Grant to accelerate decarbonisation of cement for ADBRI

The federal government has awarded building materials group Adbri a $50 million grant as part of the Commonwealth’s Powering the Regions Fund which will speed decarbonisation of hard to abate cement production.

The funds will increase capacity and production of lower carbon cementitious products at the company’s Birkenhead, Adelaide cement plant, South Australia’s largest.

The grant will support the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study and potential construction of a new vertical roller mill (VRM), including a post-production blending system at Birkenhead.

Adbri’s CEO Mark Irwin said: “Adbri has already made significant inroads toward reducing emissions at its Birkenhead facility as the first cement manufacturer in Australia to use alternative fuels to supplement natural gas in the clinker manufacturing stage of the cement process.

“With the Commonwealth’s support we have the potential to further accelerate the decarbonisation of our operations and products.”

Adbri expects the FEED study to be completed by 1H 2025, and if then approved by the board, any construction of a new vertical roller mill would be in operation from 2026.

The timing aligns with the delivery of a new hybrid electric battery vessel in 2026 that will be capable of transporting up to 2.7 million tonnes of limestone each year from the Adbri’s Klein Point quarry to Birkenhead.

“I want to thank the government for their support in accelerating the decarbonisation of emissions intensive, hard-to-abate, industries such as cement while supporting local manufacturing and local jobs.

“Cement is a key component of concrete, with concrete the most used manmade product in the world.”

Further reading:
Adbri aims for net zero, tests breakthrough cement technologies

Picture: Adbri Birkenhead plant