streams with CO2 concentrations above 10%. The solvent system operates at moderate temperatures (40 to 60 degrees Celsius for absorption, 120 to 140 degrees Celsius for regeneration), compatible with waste heat available from cement kilns.

Membrane technologies, while promising in laboratory settings, had not been demonstrated at the required scale (processing over 300,000 Nm3/hour of flue gas) and faced challenges with particulate fouling in cement plant environments. Solid sorbents, including the calcium looping process being piloted at CEMEX's Ruedarsdorf plant in Germany, offered lower energy penalties in theory but required more extensive plant modifications and had fewer operational reference projects.

Storage and Transport Infrastructure

Captured CO2 is compressed to approximately 70 bar, cooled, and temporarily stored in onsite buffer tanks before transfer to purpose-built CO2 carrier ships. The Northern Lights joint venture, operated by Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies, receives the CO2 at its Oygarden terminal on Norway's west coast and injects it into the Johansen formation, a saline aquifer approximately 2,600 meters below the seabed. The storage site has a permitted capacity of 1.5 million metric tons per year in its Phase 1 configuration, with geological assessments indicating total capacity exceeding 100 million metric tons.

The ship-based transport model was selected over pipeline transport due to the distance between Brevik and the storage site (approximately 600 kilometers) and the flexibility to serve multiple capture sources. Each CO2 carrier vessel has a capacity of approximately 7,500 cubic meters, making roughly two voyages per week during normal operations.

Measured Outcomes

Capture Performance

During its first 18 months of operation through early 2026, the Brevik facility achieved an average CO2 capture rate of 89%, slightly below the design target of 95% but within the expected operational range for a first-of-kind facility. The shortfall was attributed primarily to two factors: planned maintenance shutdowns during the initial operational period consumed approximately 15% more time than projected, and the solvent degradation rate in the presence of cement plant flue gas contaminants (particularly SOx and NOx at concentrations of 20 to 50 ppm after pre-treatment) exceeded laboratory predictions by approximately 25%.

Total CO2 captured during the first full calendar year of operation reached approximately 340,000 metric tons, representing 85% of the 400,000-ton annual design capacity. Aker Carbon Capture reported that capture rates during stable operation periods consistently exceeded 92%, with the annual average reduced by startup, shutdown, and maintenance events.

Energy Penalty

The energy required to regenerate the amine solvent and compress captured CO2 represents the single largest operational cost and efficiency impact. The Brevik facility reports a specific reboiler duty of approximately 3.2 GJ per metric ton of CO2 captured, compared to the design target of 2.9 GJ per ton. This energy penalty increases the cement plant's total thermal energy consumption by approximately 40%, partially offset by integration with waste heat recovery systems that provide roughly 30% of the regeneration heat requirement.

Electrical consumption for CO2 compression, pumping, and auxiliary systems adds approximately 120 kWh per metric ton of CO2 captured. Given Norway's predominantly hydroelectric grid (with a carbon intensity below 20 gCO2/kWh), this electrical consumption does not significantly erode the net carbon benefit. However, deploying equivalent capture systems in regions with coal-heavy electricity grids would reduce net CO2 avoided by 15 to 25%.

Cost Data

Heidelberg Materials has disclosed limited but significant cost information. The total capital expenditure for the capture facility was approximately EUR 700 million, translating to roughly EUR 1,750 per annual metric ton of capture capacity. Operating costs, including solvent replenishment, energy, maintenance, and labor, are estimated at EUR 80 to 100 per metric ton of CO2 captured, exclusive of transport and storage fees. Northern Lights charges approximately EUR 70 per metric ton for transport and permanent storage, bringing the total cost of captured and stored CO2 to approximately EUR 150 to 170 per metric ton.

These costs significantly exceed the current EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) carbon price of approximately EUR 65 to 75 per metric ton (as of early 2026), confirming that industrial CCS requires either sustained policy support, higher carbon prices, or significant cost reductions to achieve commercial viability without subsidies. However, the cost trajectory is relevant: Heidelberg Materials projects that second-generation facilities incorporating design improvements from Brevik could reduce capture costs to EUR 60 to 80 per metric ton by 2030.

Transferable Lessons

Flue Gas Pre-Treatment Is Critical

The most consequential engineering lesson from Brevik concerns the importance of flue gas conditioning upstream of the capture system. Cement plant flue gas contains particulate matter (cement kiite dust), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and trace metals that degrade amine solvents and foul heat exchange surfaces. The Brevik facility installed a dedicated pre-treatment train including a baghouse filter, wet flue gas desulfurization unit, and direct contact cooler, representing approximately 20% of total capital expenditure.

Despite this investment, solvent degradation rates exceeded expectations, requiring more frequent solvent makeup (approximately 1.5 kg of fresh amine per metric ton of CO2 captured versus the predicted 0.8 kg). This increased operating costs by an estimated EUR 8 to 12 per metric ton and generated additional waste streams requiring treatment. Future projects should budget conservatively for pre-treatment infrastructure and solvent replacement.

