- Heidelberg Materials commissioned a 1.25 Mt/yr dry pre‑calciner kiln at Airvault, replacing two semi‑dry clinker lines.
- The modernisation investment exceeds €350 million.
- The new line enables ~90% of site energy from alternative fuels, cuts electricity use per tonne by ~10% and lowers cement CO2 footprint by ~30%.
- Plans include using calcined clay as a clinker substitute and deploying AirvaultGOCO2 CCUS targeting ~1 Mt CO2/yr; the Group targets <400 kg CO2/t Scope 1 by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050.
New kiln and capacity
Heidelberg Materials commissioned a new dry kiln line with a modern pre‑calciner at its Airvault cement plant, replacing two semi‑dry clinker lines and providing 1.25 million tonnes/year clinker capacity.
Energy and emissions performance
The modernisation enables almost 90% of the site's energy demand to be met with alternative fuels, reduces electricity use per tonne by about 10%, and—together with a lower clinker ratio—cuts the cement carbon footprint by nearly 30% versus previous production.
Investment and funding
The project involves more than €350 million of investment and is partly funded by the French government.
Raw materials and CCUS
Plans include using calcined clay as a clinker substitute to reduce CO2 from calcination, and deploying the AirvaultGOCO2 carbon capture, utilisation and storage project with planned capture capacity of around 1 million tonnes CO2 per year, supported by a grant from the EU Innovation Fund.
Decarbonisation roadmap
The site's upgrades contribute to the group's targets of reducing net specific Scope 1 emissions to below 400 kg CO2 per tonne of cementitious material by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2050.
