The Cement Industry’s Carbon Turning Point

Europe turns carbon capture into a real market force as shared storage enables rapid growth in low carbon cement

12 Dec 2025

Europe’s carbon capture industry is reaching a commercial inflection point, with cement emerging as one of the first heavy industries to move from pilot projects to market supply. Full-scale capture at Norway’s Brevik cement plant has enabled deliveries of near-zero-carbon cement to customers across the region.

At Brevik, carbon dioxide produced during cement manufacturing is captured before release, compressed and shipped for permanent storage beneath the North Sea. The plant, operated by Heidelberg Materials, is producing cement with a sharply lower carbon footprint that is already being used in construction projects, signalling a shift from testing technology to meeting commercial demand.

The project relies on shared transport and storage infrastructure such as Northern Lights, a joint venture backed by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies. By allowing multiple industrial companies to use the same shipping and storage facilities, the model reduces costs and investment risk and is becoming a cornerstone of Europe’s emerging carbon capture and storage, or CCS, network.

The timing is significant for an industry responsible for about 7 per cent of global carbon emissions. Governments across Europe are tightening climate rules, investors are paying closer attention to carbon exposure, and builders are under pressure to reduce the footprint of construction materials. Low-carbon cement offers a way to meet these demands without major changes to building design or supply chains.

Supporters say this helps shift carbon capture from a compliance cost to a commercial differentiator. Customers can lower emissions while continuing to use standard materials, while producers gain a way to protect market share as climate regulation tightens.

Challenges remain. Carbon capture is capital intensive, depends on long-term policy support, and requires reliable demand for premium low-carbon products. Some European regions also lack suitable geological storage sites, making replication uneven. Scaling the approach will require coordinated progress on infrastructure, regulation and financing.

Even so, the Norwegian project is increasingly seen as a reference point for other cement producers and emissions-heavy industries. If the model can be repeated at scale, it could reshape how Europe approaches industrial decarbonisation, turning carbon capture into a practical tool rather than a last resort.