Already in 2027, the Kujawy Cement Plant will become the first zero-emission cement plant in Poland. Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet is a globally unique project whereby a CO2 capture facility is being installed at the Kujawy Cement Plant, which will make it possible to reduce the carbon footprint of the sintering process of clinker, which is the basic ingredient in cement production.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The installation, which will be launched in 2027, will capture 100% of the CO2 emissions caused by clinker production. In the span of 10 years, it will capture over 10 million tonnes of CO2, which is 10% of the total annual cement industry CO2 emissions in Poland.
Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet is the first CO2 capture project of this size in the world. As a result, the Kujawy Cement Plant will be able to produce cement at an even lower carbon footprint than currently, and some types of cement may become zero-emission. By the same token, it will become one of the first net zero-emission cement plants in Europe.
The project entails building the infrastructure for the capture and condensation of CO2 from the clinker kiln flue gas, and assorted installations. The facility has been designed based on Air Liquide's Cryocap™ FG technology.
The Cryocap™ FG solution used at the Kujawy Cement Plant is the first CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology in Europe that assures complete CO2 emission capture. Currently, CO2 capture technologies are the most effective method of reducing carbon emissions in the cement industry.
This pioneering deployment of Cryocap™ FG on an industrial scale will make it possible to replicate the technology at further cement plants and in other industries in Europe. The next step will be to develop a full chain of carbon capture and storage.
The Go4ECOPlanet project contributes to meeting the European Green Deal objectives, in alignment with the EU regulations aiming at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The investment project is co-financed by the EU Innovation Fund that uses funds from the ETS system. Holcim (part of Holcim Group) and the Innovation Fund signed the project co-financing agreement on 19 January 2023 in Brussels. The total project cost is €380 million, with EU financing at €228 million.
Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet is setting new standards in industrial innovation and new generation technologies that contribute to climate protection by reducing the carbon footprint in Europe. The project is an important milestone in the decarbonization of the construction sector, since eliminating CO2 emissions from cement production translates into a lower carbon footprint for construction materials, and consequently – for all newly constructed buildings.
In addition to accomplishing the main goal of further reducing the environmental impact, the Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project may become a driver of change benefiting the environment in emission-intensive industries.
The Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the current decade. In the very first year of operation, CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 1 million tons.
2022
2022 - 2024
2025 - 2026
2027
After 2023
Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet is a project initiated by Holcim in Poland. However, large-scaleand complex investment projects like this always require the involvement of other parties. The developer and contractor for the Cryocap™ FG technology, which will be used at the Kujawy Cement Plant, is Air Liquide. Subcontractors and experts from different disciplines will be involved in the implementation, depending on the stage of the project. The carbon capture installation at the Kujawy Cement Plant is being built with the financial support of European Union institutions.
The final stage of this undertaking will be the creation of a fully-fledged carbon capture and storage chain. After liquefaction and loading, the CO2 will be transported by rail to a transhipment facility in a seaport, where it will be loaded onto ships and taken to the North Sea. Permanent storage will take place in specially designated, depleted gas and oil caverns.
The Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet project is part of the sustainable development strategy at Holcim and Holcim Group, whose objectives include a comprehensive decarbonisation of industrial processes.
Read more on: Holcim Sustainable Development Strategy
Industry in Poland emits 40.6 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, with 15 per cent of the emissions coming from the metallurgical, cement, chemical and fuel sectors. "In order to decarbonise the industrial sectors where process emissions cannot be reduced by other technologies, the only realistic solution is carbon capture and storage," said Maciej Sypek, President of Holcim Polska S.A., during the CCS & CCU CONGRESS.
.png)
The carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology provides new development opportunities for heavy industry, which, due to the nature of its production processes, is unable to completely eliminate CO₂ emissions. The implementation of CCS is a real opportunity for the Polish industry to remain competitive amid climate change. Radosław Gnutek, CCS Project Director at Holcim Poland, talks about the first facility of this type in Poland, which could enable the production of nearly zero-emission cement.
Holcim Polska, a leader in sustainable building solutions, has selected the consultancy firm Hill International as its strategic engineering partner for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Kujawy Cement Plant. This flagship project is part of Holcim’s decarbonisation strategy and ranks among the most ambitious initiatives in the Polish cement industry.
%20(1).jpg)
To support the development of the CCS/U ecosystem in Poland, the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the World Bank organised a workshop with stakeholders on 27 May 2025. The aim of the meeting was to identify opportunities and barriers to the development of the new industry, define the necessary milestones and harmonise knowledge on the requirements necessary for the creation of a CCS/U ecosystem in Poland. Holcim, as a pioneer in the implementation of modern technologies, took part in the discussion and presented a full-scale CCS project - Kujawy Go4ECOPlanet.
Inearly April this year, experts from Holcim Poland participated in a series ofevents dedicated to CO2 capture and storage technologies, which are becoming ahot topic in energy-intensive industries. The events included the 2nd CarbonCapture Congress in Poznań. Radosław Gnutek, Carbon Capture and StorageProject Director, took part in the expert debate Leaders’ Forum I – TheFuture of CCUS in Poland, where he shared his insights on theimplementation of Go4ECOPlanet and practical tips on solutions that will enablea large-scale rollout of this technology.
Polish industry generates approximately 22% of the country's GDP and is responsible for 25% of all domestic CO2 emissions. The rising prices of fossil fuel energy and the carbon footprint costs are forcing an urgent modernisation of industry. CCS/U technologies are coming to the rescue, enabling the elimination of process emissions in energy-intensive industries. How to overcome regulatory and financial barriers by entering into partnerships and searching for new ways of using these technologies was the topic of discussion during the Ministerial Session in Poznań on 9 April 2025 as part of Net Zero Energy, a conference and exhibition event dedicated to energy transition.
CCS is an opportunity to increase the competitiveness of the cement industry in Poland in the light of the phase-out of the free emission rights under the ETS system, and Poland is currently the third largest cement producer in Europe. That is why Holcim (formerly Lafarge) has undertaken a unique global project to create an infrastructure capable of capturing 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the kiln flue gases during clinker production.
Holcim is currently implementing a unique project on a global scale – a zero-emission cement plant. Using CCS technology, the cement plant in Kujawy will soon capture 100% of carbon dioxide emissions. Maciej Sypek, President of Holcim Polska, talks about the investment worth over 300 million euros in an interview for ESG Trends.