The CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, and the CEO of Votorantim Cimentos in Spain, Alan Svaiter, together with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Carbon Solutions of Votorantim Cimentos Europe, Asia and Africa, Günther Smetana, have signed an agreement to jointly develop projects for sustainable CO2 management from their respective areas of activity.
From left to right: the Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Carbon Solutions of Votorantim Cimentos Europe, Asia and Africa, Günther Smetana; the CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo; and the CEO of Votorantim Cimentos in Spain, Alan Svaiter, at the agreement signed at the Enagás headquarters.
Votorantim Cimentos will develop CO2 capture technologies in its cement plants and Enagás will study solutions for its transport, liquefaction, storage and loading onto vessels at its regasification terminals, located in the area of influence of Votorantim Cimentos' plants.
The Enagás CEO Arturo Gonzalo highlighted that "Enagás and Votorantim Cimentos have clear synergies to jointly advance in their commitments to reduce their carbon footprint and, based on the knowledge of their areas of activity, they have the opportunity to take the initiative to develop more effective sustainable CO2management technologies, which will be key to achieving the decarbonisation objectives in Spain and in Europe".
In the words of the CEO of Votorantim Cimentos in Spain, Alan Svaiter, "the development of logistics infrastructures for the transport and storage of CO2 in Spain is essential for the decarbonisation of our activity and to achieve our goal of climate neutrality by 2050".
Under the terms of the agreement, Enagás and Votorantim Cimentos will study the possibility of jointly participating in European funding application processes, such as Innovation Funds and Projects of Common Interest (PCI), to explore future synergies.
The reduction of CO2 emissions and their transport is of growing interest in Spain. The results of Enagás' non-binding Call for Interest process, presented at the Second Hydrogen Day in January 2024, identified a total of 37 companies interested in CO2 capture — to reduce a total of 10.4 million tonnes per year (Mt/year) — and 53 companies interested in having infrastructure for its transport and storage.
