Sydney, Australia | 19th May, 2022 – Australian environmental technology company Calix
Limited (ASX:CXL) (“Calix” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a
$11m grant from the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (“CCUS”)
Hubs and Technologies Program to develop the world’s first commercial-scale process for the
manufacture of low emissions lime with Adbri (ASX:ABC).
Highlights:
• Calix to receive $11m to develop a low emissions lime kiln with key project partner
Adbri, as well as CarbonTP and the Heavy Industry Low Emissions Technology CoOperative Research Centre (“HILT CRC”).
• The project will be located at Kwinana, Western Australia and provide low emissions
lime for alumina, gold, and other industries across Western Australia.
• The plant will use Calix’s Low Emissions Intensity Lime and Cement (“LEILAC”)
technology to demonstrate the use of renewable power and grid load balancing, assess
alternative energy sources such as hydrogen, and the efficient capture of CO2 process
emissions.
• Captured CO2 is planned to be provided to the proposed South West Hub Carbon
Capture and Storage (“CCS”) project.
The project, undertaken by Calix in collaboration with key partner Adbri, will help accelerate
Calix’s LEILAC technology by building and operating the world’s first commercial-scale
process for the manufacture of low emissions lime. The proposed plant, at Kwinana, WA, will;
(i) produce lime using renewable power,
(ii) demonstrate grid load balancing by flexibly operating only during peak renewable
electricity production / low electricity cost periods,
(iii) assess alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and alternative fuels, and
(iv) capture the CO2 emitted from the process.
Once the proposed South West Hub CCS project is operational, CO2 can be fed into the
system for permanent storage, creating truly zero emissions lime.
The project objectives are aligned with the Government’s Technology Roadmap to reach net
zero emissions by 2050 and to lower the cost of CCS to less than $20/tonne. The use of low
emissions lime will be directed to the trade-exposed alumina, nickel, rare-earth and gold
producers to reduce the embodied emissions of their products.
With the $11m in funding secured from the Australian Government, Calix and Adbri will now
proceed with the next stages of the project under the Heads of Agreement announced in March
2021, including the finalisation of commercial terms and further technical work.
Calix and Adbri anticipate undertaking a feasibility study for the project followed by a front-end
engineering and design phase. The plant construction and demonstration is expected to
include raw material feedstock contributed by Adbri and would test multiple fuel and energy
options including natural gas, hydrogen and renewable electricity with load switching.
Calix Managing Director and CEO Phil Hodgson said:
“A few years ago, I doubted a world-first commercial scale application of our technology would
have been built in Australia, and as a result our efforts were concentrated offshore. However,
with the support of the Federal Government and the Technology Investment Roadmap, the
HILT-CRC, and companies such as Adbri, who are now starting to lead low emissions efforts,
it is now a reality. I am proud our first commercial scale lime kiln is being developed here in
Australia, creating local jobs, utilising and developing local talent, and helping to future-proof
our vital local manufacturing sector.”
Adbri Managing Director and CEO Nick Miller said:
“We welcome the Federal Government’s support as part of its Technology Investment
Roadmap. The funding commitment represents a significant milestone in our collaboration with
Calix to develop carbon capture and storage technology to reduce emissions from lime
production.
“As a leading Australian producer of lime aspiring to be net zero by 2050, we recognise it is a
difficult manufacturing process to abate. Transformative technology-led partnerships like this
one with Calix form a key part of our own pathway to net zero by 2050, reducing our emissions
profile while supporting the decarbonisation of our end-market customers in the alumina, gold
and rare-earths sector.”
HILT-CRC CEO, Felicity Lloyd said:
“This project is an important step in demonstrating pathways to reduce the emissions of CO2
from heavy industry for lime, and then cement. The major sectors of aluminium and steel are
users of lime, and the project will be of direct interest to them in better understanding how to
reduce the emissions intensity of their products. Calix technology is also applicable to the
green alumina and steel manufacturing process, so this project will build capacity and knowhow to support such future opportunities.”
This announcement has been authorised for release to the ASX by:-
Phil Hodgson
Managing Director and CEO
Calix Limited
9-11 Bridge Street
Pymble
NSW 2073
Ph +61 2 8199 7400
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