Cement plant takes on carbon

The Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Brevik. Cement production accounts for nearly 7% of energy-related emissions. — ©2024 The New York Times Company

EVEN in the idyllic Norwegian summer, with anglers casting for mackerel from nearby piers, the century-old cement plant on the edge of the harbour town of Brevik is a forbidding place.

The screeching of gulls echoes off the mud- and dust-caked passageways between concrete walls, which rise on the edge of the water like the ramparts of a medieval fortress.