OLYMPUS carbon capture project
OLYMPUS is a flagship project in Holcim’s European decarbonization roadmap. It will lead to the development of storage capacity in southern Europe. It uses a highly innovative technology combination that merges OxyCalciner and Cryocap™ FG.
With a target operational date of 2029, the project aims to produce 2 million tons of near-zero cement per year. The project was selected for a grant from the EU Innovation Fund.
GROUNDBREAKING EVENT
With a groundbreaking ceremony held on May 29, 2025 at our Milaki plant in Greece, Holcim officially kicked off its OLYMPUS project.
Through a planned investment of over EUR 400 million, the OLYMPUS project will put innovation to work to advance Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal.
The ceremony was attended by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece and Stefan Estermann, Swiss Ambassador to Greece.
“Holcim is on course to make near-zero cement and concrete a reality at scale this decade, as the leading partner for sustainable construction. The OLYMPUS project in Greece is one of our seven large-scale, European Union-supported carbon capture, utilization and storage projects that are setting the Clean Industrial Deal in motion. Together, these will enable Holcim to offer over 8 million tons of near-zero cement each year across Europe by 2030.”
“This is a project of strategic importance, a project made possible thanks to the combination of private funding from the parent company — and we thank you for the trust you place in our country — as well as significant European funding. And surely, this investment did not receive the name of the legendary OLYMPUS by chance. We are talking about an investment of nearly EUR 400 million, of which EUR 125 million are European funds. But, of course, I would say that the most important aspect is the creation of well-paid jobs: more than 1,000 new positions during the construction phase alone, and an additional 100 jobs during the operational phase. I would say this is the social footprint left by the advancement of industry in our country.”
Image gallery
From left to right: Dimitris Chanis, CEO Holcim Greece; Miljan Gutovic, CEO Holcim Group; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece
Evi Ioannidou, Head of Communications & Public Affairs, Holcim Greece
Stefan Estermann, Swiss Ambassador to Greece
Miljan Gutovic, CEO, Holcim Group
Nikolaos Bozos, Project Manager for OLYMPUS
Dimitris Chanis, CEO Holcim Greece
Olympus at a glance
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| Operational by 2029 | Image
| OxyCalciner and CryocapTM FG | |
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| 1 million tons CO2 captured annually | Image
| EU Innovation Grant funding | |
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| New scalable and replicable technology for a more sustainable CO₂ capture process | Image
| Storage pathway |
The technology behind the project
The combination of OxyCalciner and Cryocap™ FG is a novel technology that will enable low capture variable cost. Through this project, Holcim will transform the Milaki cement plant into a net carbon removal site.
It uses OxyCalciner technology to capture CO₂ from the flue gas of the Milaki cement plant. The captured CO₂ will then be transported to the Cryocap plant to be liquefied and stored.
The Cryocap™ FG technology by Air Liquide captures and purifies CO₂ from flue gas through oxycombustion processes. It has a CO₂ capture rate of 98%. This technology can manage impurities, particularly high levels of nitrogen oxides, to ensure the quality and safety of the captured CO₂.
With our innovative OLYMPUS project, we are contributing to the decarbonization of our industry, leading the way towards a net-zero future in Greece and Europe.
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