UPDATE | APRIL 22, 2022

Earth Day

Launched in 1970 against a backdrop of burgeoning environmental consciousness, Earth Day was created to inspire, educate and motivate people on the issues that impact our planet and our health.

The initial Earth Day saw 20 million American people demonstrate against industry’s impact and unite to bring environmental issues into the spotlight. Since then, Earth Day has grown into a global movement, and now one billion people worldwide participate in driving positive environmental change.

Earth Day takes place on the 22nd of April. This year, the event focuses on the theme of Invest In Our Planet, a message that encourages innovation and bold action in the journey to restore our planet and ensure a brighter future.

Earth Day is an important day at Origen as we passionately believe in the movement’s mission and strive to actively drive positive environmental change by developing innovative new technologies. At present, we are working on cutting-edge solutions that will transform the lime industry and potentially remove billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Lime is an essential component in many products and processes, and currently, the production of lime results in around 400 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year. To address these emissions, Origen has developed an innovative new calciner technology-based lime kiln capable of creating zero-carbon lime (ZerCaL). The kiln separates the CO2 generated during the production process to be safely stored or used in other industries rather than being released into the atmosphere.

While eliminating the 400 million tonnes of CO2 associated with the lime industry annually will contribute to developing a more sustainable future, Origen’s ambitions are much more significant than this. The zero-carbon lime created by this new kiln technology also has the potential to collect billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere in a highly efficient process called direct air capture. When capturing emissions from the atmosphere, the ZerCaL returns to its original limestone form, which can then be processed by the kiln again, resulting in more carbon-catching ZerCaL. This breakthrough technology is being developed to offer the lime industry the opportunity to Invest In Our Planet and work with the goals of Earth Day to transform this sector radically.

The Origen team are celebrating Earth Day 2022 by visiting the revolutionary carbon-neutral lime kiln. The kiln, which is the first of its kind in the UK, is currently being built at the Singleton Birch site in Barnetby, North Lincolnshire and is scheduled for completion in June. The visit will allow the team to review the progress of the project and meet the on-site teams ahead of the launch as we prepare to deliver our innovative clean technology and start transforming the lime industry. By Earth Day 2023, we aim to have made further progress towards our direct air capture targets, enabling us to build a cleaner future and clean up the carbon dioxide emissions of the past.