Ulm, 29.02.2024: Together with plant manufacturer thyssenkrupp Polysius, SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG has presented a groundbreaking innovation for the activation of clays without fossil fuels. The new process “meca-clay” was first presented in December 2023 at the FutureCEM Conference and Exhibition in Brussels and is now set to be used on an industrial scale for the first time worldwide at SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG’s Allmendingen cement plant.

The foundations for the industrial scaling of the technology were established at the pilot plant of SCHWENK subsidiary Celitement at the Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen site. Since 2021, a so-called high-energy stirred ball mill has been in operation there, enabling the mechanochemical activation of raw materials on a semi-industrial scale.

Until now, the firing processes for producing reactive cement components have required very high temperatures to convert raw materials into a reactive state. Within the framework of meca-clay, it has been achieved for the first time to raise or “charge” the “internal energy” of clay-containing raw materials, which are available in sufficient quantities regionally, to such a degree that they can replace cement clinker at very high proportions. Up to 70% of the thermal CO₂ emissions from drying and clay calcination can thus be avoided—a significant step toward climate neutrality in the construction materials industry.

Dr. Hendrik Möller, Member of the Management Board of SCHWENK Germany and Managing Director of Celitement GmbH & Co. KG: “The meca-clay project demonstrates how quickly and successfully even technologically demanding projects can be implemented when cement manufacturers and plant builders cooperate as partners. With industrial mechanochemical activation, we now also have an emerging and innovative technological approach in the construction materials sector to explore the chemical, mineralogical, and physical knowledge base of building materials in a completely new way, while opening up viable new business fields for the future.”

Construction of the first industrial facility using the new process at SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG’s Allmendingen cement plant is set to begin as early as 2024. “We are very pleased to be pioneers of this groundbreaking technology at the Allmendingen site and to set new standards in terms of innovation, climate friendliness, and quality in the construction materials industry,” said Manfred Pirker, Member of the Management Board of SCHWENK Germany, Plant Management Southern Plant Group.

Contract signing at SCHWENK headquarters on 28.02.2024 (l. to r. Oliver Claassen (thyssenkrupp Polysius GmbH), Dr. Luc Rudowski (thyssenkrupp Polysius GmbH), Thomas Spannagl (SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG), Dr. Hendrik Möller (SCHWENK Zement GmbH & Co. KG))