8/ Industrialists committed to carbon neutrality

Dunkirk and its hinterland are home to the industrial sectors which, because of the nature of their processes, are some of the biggest CO2
emitters: cement production accounts for 5% of emissions, the chemistry industry is 4.1%, the iron and steel industry is 4% and the production
of aluminium and other metals is 1.2% (Source: a study by the World Resources Institute).

Therefore, local stakeholders in these sectors are naturally rallying together and activating all the levers at their disposal.

• Energy efficiency and sobriety
• Circular economy
• Electrification and process transformation
• Use of hydrogen or biogas
• CO2 capture, transport and storage
• CO2 use and recovery

OVERVIEW OF LOCAL PROJECTS

ARCELORMITTAL

• Smart Carbon Project

The centrepiece of the Smart Carbon initiative is the partial replacement of coal in blast furnaces with other sources of circular carbon from waste flows, such as sustainable biomass from farm or plastic waste.

The Smart Carbon sector also facilitates the integration of carbon capture and reuse (CCU) or storage (CCS) technologies. The carbon emitted is captured during the steelmaking process, making the industry potentially
carbon neutral.

Furthermore, the carbon captured at the end of the process will be able to be recycled and used by other industries, contributing to the production of carbonneutral biomaterials.

• Steel Recycling Project

Recovering used steel (cans, cars, building materials, ships, etc.) and reworking it into the production process. Eventually, steel produced by ArcelorMittal in France will contain up to 25% recycled steel.

Results: – 1 Mt of CO2 per year from the end of 2022 and Objective: – 2 Mt of CO2 in 2023

• Innovative DRI Project

The aim of this project is to replace the CO2 generatingblast furnace process with DRI (direct reduction of iron) by substituting coal with another reducing agent : natural gas at first then a natural gas/hydrogen mix.
With respect to this project, ArcelorMittal have joined forces with the territory’s stakeholders to transform the steel production process by developing innovative solutions using low-carbon hydrogen and CO2
capture technologies.
Objectives: – 4.6 Mt of CO2 per year by July 2026

ALUMINIUM DUNKERQUE

The electrification of processes and the elimination of single-use plastics are leading to a growing demand for aluminium. Because of its recyclable and lightweight properties, aluminium will be increasingly used in the automotive and transition sectors (solar panel constructions, batteries, etc.). In addition, Aluminium Dunkerque, which already emits 4 times less greenhouse gas than the world average for its sector, will increase its production while seeking to reduce its carbon emissions: – 30% in 2030 and – 70% in 2050.

• LOwCAL Project

A new smelting furnace – Recycling several thousand tonnes of aluminium and producing up to 20 kT of additional metal each year from 2025 will significantly reduce environmental impact (CO2 emissions and energy
consumption).

Objectives: – 10% CO2 emissions on average for in got production and 96 GWh of electricity consumption avoided per year from 2025

CAP DECARBONATION

“Cap Décarbonation” is the name of the shared carbon emissions reduction scheme bringing together three complementary projects: Stage 2 of the K6 Programme in the Lumbres cement factory, the CalCC project at the Réty lime production plant and the D’Artagnan project involving the CO2 transport pipelines and the terminal in the port of Dunkirk.

Five businesses are involved: Eqiom, Lhoist (Chaux et Dolomies du Boulonnais), Air Liquide France Industrie, Dunkerque LNG and RTE. The aim of the scheme is to capture the residual CO2 inevitably emitted by Eqiom and Lhoist in their industrial processes, purify it using AirLiquide’s CryocapTM technology and transport it via an 80 km-network of underground pipelines to a CO2 terminal (planned to be located close to the Dunkerque LNG liquefied natural gas terminal) in the port of Dunkirk. Stored temporarily, this CO2 could then be loaded onto suitable ships for dispatch to natural storage sinks in the North Sea.

Objectives of this shared initiative: – 1.5 M tonnes of CO2 per year

IMERYS

The Imerys factory in Dunkirk manufactures special binders (calcium aluminate cements) for the building chemistry and refractory markets. The site produces around 280 kT of clinker and 170 to 180 kT of cement per year. There are plans to expand the site to host new decarbonisation-related projects:

• AGGLO for raw materials diversification
• FIT (2nd evolution of the pilot project): a new furnace to reduce CO2
  emissions by using decarbonised raw materials and to develop the use of more sober energy sources (natural gas, hydrogen). In 2021 and 2022, two pilot testing phases were set up to check the key feasibility and sizing parameters of the future semiindustrial facility. Funding for the facility, which will produce more than 25,000 tonnes, will be approved at the beginning of 2024.

