Cement firms pilot new type of plant to slash carbon by 95%

Cement makers have long been criticised for being heavy industrial polluters, but now a consortium of international firms is building a new kind of plant in Belgium which they say could capture more than 95% of CO2 emissions from lime and cement manufacturing.

This new “direct separation” technology adds potentially no additional energy costs and can slash the environmental impact of an industry that is responsible for 5% of global carbon emissions, participants in the pilot claim.