EQIOM (a CRH company) is launching the first phase of the K6 project to reduce CO2 emissions from the Lumbres cement plant (photo) in the Haut de France region. As part of this program, EQIOM will build a new, innovative clinker production line to significantly increase the thermal efficiency and accelerate the substitution of fossil fuels with alternative fuels (waste, biomass fuels, biogas), allowing EQIOM to achieve its objective of 80% substitution by 2027 and to capture the CO2 from the process by using Air Liquide’s CryocapTM technology. In April 2022, the K6 project received an EU Innovation Fund of about EUR 153.4m. The total project costs are EUR 255.6m. Start-up is planned for Q1 2028.