Holcim has taken an equity stake in Norwegian carbon capture company Capsol Technologies as part of its broader decarbonisation strategy for cement production. The investment, announced in January 2026, was made through Holcim’s corporate venture arm MAQER Ventures and forms part of a private placement raising up to NOK45m. Capsol develops post combustion capture systems using hot potassium carbonate solvent technology, which operates at higher temperatures than amine based alternatives and aims to reduce solvent degradation, corrosion, and operational complexity.
The technology adapts industrial gas treatment chemistry long used in hydrogen and ammonia production and integrates solvent absorption with heat recovery from cement processes. Capsol’s commercial model includes its mobile CapsolGo demonstration unit, allowing producers to test capture performance on live flue gas before committing capital. Holcim and Capsol completed such a campaign at the Dotternhausen plant in Germany during 2025. While post combustion capture can be retrofitted to existing kilns, no permanent HPC based systems operate commercially in cement today, indicating the approach remains pre commercial despite growing industry interest. The option appeals where full kiln replacement or oxyfuel conversion is impractical, enabling incremental deployment aligned with developing carbon transport and storage infrastructure planning and phased investment decisions globally.
Why it matters
The investment highlights how cement producers are evaluating retrofit carbon capture technologies while balancing decarbonisation ambitions against technical maturity and capital risk.
Source Attribution
Source: Capsol Technologies
