Ceramics Industry
PRICES OF CO₂ EMISSION RIGHTS ON THE RISE

Corporate
SECOND WAVE COVID-19: HOME OFFICE AND SAFETY AT BERALMAR

News and Accomplishments
ORDER OF FIRING EQUIPMENT FOR SYNTHESIS GAS

The price of the emission right for a ton of CO₂ in Europe fluctuates in a free market, where the issuing companies sell or acquire rights based on the volume of assigned rights versus the real needs, and the year began with a price around the € 24.

After the decline in industrial activity in Europe starting in March, as a result of the onset of the pandemic, the price of the emission right for one ton of CO₂ fell below € 20, at the beginning of autumn already moved above € 26, despite industrial activity had not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, and in fact it has already reached € 30 on some specific dates:

This evolution seems to confirm what many experts predicted at the beginning of the year: the regulation of the emission rights market combined with the European directives point to a stabilized emission right price above € 30. This will take place sooner or later depending on the times of the end of the pandemic.

With a scenario of emission rights prices moving between € 30 and € 40 in the short-medium term, it is necessary for the ceramic industry to accelerate its plans to face the challenge of reducing emissions and not only reducing them as an intrinsic objective, but also with income statements in mind.

The second wave has been a reality for a few weeks throughout Europe and BERALMAR has had to adapt again to face it.

The restrictions have little to do with what was experienced in the second quarter of the year, as society knows better the dynamics of the pandemic and it is known that the main means of transmission are aerosols in closed and non-ventilated spaces, so that the measures remain social distance, ventilation of spaces and the use of masks.

For this reason, BERALMAR has once again implemented home office for all employees who can, and has maximized safety and hygiene measures at the company's headquarters.

The goal is not to interrupt the productivity of the organization at all, especially in a time of high workload like nowadays.

More than ever, BERALMAR remains 100% active and safe!

BERALMAR is working on a very significant order: the supply of dual firing equipment that can work with both natural gas and synthesis gas.

The project includes a modular gasification system supplied by NAODEN, a French manufacturer specialized in these technologies.

The equipment is destined for a BOUYER LEROUX group factory in north-western France, which has made a courageous commitment to this technology when facing the challenge posed by the imperative need to significantly reduce the volume of CO₂ emissions.
 

Synthesis gas, also known as syngas, is a gas obtained from the anaerobic combustion of organic waste (biomass in this case) in a pyro-gasification reactor. Despite its low caloric intake, of just over 1,000 kcal/m3, it can be used perfectly with high-speed burners for the preheating zone, such as those developed by BERALMAR for this project.

All the burners are dual so that it is possible to change fuel and switch to consuming natural gas from the network in case the gasification reactor needs to be stopped for maintenance.

The syngas obtained from biomass is an energy source that computes as neutral when calculating CO2 emissions, so this bet by BOUYER LEROUX is one of the ways in the right direction to replace the consumption of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, despite not being the only one. BERALMAR has different solutions to reduce CO2 emissions both in the firing and drying processes.

This new BOUYER LEROUX firing facility will be commissioned in spring 2021.