SOLSYN – Solar Fuels for Cement Manufacturing

Partner: external page HOLCIM, external page PSI 

Holcim, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich have brought together most competent resources to perform long-term oriented research in exploring the use of concentrated solar energy for cement manufacturing.

In meeting future challenges, research and development (R&D) in sustainable and energy efficient manufacturing plays an important role for Holcim, one of the largest suppliers of cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete worldwide. The substitution of fossil fuels by renewable fuels in the energy intensive cement manufacturing process conserves natural resources and reduces CO₂ emissions.

PSI and ETH Zurich are performing high level research on all aspects of human energy use, with the ultimate goal of promoting developments towards a sustainable energy supply.

In 2007, Holcim initiated a close research collaboration with the Solar Technology Laboratory of the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers at ETH Zurich. In the joint project, high-temperature solar heat is applied for upgrading low-grade carbonaceous feedstock to produce a high-quality synthetic gas. The synthetic gas could be used for substituting fossil fuels in the cement kiln.

The pre-feasibility of this solar steam gasification process was experimentally investigated in a high-flux solar facility at PSI. The high-temperature solar reactor technology is going to be developed and experimentally demonstrated at a larger scale, co-funded by CTI (Swiss public innovation promotion agency).

With this R&D project, Holcim, PSI and ETH Zurich make pioneer contributions to develop sustainable technology to mitigate CO₂emissions in cement production. The research partners already hold various patents on this promising technology in this area.