Holcim breaks ground of OLYMPUS flagship project in Greece for near-zero cement

• EUR 400m project in Greece to advance Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal
• Plant engineered to produce 2 million tons of near-zero cement a year from 2029
• Groundbreaking ceremony attended by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Holcim has broken ground at the state-of-the-art OLYMPUS project at its plant in Milaki, Greece, engineered to produce 2 million tons of near-zero cement per annum from 2029. With a planned investment of EUR 400 million, the OLYMPUS project will put innovation to work to advance Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal. The project has been selected for a grant from the EU Innovation Fund. The plant’s groundbreaking was held in the presence of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece: “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.”

Miljan Gutovic, CEO Holcim Group: “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.”

OLYMPUS will deploy the combination of OxyCalciner and Cryocap™ FG technologies as a novel cost-efficient innovation for carbon capture. At the regional level, it is expected that OLYMPUS will create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing to the overall economic development of the surrounding area in Evia. Holcim is partnering with Air Liquide on the project with EUR 125 million in support from the Innovation Fund, financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System.

About Holcim
Holcim is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions with net sales of CHF 26.4 billion in 2024. Our 65,000 employees are driven by our purpose to build progress for people and the planet across our regions to improve living standards for all. We partner with our customers to offer the broadest range of advanced solutions, from sustainable building materials ECOPact and ECOPlanet, to our circular technology ECOCycle®, all the way to Elevate’s advanced roofing and insulation systems.

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