HERACLES Group on May 29th at the factory in Milaki, Evia, lays the foundation for CO2 capture and storage

Photo: Milaki Evia - Greece.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on May 29 in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the completion of OLYMPUS will allow the factory to produce and export to Europe the first "green" ECOPlanet ZERO cement with a zero carbon footprint.

The start of work on the development of CO2 capture and storage technologies in Milaki, Evia, was announced in an interview with OT by Dimitris Hanis, CEO of the HERACLES Group.

Upon completion of its construction, 900,000 tons of CO2 will be captured and stored annually.

During the works phase, approximately 1,000 people will be employed (400 direct and 600 indirect jobs), while the OLYMPUS project will function as a pillar of expertise regarding CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage) issues, promoting the exchange of knowledge, ideas and innovation between academics, professionals, politicians and other interested parties.

Technologies for CCS

The project will implement innovative technological approaches that aim to increase energy efficiency, raw material efficiency and circularity, enabling low-cost CO2 capture. It is expected that the combination of OxyCalciner & Cryocap™ Oxy technologies will reduce complexity and optimize the efficiency of CO2 capture.

Photo: How CCS works

In simpler words and in brief, the CO2 emitted by the factory in Milaki, Evia, will be captured and liquefied through special units, which will be constructed by the company Air Liquid , following a relevant agreement with the HERAKLES Group. These units will be powered by RES.

It is important to mention that after the capture process is completed, the CO₂ will be liquefied and loaded onto special type ships and transported to the permanent offshore reservoir in Prinos, in the northern part of the Aegean. A project being run by Energean and expected to serve the needs of industries for CO2 storage.

TITAN and Motor Oil prepare CCS projects

HERACLES Group is the first to start implementing CCS projects in Greece.

However, similar projects are also maturing for the cement company Titan and Motor Oil.

IFESTOS

The TITAN Group's "IFESTOS" carbon dioxide capture project, to be implemented in Greece, envisages the construction of a large-scale carbon capture unit at the Titan plant in Kamari, Boeotia, near Athens.

As the group states, this facility will allow the reduction of CO2 emissions during cement production and the offering of innovative, “green” building materials to our markets. The demand for these materials is constantly increasing, as they contribute to the creation of a sustainable and climate-friendly residential environment. TITAN will produce approximately 3 million tons of zero-carbon cement annually to serve the growing needs for “green” construction in the Athens metropolitan area and beyond.

Depending on the relevant regulatory and permitting framework, the operation of these technologies could result in annual greenhouse gas emission avoidance of over 1.9 million tonnes of CO2, making Kamari one of the largest carbon capture facilities in Europe. The project will be part of an ecosystem of projects combining carbon capture facilities with transport and storage infrastructure.

IRIS

Following approval from the European Union's Innovation Fund, Motor Oil Group is also funding Motor Oil's IRIS project with 127 million euros. According to the company, the IRIS project concerns the capture of carbon dioxide from the hydrogen production unit of Motor Oil's refinery.

IRIS will reduce the refinery’s carbon footprint, while also demonstrating an industrial hydrogen production ecosystem with extremely low carbon emissions and its use as a clean energy carrier. This project gives Motor Oil the opportunity to substantially reduce its carbon footprint, produce 56,000 tons per year of blue hydrogen, which meets all sustainability limits, and finally lay the foundation for the production of e-fuels through the construction and operation of a new low carbon synthetic methanol production unit.

source: ot.gr