Air Liquide has announced the start-up of its first industrial-scale pilot unit designed specifically for carbon capture within the cement sector. The facility utilizes the company’s proprietary Cryocap technology and is located at CaptureLab, an industrial test platform launched by building materials manufacturer Holcim.
The deployment represents an operational milestone in scaling carbon capture infrastructure for hard-to-abate industries, where the majority of carbon dioxide emissions originate from the chemical breakdown of limestone during production rather than energy consumption alone.
The pilot introduces Cryocap FG (Flue Gas), a variation of Air Liquide’s carbon capture technology tailored for the specific emissions profile of cement manufacturing plants. The industrial-scale unit focuses primarily on the pre-treatment of flue gas, which remains a core technical challenge due to the presence of chemical impurities.
Operating with a capacity of 3,000 Nm³/h of flue gas, the system removes contaminants and pre-concentrates the carbon dioxide stream. This process is necessary to stabilise the gas prior to final purification, ensuring the reliable and large-scale deployment of carbon capture technologies across commercial cement operations.
The pilot unit features a modular design to simplify transport and asset installation. Following its initial operational phase at Holcim’s CaptureLab facility in France—the world’s first dedicated carbon capture test platform for the cement industry—the modular infrastructure can be disassembled and relocated to alternative industrial sites.
The project builds upon a decade of operational data gathered from Air Liquide’s Cryocap H2 facility in Port-Jérôme, France, and is intended to inform the engineering designs of upcoming commercial-scale cement and lime decarbonisation projects.
Armelle Levieux, member of Air Liquide’s Executive Committee supervising Innovation and Technology activities, said, “We are proud to commission this industrial-scale pilot at Holcim’s CaptureLab, a project that marks a significant step forward in the decarbonization of the broader cement industry. This new pilot unit highlights Air Liquide’s leadership in innovation and our unique ability to scale proprietary technologies from laboratory research to industrial-scale applications, providing impactful solutions for our customers.”
