Groundwork is progressing well to build the UK’s first carbon capture facility at a cement works at Heidelberg Materials UK’s Padeswood site in north Wales.
More than 60,000 tonnes of aggregate has been used to establish the working areas and over 600 concrete piles, containing around 5,000 cubic metres of concrete, have already been placed by two piling rigs, as part of the construction of a retaining wall.
All of the concrete being used to construct the pioneering carbon capture facility includes evoZero carbon captured near-zero cement. evoZero gains its sustainability credentials from the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway and chain of custody models.
“We are delighted with the pace of construction of our Padeswood CCS project and it is great to watch as our plans turn into reality,” said Simon Willis, CEO of Heidelberg Materials UK.
“We are using evoZero cement wherever possible to lower the carbon impact of the project and there is a symmetry to using a product produced using CCS to help build the infrastructure for another.”
This phase of the groundwork is being carried out through Worley which, along with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was awarded the EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) contract to build the Padeswood facility.
Completed groundwork on site includes:
• Installation of newt and security fencing.
• Diversion of overhead powerlines and cables.
• Removal of 25,000 tonnes of topsoil, which has been stockpiled for re-use in reinstatement works on site.
At present an average of 80 construction workers are on site each day, which is expected to double by the end of the year.
Padeswood CCS builds on the success of Brevik, which is designed to capture around 50 per cent of the plant’s CO₂ emissions (c.400,000 tonnes a year). The Padeswood facility is designed to capture almost all (around 95 per cent) of the carbon emissions from the existing cement works – around 800,000 tonnes a year once running at full capacity.
