Morrison buries more funds in CCS projects in late pre-election splurge

The Morrison government has awarded another $30 million in funding to a carbon capture and storage project, this time to a cement manufacturer.

The latest funding announcement will see construction materials company Boral receive the funding under the Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Hubs and Technologies Program, to capture and store emissions from the production of cement.

Cement production is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions – responsible for around seven per cent of global emissions – as it involves the separation of carbon dioxide from limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce lime (calcium oxide).

The funding will allow Boral to investigate the viability of using a new processing technique developed by Calix, that allows the carbon dioxide to be captured and stored.

Boral will undertake the preparation of a commercial model and pilot design for using the Calix technique at one of its Southern Highlands facilities – potentially within the electorate of emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor.

The potential project would have the capacity to store up to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – with the aim of progressing technical engineering design, should it prove feasible.

It is not currently clear how the carbon dioxide will be permanently stored or whether it may be used in another industrial process.

But the use of carbon capture and storage in this context – in an industry that produces greenhouse gas emissions as a result of industrial processes rather than the consumption of fossil fuels – is likely to be necessary.

Boral said the use of the new technique could be ‘game changer’ for an otherwise ‘hard to abate’ industry.

“This is game changing technology for our industry and will play a critical role in supporting customers’ sustainability targets,” Boral’s chief operating officer, Darren Schulz said.

“Together, Boral and Calix have access to the required infrastructure, technology and operational expertise required to deliver this project and lead the way in reducing emissions across the industry.”

“By modernising Australia’s cement industry, we are enabling the growth of lower carbon construction materials, which are essential to jobs and local economies.”

The Morrison government has announced the award of a substantial number of grants throughout the election campaign, funded by its pre-election budget.

This includes almost $400 million for hydrogen hubs and carbon capture and storage projects, as well as more than $1 billion in subsidies provided in support of the gas industry.

This also includes $3 million in funding that was quietly awarded to a brown coal-to-hydrogen venture in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.