Akçansa adds H2/O2 to its 2025 low-carbon kiln agenda

Türkiye reads innovation through the kiln

Akçansa’s 2025 Integrated Annual Report sends a relevant signal for Turkish cement: decarbonisation is no longer framed only as a product portfolio, but also as a process technology agenda. The R&D and Innovation section, published on the group’s corporate site on 30 June 2026, lists work on low-carbon production technologies, waste valorisation, alternative materials and research into the use of hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel mix.

That matters because Akçansa operates in a market where energy cost, cement performance and climate pressure converge at the same point: the kiln. Rather than presenting a single bet, the report shows a portfolio that links product innovation, circularity and energy.

From RDF to an H2/O2 portfolio

Akçansa’s agenda includes a 10-year strategic partnership for an RDF facility with annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes; the company targets 130 thousand tonnes of CO2 savings from the fuel produced. It also reports calcined clay pilot trials at Ladik and Çanakkale, with 7% clay feeding during clinker cooling and a target of 20,000 tonnes of annual CO2 savings.

The same section connects this pathway with the green methanol project at Çanakkale. In the general plan described by Akçansa, the aim is to produce 50,000 tonnes of green methanol per year using CO2 from flue gas; the project would require 9,400 tonnes of H2 and use 70,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

Knergy angle

For KNERGY, the technical question is how H2/O2 research could translate into pyroprocess stability. Local injection of hydrogen together with oxygen can create a more reactive combustion zone, helping petcoke, coal or RDF burn better without relying only on additional air. If a kiln wants to raise alternative fuel co-combustion, the issue is not just how much H2 is supplied; it is where it enters, with what O2, under what flame control and how heat transfer to meal and clinker changes. In a context that includes RDF, calcined clay and CO2 capture/use, the defensible lever is a wider operating window: more alternative fuels, potential 30–70 kcal/kg thermal consumption reduction where the baseline allows it, and indirect CO2 reduction through avoided fuel. The open question is practical: at which point in Akçansa’s calciner or main burner would H2/O2 microdosing add the most stability without compromising quality or safety?

What to watch now

The report does not state that Akçansa has installed a commercial H2/O2 kiln solution, so it should be read as an R&D signal rather than an operating result. The next editorial milestone will be whether the research moves into an industrial pilot, whether it is linked to alternative fuels and whether public indicators separate material savings, energy savings, CO2 capture/use and process control. For Türkiye, that distinction is essential: not every low-carbon route acts on the same clinker bottleneck.