SOLSYN – Solar Fuels for Cement Manufacturing

Partner: external pageHOLCIMexternal pagePSI 

Holcim, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich have brought together most competent resources to perform long-term oriented research in exploring the use of concentrated solar energy for cement manufacturing.

In meeting future challenges, research and development (R&D) in sustainable and energy efficient manufacturing plays an important role for Holcim, one of the largest suppliers of cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete worldwide. The substitution of fossil fuels by renewable fuels in the energy intensive cement manufacturing process conserves natural resources and reduces CO2 emissions.

PSI and ETH Zurich are performing high level research on all aspects of human energy use, with the ultimate goal of promoting developments towards a sustainable energy supply.

In 2007, Holcim initiated a close research collaboration with the Solar Technology Laboratory of the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers at ETH Zurich. In the joint project, high-temperature solar heat is applied for upgrading low-grade carbonaceous feedstock to produce a high-quality synthetic gas. The synthetic gas could be used for substituting fossil fuels in the cement kiln.

The pre-feasibility of this solar steam gasification process was experimentally investigated in a high-flux solar facility at PSI. The high-temperature solar reactor technology is going to be developed and experimentally demonstrated at a larger scale, co-funded by CTI (Swiss public innovation promotion agency).

With this R&D project, Holcim, PSI and ETH Zurich make pioneer contributions to develop sustainable technology to mitigate CO2emissions in cement production. The research partners already hold various patents on this promising technology in this area.

Project-related Publications

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