The Canadian federal government announced $2.2 million in funding to the cement company St. Marys Cement Inc. to install a new cement kiln infrastructure that will use lower carbon fuels, including discarded plastics. This grant is a reallocation of funds through a revenue return program called the Decarbonization Incentive Program.
Over the past 30 years, the industry has greatly improved cement production at plants and reduced calorific and electrical energy consumption, contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Reducing false air also plays an important role to meet the industry’s decarbonization goal. Proper seals at the rotary kiln inlet and discharge, along with good general maintenance at the preheater and precalciner can lead to a reduction of false air between 9% and 16%.
The government program is implementing repurposes revenues earned from heavy industry through high-carbon pricing in eligible facilities for energy efficiency and emissions reduction projects. Canada’s industrial pollution pricing system is called the Performance-Based Pricing System. The new kiln process at the St. Marys plant will replace up to 30 per cent of the carbon-intensive fuel consumption needed for the cement manufacturing process.
The St. Marys cement plant located in St. Marys, Ontario and is a division of Brazil’s Votorantim Cimentos Group. As a signatory to Canada’s Net Zero Challenge, St. Marys Cement has adopted a plan to transition its facilities and operations to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. By 2023, Votorantim Cimentos reduced CO2 emissions by 15 percent compared to 2010.
Jorge Wagner, CEO of Votorantim Cimentos North America, said the company is determined to be part of the solution to reduce the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions by supporting circular economy, as well as investing in new technologies and innovation and pursuing a renewable energy mix. St Marys Cement is also committed to ambitious science-based initiative goals, including net-zero concrete by 2050, achieving 556 kilograms of CO2 per ton of material.
