Heidelberg Materials Benelux and Equinor ASA sign agreement ​
​

Brussels, April 28, 2025 – Heidelberg Materials and Equinor recently signed a Heads of Terms* (HoT) agreement. This is an important step in bringing the offshore pipeline “CO₂ Highway Europe” and the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project “Anthemis” which is planned to be located at the cement plant in Antoing, forward.

The CO₂ Highway Europe involves building a pipeline to transport CO₂ from Zeebrugge to a CO₂ storage facility under the seabed off the coast of Norway. This offers industrial sectors, for which it is a challenge to become carbon neutral, the possibility to move captured CO₂ to a safe and permanent storage place.

"Our plant in Antoing, which represents a leading example of low-carbon practices within Heidelberg Materials’ global network, is embarking on a CCS solution to achieve net-zero emissions. For Antoing and other plants of our Group in Western Europe, this energy- and cost-efficient pipeline project is of great importance," says Gunnar Ullrich, the General Manager designate of Heidelberg Materials Benelux.

For Equinor’s CO₂ Highway initiative, the HoT agreement with anchor customers like Heidelberg Materials is key. The CO₂ Highway will make it possible to unlock the largest potential in Europe for CO₂ storage located in Norway, while it lands on a strategical location in Zeebrugge offering an outlet for many industrial emitters.

In addition to this industry-to-industry collaboration, the realization of a CCS project relies on financial and regulatory support at both the local and European levels. To help bridge this gap, Heidelberg Materials Benelux is actively seeking public funding opportunities that can support a competitive and effective transition to a low-carbon future.

This HoT agreement is leveraging on the know-how, and relations built by the companies in the Longship project in Norway. Heidelberg Materials’ Norwegian cement plant in Brevik will start capturing CO₂ emissions and preparing them for subsequent transport to the Northern Lights facility, for which Equinor is the operator and one of the anchor shareholders, in the course of 2025.

PRESS CONTACT

Fredericq Peigneux – fredericq.peigneux@heidelbergmaterials.com - +32 475 87 23 81

^{About Anthemis}

^{Heidelberg Materials Benelux intends to equip its Antoing plant with an innovative carbon capture unit. Once operational, the installation will annually capture more than 800,000 tons of CO2.}

^{More info on the project: https://www.anthemis-ccs.com/en}

* A Heads of Terms is a non-binding document that serves as a preliminary framework for a partnership or transaction before a formal, legally binding contract is drawn up.