Capturing Carbon

Unite has visited a sustainable cement plant in north Wales to see how the construction materials of the future will be produced. 

Unite reps at the Padeswood cement plant in Mold, Wales this week organised a visit for Unite Construction Officers and the TUC to the site of a new carbon capture and storage (CCS) plant – and find out more about how it will produce sustainable cement.

The development by Heidelberg Materials UK will be the world’s first carbon capture facility to enable fully decarbonised cement production, and the company says that “Once operational, the facility will produce evoZero carbon-captured near zero cement and act as a global exemplar for sustainable cement production.”

Cement is an essential construction material but its production is carbon intensive. Most of the emissions produced are from the chemical reactions that occur during cement making, so cannot be reduced using low carbon or renewable energy sources. 

The only way to produce cement without emitting large amounts of carbon, is to capture and store emissions before they enter the atmosphere, meaning the development of CCS plants, like the one being constructed at Padeswood, are vital.

Unite reps Mark Lamb and Craig Scragg arranged the site visit, which was hosted by Gareth Price and Simon Willis from Heidelberg Materials, at the Padeswood cement plant in north Wales. 

Unite national officers Adam Oakes and Jason Poulter were joined by TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak for the visit.

Adam said, “It was really interesting to visit the site and find out more about the Padeswood project. This demonstrates how the construction products sector is rising to the challenges of Net Zero and developing the low carbon materials the building sector will need over the coming years.

“This project will create 200 plus jobs in construction for the plant and 500 for the HyNet pipeline to Liverpool, allowing the company to produce co2 free cement, protecting our members jobs and creating 50 new ones.”

Jason added that, “Unite officers have also raised the possibility of the new plant being built under national construction agreements with the Construction Industry Joint Council and NAECI (the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry).”

Following the visit Paul Nowak said on social media that it was a “Fascinating visit to Heidelberg Materials site at Padeswood where they’re developing the first commercial carbon capture plant in the UK, designed to deliver net zero cement.

“A vital element in making sure the next wave of UK infrastructure is carbon-free.” 

Unite’s Construction Products forum is currently developing a joint campaign with the TUC that will be launched in Parliament in September.

Adam explained that representatives on the forum have developed a campaign to promote the use of British made construction products, in housing building and infrastructure.

“The campaign sets out to grow the industry, prevent the continued undercutting of our members’ jobs by cheap imports, as well as putting in place an organising plan to map and grow membership in the sector.

“At the same time as our campaign was developing, we became aware that the TUC were also looking at a similar intervention, it was felt by the representatives that we should ensure Unite was leading on this and that the TUC campaign was based on the needs of our members.”

Unite has now been able to ensure the union is at the heart of this exciting new campaign. As well as the Parliamentary launch, is involved with, and speaking at, a Fringe event at the Labour conference in Liverpool.

Keep following Unite Live for more information as this campaign develops.

By Keith Hatch