Olympus carbon capture project breaks ground in Greece

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is a must for the future of the cement industry, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the launch ceremony for Heracles Group’s Olympus project.

It is one of the very first CCUS plants in Greece, valued at EUR 380 million. The unit in the group’s Milaki cement production complex in the island of Evia (Euboea) is expected to capture up to one million tons of CO2 annually. Emissions from the facility are expected to decrease to net zero by 2029. Heracles is part of Holcim Group.

Other industrial players also have plans to introduce CCUS.

Cement producer Titan Group is moving forward with a EUR 583 million investment in Boeotia (also Beotia and Viotia) called Ifestos. The carbon capture installation is scheduled for launch in December 2029. In its first year, it is expected to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by 1.9 million tons.

Motor Oil Hellas aims to install a unit in its Agioi Theodoroi oil refinery for a cost of EUR 300 million to EUR 400 million. The project is called IRIS – Innovative low caRbon hydrogen and methanol productIon by large Scale carbon capture. It is for the construction and operation of a CCUS and e-methanol production system that would cut the refinery’s CO2 emissions by a quarter.

Motor Oil and Titan have won grants from the European Union’s Innovation Fund.

“Support is needed to make these investments viable. Greece is at the forefront of convincing European institutions to provide it,” said Mitsotakis.

The companies’ executives discussed CCUS market developments this week in Athens with European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra.

Prinos CO2 project to store industrial carbon

Captured carbon from these industries would be transferred to the former underground oil deposit in Prinos, offshore Kavala, for storage. Energean is developing the site, aiming for an annual capacity of three million tons, which would be doubled in the second phase.

The first drilling in Prinos is expected in 2026. Energean’s subsidiary EnEarth has signed 15 memoranda of understanding with various Greek and foreign companies.

The facility would be able to store up to six million tons after the second phase is complete. The National Natural Gas System Operator (DESFA) is tasked with delivering the gas there, under a project called Apollo CO2.