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Sumitomo SHI FW joins the ELECTRA project to decarbonize and electrify the cement, lime, and pulp industries

7 March 2025
  • Article

Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) has joined the ELECTRA project, an international 4-year initiative coordinated by VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd), involving 17 partners from across Europe and a total budget of €20 million euros. Funded by funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program, the project aims to revolutionize the cement, lime, and pulp industries by developing and validating electrically heated production processes.

The project seeks to replace traditional combustion methods with low-emission electricity, capable of reaching temperatures up to 2000°C. By doing so, the ELECTRA project aims to virtually eliminate carbon emissions from these crucial sectors, marking a significant shift towards a more sustainable industrial future.
At the core of the project is the development of a fully electrified cement production plant, including a CFB-based calciner and its scale-up to commercial size. The goal is to advance these technologies to pilot-scale implementation.

As a world leader in fluidized bed boiler technology, SFW plays an important role in the ELECTRA project. SFW is developing solutions for the electrified fluidized bed calciner. This involves scaling up the technology for commercial applications and creating business plans for new products. Furthermore, SFW provides central technical expertise and information to the project, provides feedback, and offers guidance on the necessary test procedures.

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In the ELECTRA project, our role at SFW is to develop solutions for the electrified fluidised bed calciner and technology scale-up for commercial applications as well as create business plans for new products. One of the project's work packages focuses on electrified fluidized bed technologies, with regular team meetings
Ari Kettunen
SFW’s R&D department

The project also focuses on capturing carbon dioxide emissions efficiently and at low costs, resulting in over 90% total CO2 reduction and even enabling negative CO2 emissions across the targeted industries. This is achieved through the innovative use of low-emission electricity to decompose calcium carbonate and capture the resulting carbon dioxide emissions. The modular and scalable platform-based solutions developed by ELECTRA can be seamlessly integrated into both new and existing installations, accelerating electrification efforts by up to five years.

Overall, the ELECTRA project sets the stage for a more sustainable industrial revolution by significantly reducing fossil fuel use and lowering CO2 emissions in Europe. With the combined efforts of its partners, including SFW, the project aims to drive progress swiftly and efficiently, paving the way for a decarbonized world. The project will be completed in December 2027.

 

Read more about the ELECTRA project:

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The ELECTRA project partners: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Heidelberg Materials Cement Sverige AB, Lhoist, Stora Enso ABB, Humboldt Wedag GmbH, Universiteit i Sorost-Norge, SINTEF AS, Chalmers Tekniska Högskola, Umeå Universitet, ANDRITZ Oy, Kanthal AB, ABB (ABB Oy and ABB Schweiz AG), Sumitomo SHI FW Energia Oy, Advanced Minerals and Recycling Industrial Solutions I.K.E., Innovation Engineering SRL and Suite5 - Data Intelligence Solutions Limited.