Italcer: European Commission approves CO₂ removal plant

The first pilot plant will be built by Italcer in Sassuolo with a €6 million investment, with a further €50 million investment planned over the next five years.

The Italcer Group of Rubiera (Reggio Emilia) has achieved another significant milestone in terms of sustainability. The system it patented last year for capturing and transforming CO₂ emitted by production processes has been approved by the expert examiners of the European Commission’s LIFE Climate Action subprogramme, the funding instrument for environmental and climate action projects. The project received 69 points, well above the required threshold of 55 points.

This innovative patent, developed over two years of research and a €2 million investment, is the first industrial-scale solution capable of not only eliminating CO₂ and other atmospheric pollutants from industrial production processes but also transforming them into value-added secondary raw materials. These include precipitated calcium carbonate, calcium nitrate, calcium sulphate and calcium sulphite, high-value raw materials with applications across a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and agriculture. The environmental benefit is twofold, as the system also reduces emissions associated with the production of these raw materials compared to traditional methods.

The next step for Italcer is the construction of the first pilot plant at Spray Dry in Sassuolo, which will begin as soon as the approximately €6 million funding from the LIFE Climate Action sub-programme is approved. According to estimates, the plant will not only eliminate the 5,500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year currently produced, along with other flue gases, but will also save an additional 3,700 tonnes of CO₂ annually through the production of precipitated calcium carbonate as a by-product.

In the medium term, Italcer has already outlined how the project could evolve to complement ceramic production.

The Group’s CEO Graziano Verdi explains:

“We plan to invest another €50 million over five years to build an industrial-scale plant, which we estimate will generate an additional €80 million in revenue over the next seven years thanks to the application of this patent, considering both the sale of secondary raw materials and tax savings on CO₂.”

As Italcer’s CEO notes, the European Commission’s approval provides further confirmation of the company’s commitment to sustainability and the decarbonisation of production processes, a journey that last year saw two other key milestones: the launch of the first 100% electric kiln at its Spanish facility, which saves 1,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year, and winning first place in the Sustainability Award among Italian companies.

“Italcer Group’s environmental strategy is based on a realistic approach to decarbonising production processes,” Verdi adds. “We are also strongly committed to advancing the circular economy by reusing production waste and transforming it into raw materials for other industrial applications.”

From a technical standpoint, the innovative process developed by Italcer with the support of Prof. Isidoro Giorgio Lesci offers additional environmental advantages. First, it has a very low energy impact, as it exploits spontaneous exothermic reactions that reduce energy consumption and improve overall efficiency. Second, the system integrates Industry 4.0 solutions, ensuring constant, automated production control and a positive environmental impact.

Furthermore, the system’s unique design makes it applicable to multiple industries that currently use fossil fuels, including the food and automotive sectors. This makes the patented technology scalable and highly transformative.

The Italcer Group, a benefit corporation owned by Mindful Capital Partners, Miura Partners, and Capital Dynamics, closed 2024 with revenues of approximately €350 million and expects to post a turnover of around €380 million in 2025. It employs over 1,100 people and operates under high-end ceramic brands including Fondovalle, La Fabbrica-AVA, Elios Ceramica, Devon&Devon, Ceramica Rondine, Bottega, Equipe Cerámicas, Opificio Ceramico and Terratinta.