Integration Complexity With Existing Operations

Retrofitting CCS to an operating cement plant required extensive coordination between capture facility construction and ongoing cement production. The tie-in period, during which new flue gas ducting was connected to the existing kiln exhaust system, required a planned production shutdown of approximately six weeks. Heat integration between the kiln waste heat recovery system and the amine regeneration reboiler required sophisticated process control to prevent disturbances to either system during load changes.

Operators reported that the learning curve for existing plant personnel to manage the integrated operation was approximately 12 months. During this period, the capture facility operated conservatively at 70 to 80% of design capacity while control logic was refined and operators gained experience with the coupled systems. Future projects should plan for extended commissioning periods and invest in operator training programs beginning 12 to 18 months before startup.

Regulatory and Permitting Timelines

The Brevik project timeline from initial feasibility study (2013) to final investment decision (2020) to first CO2 captured (2024) spanned over a decade. Permitting alone consumed approximately three years, involving environmental impact assessments, CO2 transport vessel classification, cross-border CO2 transport agreements (under the London Protocol), and storage site characterization and permitting. Projects in jurisdictions without established CCS regulatory frameworks should expect even longer timelines.

Supply Chain and Procurement

Specialized equipment for the capture facility, including the absorber column (approximately 60 meters tall and 18 meters in diameter), corrosion-resistant heat exchangers, and high-pressure CO2 compressors, required lead times of 18 to 30 months. The limited number of qualified fabricators for large-scale amine absorber columns created procurement bottlenecks. As the pipeline of planned CCS projects in Europe grows, supply chain constraints for specialized equipment may intensify, and early procurement commitments will become a competitive advantage.

Action Checklist

• Conduct detailed flue gas characterization (composition, flow rate, temperature, contaminant concentrations) before selecting capture technology
• Budget 20 to 25% of total capture facility capital expenditure for flue gas pre-treatment systems
• Evaluate solvent degradation rates using actual (not synthetic) flue gas from the target facility during pilot testing
• Plan for 12 to 18 months of commissioning and operator training before targeting full-capacity operation
• Secure CO2 transport and storage agreements early in project development, as storage site availability constrains the entire value chain
• Engage permitting authorities at the pre-application stage to identify regulatory gaps and timeline risks
• Establish long-term solvent supply agreements, as amine availability may tighten as CCS deployment scales
• Design capture facilities for future capacity expansion, as incremental capacity additions are significantly cheaper than greenfield construction

FAQ

Q: What capture rate can cement plants realistically achieve with current sorbent technology? A: Based on Brevik operational data, sustained capture rates of 90 to 95% are technically achievable during stable operation periods using advanced amine solvents. Annual average capture rates of 85 to 90% are realistic when accounting for planned maintenance, startup/shutdown events, and seasonal variations. Achieving rates above 95% requires oversized absorber columns and higher solvent circulation rates, increasing both capital and operating costs by approximately 15 to 20%.

Q: How does the energy penalty compare between amine solvents, solid sorbents, and membranes? A: Amine solvent systems at Brevik demonstrated a specific energy requirement of approximately 3.2 GJ per metric ton of CO2. Calcium looping (a solid sorbent approach) theoretically offers lower energy penalties of 2.4 to 2.8 GJ per metric ton but remains at TRL 6 to 7 for cement applications. Membrane systems report energy requirements of 1.5 to 2.5 GJ per metric ton in laboratory settings, but no membrane system has been demonstrated at the scale required for full cement plant application. Each technology has distinct integration requirements that influence total system efficiency.

Q: What is the expected cost trajectory for industrial carbon capture? A: Current costs at Brevik are approximately EUR 150 to 170 per metric ton of CO2 captured and stored. Heidelberg Materials projects second-generation facilities achieving EUR 60 to 80 per metric ton by 2030 through design optimization, modular construction, and solvent improvements. The Global CCS Institute estimates that nth-of-a-kind cement CCS facilities could achieve costs below EUR 50 per metric ton by 2035 if deployment reaches sufficient scale to drive supply chain maturation and learning curve effects.

Q: Can the Brevik model be replicated at smaller cement plants? A: The Brevik approach is most economically viable for large plants producing over 800,000 metric tons of cement annually, where capture volumes justify dedicated transport and storage infrastructure. Smaller plants may benefit from hub-and-cluster models, where multiple industrial emitters share transport and storage infrastructure. The Northern Lights storage facility is explicitly designed to serve multiple capture sources, and its open-access commercial model offers storage services starting at volumes of 100,000 metric tons per year.

Sources

• Heidelberg Materials. (2025). Brevik CCS Project: First Year Operational Performance Report. Heidelberg, Germany.
• Aker Carbon Capture. (2025). Advanced Carbon Capture Technology: Performance Data from Industrial Deployments. Lysaker, Norway.
• Northern Lights JV. (2025). Annual Report: CO2 Transport and Storage Operations. Oygarden, Norway.
• Global CCS Institute. (2025). Global Status of CCS 2025: Industrial Applications. Melbourne, Australia.
• International Energy Agency. (2025). CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions: Cement Sector Analysis. Paris: IEA.
• Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. (2024). Longship CCS Project: Progress and Lessons Learned. Oslo, Norway.
• CEMEX. (2025). Calcium Looping Pilot at Ruedarsdorf: Interim Performance Report. Monterrey, Mexico.