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Ambuja Cements and UK Firm Leilac Launch Commercial Demo for Low‑Carbon Cement

The trial at Ambuja’s Sanghi plant will test Leilac’s carbon‑capture and hybrid electric heating to see if coal use can be eliminated.

Overview

  • Ambuja Cements announced on Monday, June 22 that it has partnered with UK clean‑tech firm Leilac to run a commercial demonstration at its 6.6 MTPA Sanghi plant in Kutch, Gujarat.
  • The pilot will integrate Leilac’s direct process CO2 capture with hybrid electric heating to shift heat input from coal to renewable electricity and capture unavoidable calcination emissions.
  • If the demonstration meets performance and cost targets, the partners say the design could be scaled seven to eight times to capture more than one million tonnes of CO2 per year.
  • Deployment and any large expansion remain conditional on demonstration results, economic assessment, regulatory approvals and development of markets or uses for the captured CO2.
  • Cement making emits process CO2 when limestone is heated during calcination, so combining electrification with targeted capture could provide a replicable pathway for lower‑carbon cement production worldwide.