DOWNLOAD THE MINING EXECUTIVE APP NOW
"Global Mining Descisions in Your Palms"
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – At its Capital Markets Day held in Copenhagen, FLSmidth recently launched MissionZero, a new sustainability programme aimed at significantly reducing emissions across the global cement and mining industries by 2030.
“With economic growth, urbanisation and growing populations comes the demand for infrastructure, such as housing, schools, hospitals and roads. Added to this, modern conveniences such as air conditioning, appliances and smartphones are high in demand, and renewable energy options such as electric cars, wind and solar energy are looked to as the future. All of that requires cement and minerals, and demand will only continue to rise. Today, we launch MissionZero to seize the opportunity to increase production and at the same time drive emissions towards zero,” said Thomas Schulz, Group CEO, FLSmidth.
Central to MissionZero is FLSmidth’s focus on enabling its customers in cement and mining to move towards zero emissions in 2030. The company will do so by leveraging the development of digital and innovative solutions tied to sustainable productivity, offering its customers the required technological solutions to:
- operate zero emissions cement plants by 2030
- manage zero emissions mining processes by 2030 – with specific focus on water management
Towards zero emissions in cement
FLSmidth estimates that it can reduce the CO2 emissions per kg cement by approximately 70% by 2030 by leveraging opportunities within existing pioneering technologies, innovation projects and early-stage R&D. To achieve this, FLSmidth is developing solutions such as blending clinker with alternative materials, exploring the use of new types of cements and providing solutions to cement producers to operate 100% alternative fuelled cement plants including waste-to-energy solutions.
In addition, FLSmidth will accelerate solutions to close the remaining gap (30%). As these solutions do not exist today, FLSmidth will actively seek knowledge partnerships with other companies and suppliers to co-create solutions.
Towards a waterless mining process
Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the world and represents a rising cost for FLSmidth’s mining customers. The company has set a goal to offer its customers solutions that support zero water waste by 2030, building on the success of recent developments, such as its dry-stack tailings solution (DST). Utilising DST can recover up to 95% of process water while being economically competitive with alternative water management options such as desalination, even for high tonnages.
Ambitious goals require collaborative efforts
”With MissionZero, we commit to our most ambitious goals to date. We are doing it because it is necessary, because it is sound business, and because it provides us with a competitive edge. We are the go-to-partner for sustainable productivity, and are perfectly positioned to address the challenges our customers face such as rising costs, tighter regulations and increased societal expectations. MissionZero goes beyond what is feasible today, and requires a paradigm shift in how industry players collaborate and innovate. As a leader in the cement and mining industries, we have a responsibility to accelerate the adoption of sustainable solutions,” said Thomas Schulz.
Underlining its commitment to drive sustainable solutions, FLSmidth was among the first companies to join the GCCA’s Innovandi – Global Cement and Concrete Research Network. This new network brings together the cement and concrete industry with scientific institutions to drive and support global innovation with actionable research. Its aims to decisively build on the industry’s sustainability progress with the focus on reducing emissions and achieving better use of alternative fuels.
|
MissionZero by FLSmidth Accelerating solutions to reduce emissions in cement and mining by 2030 |
|
|
Goals for Cement FLSmidth will develop solutions that will enable our customers to operate cement plants with:
|
Goals for Mining FLSmidth will develop solutions that will enable our customers to manage mining processes with:
|
Facts on “Mission Zero”
Today
• Cement production is the source of 7% of all CO2 emissions in the world (International Energy Agency and World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
• In 2017 (most current data), production of one tonne of cement led to the emission of 0,6 tonne CO2 (Global Cement and Concrete Association line 71AWGct)
• In Chile, for instance, the average amount of water used in mining in 2014 was 5.6 litres per second per kilotonne of copper, corresponding to 175m3 of water per ton of copper (Morgan Stanley)
History and projections
• In the past 20 years, the global consumption of cement has increased 278 % (FLSmidth Annual Report 2018 pg. 14, taken from Bloomberg and the Global Cement Report)
• In the past 20 years, the global consumption of copper – used in electrical equipment, for instance – has increased 185% (FLSmidth Annual Report 2018 pg. 13, taken from Bloomberg)
• Growth in global demand for water is set to exceed supply by 40% by 2030, and structural shifts such as a change in the targeted geology (lower grades and rising sulphide content) demand more water intensive processes (Morgan Stanley)
• As the global population rises and urbanization grows, global CO2 emissions from the cement industry are projected to increase 4% by 2050 (International Energy Agency and World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
• To meet the 2 degree scenario of the Paris Climate Agreement, emissions need to be reduced by 24% by 2050, while cement production increases by 12–23% (International Energy Agency and World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
• The tonnes of ore needed to produce a tonne of copper will increase by 17% between 2014 and 2020 (projected) requiring increasing amounts of energy for each tonne of copper produced (Morgan Stanley)
• The world population is expected to increase from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 8.5 billion in 2030 (UNDESA)
• Global GDP possibly doubling by 2030 (OECD)
• In 2016, an estimated 54.5% of the world’s population lived in urban settlements. By 2030, urban areas are projected to house 60% of the global population and one in every three persons will live in cities with at least half a million inhabitants (UNDESA)
• This implies that 54.5% * 7.7 billion people = 4.2 billion people live in cities today. By 2030, 60% * 8.5 billion people = 5.1 billion people will live in cities. This means the number of people living in urban areas will increase by 900 million.
• By 2030, the global middle class is expected to reach 5.3 billion people. This means an additional more than 2 billion people with increased purchasing power than today (European Commission)
• The global need for infrastructure between 2010 and 2030 is estimated to cost USD 53 trillion (OECD)
Solutions – some examples
• In cement, one of the key solutions to reducing emissions is to substitute the clinker, its main component, with other cementitious materials that have a lower carbon footprint while maintaining th
e quality.
• Technology and policy solutions could provide a pathway to reducing CO2 emissions in the cement industry by 24% below current levels by 2050 (International Energy Agency and World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
• In mining, a water-intensive industry, accelerating the roll-out of dry stack solutions is a major step in creating a waterless mine while drastically reducing the issue of tailing dam failures which is a major safety risks for local communities.
Today, FLSmidth is offering a variety of products and services that support the reduction of emissions, including CO2 and water consumption. But in order to deliver on Mission Zero, further innovation and technological development is needed – in close co-operation with the partners and customers within the cement and mining industries