Boral’s Berrima Cement Works’ cement kilns will be subject to a carbon-reducing project supported by $24.5 million in Federal Government funding.
The new funding will support Boral’s capital investment in a new specialised grinding circuit and supporting infrastructure at the Berrima Cement Works. The funding will enable the company to progress to the next phase of detailed process designs for front-end engineering, followed by procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning. It is expected to be fully operational in 2028.
“We believe that today’s grant signifies a vote of confidence from the Federal Government on Boral’s decarbonisation and innovation efforts, amidst our immense progress in an industry that is highly carbon intensive and operates in a hard-to-abate sector,” Boral chief executive officer Vik Bansal said.
“At Boral we have clearly set out the range of measures we intend to implement to meet the challenge set for us on reducing carbon emissions. This is just one investment we have made at Berrima, building on our previous innovations around the use of alternative fuels.”
According to Australian construction materials producer Boral, the project will help it reduce its CO2 emissions arising from cement manufacturing by up to 100,000 tonnes per annum, based on predicted production rates.
The integration of the specialised grinding circuit will enable Boral to substantially increase the proportion of alternative raw materials (ARMs) in kiln feed to up to 23 per cent, up from its current 9 per cent capability, and subsequently lower the amount of limestone used.
The key benefit of utilising ARMs over limestone is that limestone, when heated during the clinker manufacturing process, will natively release CO2 as the limestone is converted into clinker through calcination. Approximately 55 per cent of the CO2 emissions of the Australia cement and concrete sector originate from this calcination of limestone and are commonly referred to as ‘process emissions’. ARMs also require lower heating temperatures compared with limestone and, therefore, lower energy intensity.
Boral plans to use ARMs derived from a range of by-products from the steel manufacturing process and industrial waste rejections, including granulated blast furnace slag, steel slag, cement fibre board, fly ash, and fine aggregates from recycled concrete.
Federal climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen announced the funding at Berrima Cement Works in NSW’s Southern Highlands. The site supplies up to 40 per cent of cement in the NSW and ACT, according to Boral.
“The Berrima Cement Works have always supplied a large percentage of the cement used in New South Wales, dating all the way back to 1929. As the (Berrima Cement Works) approach their 100th anniversary of playing a critical role in the building of infrastructure and residences across New South Wales, we are making the investments that will keep this contribution going for a great many years ahead,” Bansal said.
“We would like to thank the Federal Government for their assistance in making this future investment in decarbonising such an important existing domestic manufacturing capacity.”
The grant is from the Federal Government’s Powering the Regions Fund, aimed at supporting projects that will enable the decarbonisation of existing industries and contribute to Australia’s emission reduction targets.
“This project plays a key role in Boral’s broader decarbonisation pathway, by reducing process emissions which are the largest and most difficult to abate emissions source in cement manufacturing,” Boral head of innovation and sustainability Ali Nezhad said.
“By increasing the proportion of ARMs in the kiln feed, less limestone and shale is added to the kiln, lowering process emissions and lowering the carbon intensity of the resulting clinker.”
The announcement builds on previous works at the Berrima Cement Works last year, which upgraded its carbon-reduction technology, including a chlorine bypass, which helps reduce the build-up of chlorides and other alternative fuel by-products.
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