SsangYong C&E Co., South Korea’s leading cement maker, plans to invest about 800 billion won ($616 million) in large-scale facilities by 2030 to minimize carbon emissions resulting from cement production.

The investment is part of its efforts to reduce carbon footprint and shed the label of being an environmental polluter.

“We aim to reduce carbon emissions by more than 25 percent by 2030 compared to 2018 levels and by 53 percent by 2050 through substantial facility investments, the use of alternative fuels, improved low-carbon raw material replacement rates, and the development of new technologies,” said a spokesperson from SsangYong C&E. “We plan to further reduce residual emissions by introducing carbon capture technology.”

Cement manufacturing is one of the industries that emit a significant amount of carbon, following power generation, steel production, and petrochemicals.

This is primarily due to the extensive use of fossil fuels in the high-temperature processing of limestone.

To mitigate carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions, Korean cement companies, including SsangYong C&E, currently use selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) facilities, which are cost-effective but have lower carbon reduction efficiency.

SsangYong C&E plans to introduce selective catalytic reduction (SCR) facilities in this investment, which offer higher reduction efficiency.

The company is also actively considering various domestic and international technologies to determine the optimal reduction facility type and installation locations.

SsangYong C&E intends to participate in the government’s emission reduction technology demo projects.

Other cement companies are also actively investing in environmentally friendly facilities. According to the Korea Cement Association, the total investment in equipment currently underway in the cement industry amounts to 576.4 billion won this year, up by nearly 30 percent from the previous year.

Asia Cement, along with its subsidiary Halla Cement, is increasing its use of alternative fuels to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

They are replacing conventional fuels like coal with synthetic resin or renewable fuel oil. The two companies have invested over 200 billion won in equipment since 2015 for this purpose.

Sampyo Cement also plans to invest about 140 billion won in high-efficiency environmental facilities to minimize its environmental impact.

By Kim Dong-eun and Minu Kim

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