Boral secures $25m grant to cut emissions at major NSW cement works
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Construction materials supplier Boral has been awarded a $25 million grant from the New South Wales government to deliver its alternative fuel project at Berrima Cement Works, which aims to replace 60% of its coal use.
The numbers: The facility has already replaced an average of 30% of thermal energy needs it previously derived from coal with alternative fuels such as waste timber from the construction sector, refuse-derived fuel and shredded or end-of-life tyres.
On top of the emissions reduction, the project is expected to divert about 73,000 tonnes per year of waste away from landfill. Over the service life of the project, it is expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 1.6 million tonnes.
The context: The facility, which has a history running back to 1929, supplies up to 40% of cement in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory.
The grant was awarded under the NSW government’s High Emitting Industries Grant, to support upgrades to the Berrima Cement Works’ main burners, fuel processing facilities, storage facilities and the equipment for feeding fuel to the burners.
Boral head of sustainability and innovation Ali Nezhad told Capital Brief that while there’s a “massive cost impact in terms of infrastructure investment…once you’ve actually got the adequate, proper infrastructure” the financial impact would “not be an issue in terms of transition from coal to alternative fuel in terms of operating costs".
The project is expected to generate significant reductions in scope one emissions associated with cement manufacturing using waste materials that have equivalent energy but produce lesser carbon dioxide emissions, according to Nezhad.
Nezhad said the transition to alternative fuels has been a key focus since 2018, given that 35% of Berrima’s scope one emissions comes from fuel combustion. The findings of the alternative fuel project will be shared with industry through workshops and conferences.
Cement emissions also make up the “more than 90% of embodied carbon of a typical concrete mix”. Nezhad also highlighted that concrete then comprises “anywhere between 20% to 70% of embodied carbon of” infrastructure assets which underscores the importance of decarbonising cement.
The upgrades at Berrima would also help the facility meet its baseline emissions reduction obligations under the safeguard mechanism.
What they said: “As the reformed Safeguard Mechanism introduces more stringent emissions reduction targets, it is imperative that trade-exposed industries like ours are equipped with practical, cost-effective pathways to decarbonisation to support thousands of jobs and the local industry’s serious risk from offshore competition, which has already seen major decline over the last two decades,” Boral CEO and managing director Vik Bansal said.
“It’s why we continue to advocate for a Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism to ensure an even playing field and avoid carbon leakage from imported products not subject to the same decarbonisation measures.”
The source: Boral media release
