Košice, 12 October 2022 - Today, Carmeuse Slovakia inaugurated three new lime kilns at its Košice lime plant. These kilns are the most efficient kilns existing today and represent one of the most important investments by Carmeuse in Europe in recent years. As a result, all lime plants of Carmeuse in the European region now contain Best Available Technology. This is a clear milestone in the quest of the Carmeuse Group to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and a reinforcement of our strategic relationship with one of our most important customers in Europe, U.S. Steel. With this investment, 60.000 tons of CO2 are avoided on a yearly basis.
The three new lime kilns, replacing the older, less efficient kilns, were developed in-house by Carmeuse’s subsidiary TECforLime and are the most energy efficient kilns that exist today. This reduces the carbon footprint of the Košice site with 60.000 tons of CO2 per year. The kilns are also equipped to use multiple types of fuels, allowing maximum fuel flexibility. The kilns will be used to supply our main customer U.S. Steel Košice allowing them to use a less CO2 intensive lime product.
This investment forms part of Carmeuse’s global CO2 roadmap which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050. This roadmap focuses on energy efficiency, use of alternative fuels for combustion, development of carbon capture technology and reducing the carbon footprint of our customers. Providing low carbon lime eventually benefits the carbon footprint of our customers.
Carmeuse was delighted to welcome, at the occasion of this inauguration, Mrs. Kaprálová, General Purchasing Manager of U.S. Steel, the Belgian ambassador to Slovakia, Mrs. Caroline Vermeulen and Mr. Rastislav Trnka, Head of the Kosice region and other distinguished guests.
Lenka Kis-Bodnárová, Area Manager Carmeuse Slovakia: “I’m extremely proud of this achievement. The construction, which took two years, has been very challenging, especially during the Covid period. Despite this difficult situation, the construction went smoothly, and more importantly, without any accidents. As a result, our lime product has a substantially lower carbon footprint, which has a positive effect on the products of our main customer U.S. Steel”.
Tim Van den Bossche, CEO Carmeuse Europe: “We have invested heavily in these kilns, with a very clear purpose: to reduce our carbon footprint and that of our customers. This investment will reinforce our strategic partnership with U.S. Steel Košice, one of our biggest customers in Europe, and will result in a lower footprint for their products.”
Mrs. Kaprálová, General Purchasing Manager of U.S. Steel Košice: “We really appreciate this strategic investment by Carmeuse. Reducing our carbon footprint is also a priority for us, and as lime is an important element for our steel products, reducing its footprint helps reducing ours. Congratulations to the Carmeuse team for this achievement and I’m looking forward to our continued cooperation. “
