WORLD-FIRST PROJECT TO CREATE NET ZERO CEMENT AND LIME CLUSTER IN PEAK DISTRICT
Date of publication 26.05.23
Press Release from May 17, 2023
A world-first project has been launched to create a net zero future for the cement and lime industry. Located in the Peak District, the project will prevent over 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year by 2030.
The project, named Peak Cluster has been initiated by five cement and lime plants in the Peak District and Staffordshire Moorlands, owned by Tarmac, Breedon, Lhoist and Aggregate Industries, together with the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant in Cheshire.
Carbon dioxide emitted from the cement and concrete industry accounts for around a quarter of the total emissions in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. With 40% of all UK cement and lime manufactured in the Peak District and local area, the project has the potential to dramatically reduce the sector’s emissions to ensure the sustainable, net zero future of this essential industry.
Cement is the main ingredient in concrete and therefore essential for the UK economy and the delivery of homes, schools, hospitals as well as clean water, sanitation and energy infrastructure.
Led by Progressive Energy, Peak Cluster aims to capture and transport carbon dioxide emissions from industrial plants in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire before permanently locking away the carbon dioxide beneath the eastern Irish Sea in carbon storage facilities like the Liverpool Bay CCS or the recently announced MNZ Cluster."
John Egan of Progressive Energy, Peak Cluster Project Director, said: “Peak Cluster will make a crucial contribution towards the UK's drive to net zero, making a serious impact on local, regional and national climate change targets. The project will help industry to continue to thrive into the future – safeguarding jobs, maintaining a booming supply chain and allowing current and future generations to continue to work in, and enjoy, this beautiful region.”
Dr Diana Casey of the Mineral Products Association, Director Energy and Climate Change, said: “The launch of the Peak Cluster is an exciting and vital step forward in the journey of the cement and lime sectors towards net zero. The region is a historic heartland for cement and lime production providing highly skilled jobs for local communities, and a secure supply of essential materials to the UK economy. The UK Concrete and Cement Industry Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero highlighted the importance of carbon capture for the decarbonisation of the cement and concrete supply chain and the Peak Cluster is an essential part of that transition. This launch demonstrates the commitment of cement and lime producers to transition to net zero to secure the future of these important industries, and the vital products they produce, in a net zero world.”
The cement and lime sector is a key part of a combined mineral products industry, which contributes around £18bn to the UK’s GDP and directly employs 81,000 people, supporting a further 3.5m jobs.
More information on Peak Cluster is available at https://peakcluster.co.uk/.
" Shaping a sustainable future is a collaborative process and we are very proud to be part of the Peak Cluster Project. Lime production is a “hard to abate” process because most emissions are generated by the breakdown of natural limestone into quicklime and carbon dioxide. We are reducing our emissions through energy efficiency and better fuels such as biomass, but that is not enough. We need to capture unavoidable CO2 emissions. The Peak Cluster project will develop the infrastructure to directly capture these emissions before transporting them for safe storage underneath the East Irish Sea. Decarbonizing our industry is at the heart of Lhoist's strategy, and we are committed to leading the way to carbon neutral lime "
CEO Lhoist Europe