These two investments amount to a total of more than 40 million euros.

Result : The Dunkirk site could see a potential reduction of 13,000 tonnes of CO2 per year if the current production process is modified. The feasibility and funding for the project are currently being assessed. Furthermore, as part of the development of the FIT Project, an additional reduction of around 20,000 tonnes will be achieved at constant production
volumes.

DILLINGER FRANCE

Since 2013, Dillinger France has been working to improve its energy performance, implementing ISO 50001. The company has been taking actions to sustainably reduce its energy consumption such as applying a variablefrequency drive across almost all its electric motors, compressed air consumption optimisation, LED relamping of its workshops and offices, recovering heat from all the reheating furnaces and optimising minimum
consumption levels when plant is closed.

In 2021, Dillinger France was selected as the winner of the “Energy efficiency of industrial processes and utilities” call for projects for the renovation of a reheating furnace, helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 2,300 tonnes per year.

Other projects are under consideration, such as the integration of hydrogen into the natural gas being fed into its furnaces, or capturing part of the CO2 emissions for storage purposes.

BALL PACKAGING

• Heat recovery project, backed by the ADEME.

Objective: This project will help to save around 780 T of CO2 per year.

• Water consumption reduction between 2022 and
  2023 (first 6 months): 4% consumption reduction
  while producing 15% more.
• Energy consumption reduction (the bulk of the emissions).

Result : As a comparison, between 2022 and 2023 and the same period (Jan to June), the site reduced its emissions by 180 T of CO2 while producing 15% more.

COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS

CCEP’s objective: – 30% CO2 emissions by 2030 (compared to 2019).

On the Socx site:

• Reduced gas (CH4) consumption using a heat recovery network on 40 bar chillers and compressors
• Substitution of CO2 for nitrogen (N2G) in some of the, production processes.
  Result : Carbon footprint reduced by 15% across the site while increasing production capacities.
• Reduction of packaging weight and the distance products are transported, and soon a fleet of 100% electric forklift trucks.
• Under review with a consortium of industrialists : oxycombustion of heating plant burners with CO2 capture/filtration in the chimney.

KUBOTA FARM MACHINERY EUROPE

Kubota Farm Machinery Europe (KFM) is committed to an energy optimisation scheme in order to reduce its consumption :

• An energy meter plan for each piece of equipment with digital supervision (consumption monitoring across 13 pieces of equipment running on gas and 29 electric equipment boxes) which will raise an alarm in the event of a fault and help users understand which pieces of equipment are most energy-intensive and prioritise areas of improvement.
• Air flow from air treatment units is limited to the actual ventilation requirements. (Return on investment over 1.3 years).
• Paint reformulation to reduce the time it takes to dry parts.

CO2 recovery projects

(CCUS : Carbon Captur Utilisation and Storage)

ENGIE AND INFINIUM

• ReuZe Project

Reuze is a project that brings together two industrial leaders, ENGIE and Infinium, to transform carbon dioxide emissions into synthetic fuels for the air transport sector and the chemistry industry. 400 MW of electrolysis will produce green hydrogen which, combined with recycled CO2, will come together to make ultralow carbon kerosene and naphtha. These fuels will serve as a direct replacement for fossil fuels and help to decarbonise sectors that have few other alternatives. ReuZe’s fuels fit into existing supply chains, accelerating the energy transition while reducing costs. With co-products such as heat and green oxygen, ReuZe will also support the decarbonisation of Dunkirk’s industrialists.

CRITICAL POLYMERS

The goal of Critical Polymers is to contribute to the circular economy by way of plastic flows and generate opportunities for CO2 recovery: recycled plastic from critical CO2.

Critical Polymers’ process uses supercritical
(high pressure) CO2 as a solvent to decontaminate PVC-type plastics which cannot currently be recycled and also to improve their properties while operating in gentle, energy-efficient conditions.

Results: a reduction in “virgin” plastic production, a 66% reduction in the carbon footprint of plastic production.