Indiana cement plant banks $500M in federal project funding

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The $600 million Heidelberg Materials cement plant that was completed last year in the Lawrence County town of Mitchell has been chosen for major federal funding.

Federal and state officials announced Monday that the plant will receive $500 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a carbon capture and sequestration system—a significant step toward the company’s goal of an industry-leading carbon-neutral operation.

The project is one of six nationally to receive the maximum award amount. David Crane, the DOE’s undersecretary for infrastructure, said the funding competition was “extremely fierce” with over 400 applications boiled down to 33 awardees. Crane said the operation will lead the way toward low to no carbon cement.

“It was very important to us, not just how strong the project sponsorship was, but how tight the relationship was, how good the cooperation was, between the project sponsors, the labor at the plant, the workforce, and the community,” Crane said. “The collaboration shown by Heidelberg, with the United Steelworkers and with the communities here in Mitchell and Bedford — that this plan not will only prevail, but it shined in that capacity.”

The investment is part of $6 billion being awarded by the Biden administration for nearly three dozen projects in more than 20 states to help reduce carbon emissions from “heavy” industrial sectors like steel, aluminum and concrete.

“This is a real source of pride for us, and it’s a shot heard around the world,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “The products that come from here, made in Mitchell, Indiana, are going to redefine the projects, the very foundations of projects, that are small and medium, and massive in terms of what’s going on in Indiana.”

Texas-based Heidelberg Materials North America cut the ribbon on the Mitchell facility last June. It can produce 2.4 million tons of cement annually, tripling its previous output and making it the second-largest facility in North America.

The new carbon capture project is part of a previously detailed effort to decarbonize the plant by 2030. The company said at last year’s ribbon cutting that it had already decreased emissions by 33% and planned to conduct a study on carbon capture and storage solutions using DOE funding.

Heidelberg Materials North America, which rebranded from the former Lehigh Hanson name last year, is a subsidiary of Germany-based Heidelberg Materials.

Expansion plans

Heidelberg will build the carbon capture component next to its current plant, said Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America. The new build will appear smaller in size with a significant framework built underground.

The project at the Heidelberg Materials plant aims to capture at least 95% of the carbon dioxide released by the plant and store it underground. The effort would prevent 2 million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere annually, officials said.

“With the investment we’ve recently made in the new plant, it cut our emissions intensity by over 30%. But this investment, this commitment by the federal government, along with matching funds from Heidelberg materials will allow us to get all the way to zero,” Ward told Inside INdiana Business. “That’s a significant step that we can’t do with conventional technology.”

About 1,000 construction jobs and between 20 to 30 full-time roles will be created, a company spokesperson said.

The Mitchell operation is a pillar project for the international company. Ward said the plant is the largest carbon sequestration project and will allow the company to advance their understanding of this burgeoning technology and scale it to other operations.

Ward said the company has a lot of work to do before ground is broken on the new system, including feasibility studies and other work to determine the final investment decision. He estimated that new construction will begin in about two years.

Other national projects

Some of the other projects receiving DOE funding, which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, include:

• Century Aluminum Company plans to build the first new U.S. primary aluminum smelter in 45 years. The plant would double the size of the current U.S. primary aluminum industry while avoiding an estimated 75% of emissions from a traditional facility, with its energy-efficient design and use of clean energy, according to DOE.
• Constellium in Ravenswood, West Virginia, is going to operate a first-of-its-kind zero-carbon aluminum casting plant and install low-emission furnaces that can use clean fuels such as hydrogen. The company produces aluminum for a range of products including cars and planes.
• Kraft Heinz will install heat pumps, electric heaters and electric boilers to decarbonize food production at 10 facilities, including in Holland, Michigan.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation in Middletown, Ohio, will retire one blast furnace, install two electric furnaces, and use hydrogen-based ironmaking technology. The project aims to eliminate 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year from the largest supplier of steel to the U.S. automotive industry.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.