Danish CCS fund exits ‘good’ sign of risk shifting to industry: Heidelberg

The withdrawals of eight out of the 10 shortlisted projects for Denmark's $4.5 billion carbon capture and storage fund are "good news" for the sector and a sign that risk is being transferred to industry, cement producer Heidelberg Materials' CCUS Business Development & Partnerships Director Jan Theulen said at the Carbon Capture Europe Summit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The development was a sign of the gradual maturation of the CCS sector, Theulen said.

"Eight of the 10 [pre-qualified] emitters have backed off because they found the risk is still a bit too high, and this is good news," he told the conference on March 11. "The risk should not be too high, but it's good that the risk is moving [little by little] to industry."

Denmark's DKK28.7 billion ($4.5 billion) tender for carbon capture and storage projects has drawn two final bidders after eight projects submitted initial bids in August 2025. Results are expected in April.

Heidelberg Materials is developing a portfolio of carbon capture projects across Europe as part of its efforts to decarbonize its cement production operations.

Its Brevik facility in Norway started capturing CO2 emissions in 2025 to supply to the Northern Lights store -- the first commercial CCS facility to start operations in Europe.

The plant achieved a 90% performance rate after eight months of operations, exceeding typical cement plant benchmarks and validating the company's capture technology approach, Theulen said.

Heidelberg captured and shipped around 50,000 metric tons of CO2 by the end of 2025 across 10 shipments, he added. The kiln is now offline for its annual winter overhaul, he said.

Despite the operational success, early challenges underscore the complexity of scaling CCUS infrastructure. The Brevik facility experienced vibration issues with a scrubber positioned ahead of the compressor during its first month of operations, a technical hurdle that is now resolved, he said.

The project benefited from bespoke design to optimize the power consumption, heat use and footprint of the capture unit, SLB Capturi Chief Operating Officer Erik Langholm said on a panel. The company provided the CO2 capture technology for the plant.

The capacity of the CO2 capture plant is around half the annual emissions from the Brevik cement factory, according to SLB Capturi's website.

Future developments

Heidelberg's Padeswood facility in the UK is part of the HyNet decarbonization cluster, which is a larger scale than the Longship CCS project in Norway, which uses the Northern Lights store.

HyNet encompasses more CO2 emitters and employs direct source-to-sink pipeline delivery, eliminating the need for liquefaction and shipping logistics that can complicate other projects, Theulen said.

The UK initiative is funded under a carbon contracts for difference scheme.

Heidelberg's GeZero project at Geseke in Germany, funded by the EU, exemplifies the emerging challenge: the value chain is cross-border, requiring multiple final investment decisions across different entities and jurisdictions.

The German government is on track to launch its own Contracts for Difference program, a development Heidelberg has advocated for over several years, Theulen said.

Minimizing handover points and reducing the number of required project FIDs remain strategic priorities for Heidelberg.

The company has invested in pilot units since 2014, including facilities in Bulgaria financed by the group and operational for one year, plus two additional pilots in Germany coming on stream in 2026.

Theulen said Heidelberg's EvoZero low-carbon cement sold out its available volumes in 2025, with some volumes still available for 2026 marketing.

He would not be drawn on the price premium for low-carbon cement, but said that the value depended on the project.

For example, a building with embedded CO2 reductions of 50% with a 2% cost increase would be a good outcome, he said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed nearest December EU ETS allowances at Eur68.26/mt ($78.34/mt) on March 12.