Carmeuse, John Cockerill, Engie to take on e-methane project in Belgium

Belgium-based lime manufacturer Carmeuse and engineering group John Cockerill have teamed up with French energy company Engie SA (EPA:ENGI) to set up a green hydrogen plant to produce pipeline-grade renewable gas in the Belgian region of Wallonia.

The project will involve a carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) process that will concentrate CO2 emissions generated by Carmeuse’s lime kiln. The CO2 will then be combined with green hydrogen to produce e-methane via methanation.

The hydrogen will be produced by a 75-MW electrolyser powered an unspecified green energy source. E-methane resulting from the process will be suitable for injection into the national gas grid and be available for industrial use or an alternative fuel in the transport sector.

According to the press release issued by the Belgian-French trio, the Wallonia project will be the largest of its kind in the world.

The CO2 stream will come from a new type of lime kiln that Carmeuse will build, commission and operate for this project. John Cockerill will be in charge of the design and EPC duties related to the electrolyser plant and manufacture its key elements.

Engie’s site in the region of Charleroi will host the electrolyser. The French utility group will own and operate the plant, while its affiliate Storengy will be responsible for building and operating the methanation process.

The partners estimate the project to cost over EUR 150 million (USD 182m) and have filed an application to get funding from the EU programmes. If the application results in success, the companies will start implementing the project in 2022 and have the system up and running in 2025.

During the first ten years of operation, the project could avoid the release of more than 900,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, the trio said.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.213)

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