Cemex Ventures announces collaborative project with UK hydrogen company
21 November 2024
Cemex Ventures – the corporate venture capital and innovation unit of Mexico-based construction materials company Cemex – announced what it called a “first-of-a-kind” hydrogen project with HiiROC, a UK-based hydrogen producer and provider.
As part of the collaboration, HiiROC will deploy hydrogen at an industrial scale at Cemex’s Rugby, England, plant for use in cement production.
Cemex said it believes HiiROC’s use of a proprietary thermal plasma electrolysis (TPE) process in producing and delivering hydrogen can aid CO2 emission reductions because the method requires less electrical energy compared to conventional hydrogen production.
“HiiROC produces carbon-neutral hydrogen using its proprietary TPE process, which requires just one-fifth of the electrical energy used in water electrolysis and captures carbon as a solid byproduct, avoiding CO2 emissions,” said Cemex.
“HiiROC’s modular solution can be deployed as single units to full-scale industrial plants. The hydrogen produced can be used as an alternative energy source to fuel clinker production processes, helping Cemex to achieve its decarbonisation goals.”
The announcement is part of a longer-running strategic partnership that began in 2021 between the two firms.
Financial details on the partnership were not disclosed.