IFESTOS- Large Carbon Capture Capture Project in Greece Gets EU Commission Grant

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The European Commission has picked out 41 projects to prepare grant agreements to enable firms dabbling in segments such as energy-intensive industries, hydrogen, renewable energy, and manufacturing components for energy storage and renewables. The EU has dedicated EUR 3.6 billion to enable various firms to bring  innovative technologies to the market.

The grants are from the Climate Innovation Fund, backed by revenues from the EU’s Emissions Trading System. The projects are expected to go online by 2030.

Titan Group’s carbon capture project IFESTOS is among the projects that have received the EU Commission grant.  IFESTOS, located in Greece, is among the largest carbon capture projects in Europe to pave the way for the production of zero carbon cement and concrete. The cement industry is among the largest carbon emitters globally. The project will also give a push to decarbonisation initiatives in partnership with regional industries.

Marcel Cobuz, Chairman of the Group Executive Committee of TITAN Group, said about winning the grant, “We are truly excited that the Commission has chosen to support our large-scale, highly innovative project. IFESTOS is a cornerstone of our accelerated decarbonisation roadmap to net-zero. In line with EU climate policy, together with our technology partners, we are pioneering an innovative carbon capture project, the largest in Europe, with a highly positive impact. The group has strong capabilities and is committed to executing this project fast over the next few years, decarbonising production and offering green growth opportunities to our customers in Europe. We embrace the opportunity to widely share our knowledge and expertise and promote green cements as modern materials for infrastructure and housing.”

Project Significance

TITAN will produce approximately 3Mta of zero-carbon cement. This will encourage green construction in Athens and other areas. The project will lead to an absolute yearly Greenhouse Gas emissions prevention of over 1.9Mt of carbon._.

IFESTOS will be responsible for the production of zero carbon cement through the retrofitting of existing cement kiln. These will be combined with first and second-generation Oxyfuel and post-combustion cryogenic capture technologies. The project will help prevent about 98.5% of the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions. This makes IFESTOS among the largest carbon capture facilities in Europe. What adds to the significance of the project is that it will start the Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) value chain in the southern part of Europe since the carbon captured will be turned into the form of a liquid and moved to a permanent storage location in the Mediterranean. The project, it is held, will set a precedent for large-scale integrated CCS projects in the future.

A report by IEA states, “Adopting material efficiency strategies to optimise the use of cement can help reduce demand along the entire construction value chain, helping to cut CO2 emissions from cement production. CCS is also likely to play a critical role in decarbonising cement; alternatives might involve making clinkers from non-carbonate sources to avoid these emissions altogether.”

The EU has been proactively working towards curbing carbon emissions. Last month, the European Commission gave a nod to a Hungarian Scheme worth €1.1 billion, bolstering the shift towards a carbon-neutral economy.