The pilot plant of the “CLEANKER” project was inaugurated at the Buzzi Unicem plant in Vernasca. The aim of this project is to show a technology for capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) in cement plants.

After three intense years of work and planning, we have finally reached the crucial stage: the testing in an industrial environment to demonstrate the applicability of Calcium Looping technology to the cement industry in order to capture the carbon dioxide released during the production process. The experimental campaigns will be carried out in a manner typical of research projects: there will be "short" and "long" tests to be carried out over a period of about ten months for effective operation of a maximum of one month. Between one test and another, a variable time will elapse, functional to the analysis of the data collected in the previous campaign to better adjust the operating parameters of the next one.

Thanks to the CLEANKER project (CLEAN- clinKER) it will be possible to estimate the changes and investments needed for the existing cement plants and their operating costs, in order to also evaluate the economic sustainability of the CO₂ capturing technology.

During the morning, several speakers took to the podium, addressing the following topics: "CCUS - CO₂ Capture, Utilization and Storage - a technological challenge and an opportunity for the industrial world" by Stefano Consonni, LEAP President; "CCUS in the cement industry" with Luigi Buzzi, Group Technical Director; "CLEANKER: technology, experimentation and future prospects" by Matteo Romano of the Milan Polytechnic; "CLEANKER: technological successes achieved" with Giovanni Cinti and Guido Pellegrino of Italcementi; and "The European, national and regional vision for fighting climate change" by the speakers Riccardo Basosi, Marcello Capra, Attilio Raimondi and Sandro Fuzzi.

The meeting was also attended by the Mayor of Vernasca, Giuseppe Sidoli, who spent words of appreciation for all the partners involved in this important innovation project.

The event was covered by the local media with the intent to make the local community better understand the value of this research activity. Fabio Lunardini, journalist for the newspaper Libertà, interviewed Cemento Italia COO Antonio Buzzi and Prof. Stefano Consonni.

The meeting, in which over 50 people participated, ended with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the inauguration of the plant.