(CercleFinance.com) – Air Liquide announced on Monday that it was going to join forces with the Belgian industrial group Lhoist to launch an unprecedented project to decarbonize lime production in the north of France.
The two partners indicate that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of decarbonizing the Lhoist lime production plant located in Réty, in the Hauts-de-France region.
Under the terms of the agreement, the site – located halfway between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais – will use the ‘Cryocap’ CO2 capture technology developed by Air Liquide.
The lime industry is considered difficult to decarbonise as its production, which involves breaking down limestone, inherently generates CO2.
The project aims to capture and purify 95% of the CO2 from the Réty production unit, which should enable Lhoist to reduce the plant’s emissions by more than 600,000 tonnes per year from 2028, i.e. equivalent to the annual emissions of around 55,000 French households.
In this context, Air Liquide and Lhoist have submitted a joint request for funding from the European Innovation Fund support program for large-scale projects.