Synhelion, Cemex to build solar-driven industrial-size pilot cement plant

Mexican building materials maker Cemex SAB de CV (BMV:CEMEXCPO) and Swiss solar fuels developer Synhelion are ready to start production of solar-fueled cement at industrially-viable levels, after successfully producing a small batch of clinker in a pilot project.

The companies announced on Thursday that they are scaling their technology to allow for a continuous production of clinker using only high-temperature solar process heat.

Building on their earlier achievements, Synhelion and Cemex will move forward with the establishment of a solar-driven industrial-scale pilot cement plant, they said.

The most energy-intensive part of cement manufacturing, clinker is produced in a rotary kiln at temperatures nearing 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,732 F). The fossil fuel-based heating method has been the industry norm, but Synhelion has developed a technology that can generate process heat beyond 1,500 degrees Celsius with concentrated solar radiation.

The collaboration between Cemex and Synhelion has garnered recognition from the US Department of Energy, which awarded USD 3.2 million (EUR 2.9m) for their solar clinker research project with Sandia National Laboratories.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.914)

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