EnEarth, Heidelberg Materials ink term sheet for Bulgaria carbon storage

EnEarth, an Energean subsidiary focused on carbon storage and decarbonization, said on Dec. 9 it has signed a term sheet with cement producer Heidelberg Materials to negotiate on an exclusive basis a definitive agreement to expand its operations into Bulgaria as the storage operator for Heidelberg Materials' Devnya CO2 development.

The agreement, which remains subject to final contracts and all permitting and regulatory approvals, is intended to support the operation of the Devnya CO2 project before 2030, the companies said in a statement.

"Today is an important day for EnEarth," said Nikolas Rigas, EnEarth's head of carbon storage, adding that the move would help the company "play a decisive role in the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industry" in the region.

The Devnya CO2 project forms part of Heidelberg's ANRAV carbon capture, utilization and storage development, planned as the first full-chain CCUS project in Eastern Europe.

The plan includes capturing 800,000 metric tons/year of CO2 from Heidelberg's Devnya cement plant in the wider Varna region, with transport and permanent onshore storage near the facility.

The project has secured Eur190 million ($221.4 million) from the EU Innovation Fund, including Eur38 million allocated to the storage site.

Heidelberg Materials said it has identified onshore storage potential and is advancing legislative and stakeholder acceptance work.

EnEarth said the term sheet will allow the companies to explore joint development of the transport and storage site.

"We are proud to announce our collaboration with EnEarth," Mihail Polendakov, executive director of Heidelberg Materials Devnya, said, noting that EnEarth's Prinos carbon capture and storage experience would support the development of the ANRAV project.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, last assessed CEMDEX Turkey at $52/mt FOB on Dec. 4, down $1/mt week over week.