Summit Materials' Continental Cement Signs Memorandum of Understanding with PCC Hydrogen to Explore Collaborative Opportunities to Lower Carbon Emissions

Rhea-AI Summary

Summit Materials, Inc. enters into a strategic alliance with PCC Hydrogen to develop a fuel replacement strategy for cement manufacturing and lower carbon emissions.

Positive

• Summit Materials partners with PCC Hydrogen to develop a fuel replacement strategy for cement manufacturing, which could lead to lower carbon emissions.
• The use of negative carbon intensity hydrogen derived from ethanol as a replacement fuel for cement manufacturing could improve efficiency and thermal stability.
• Continental Cement's commitment to environmental stewardship and decarbonization of cement production is a positive step towards achieving carbon neutrality.
• The strategic alliance with PCC Hydrogen provides Summit Materials with innovative practices and differentiated solutions for sustainable cement manufacturing.

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• None.

DENVER, Oct. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Materials, Inc. (NYSE: SUM) ("Summit," "Summit Materials," "Summit Inc." or the "Company"), a leading vertically integrated construction materials solutions provider, in partnership with its subsidiary Continental Cement Company, L.L.C. ("Continental Cement," "CCC"), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with PCC Hydrogen, Inc. ("PCCH2"), a producer of negative carbon intensity hydrogen. The MoU establishes a formal strategic alliance between Summit and PCCH2 to develop a fuel replacement strategy to lower carbon emissions from its cement manufacturing process. 

The project aims to deploy negative carbon intensity hydrogen derived from ethanol as a replacement fuel for the existing hydrocarbon fuels used as a source of heat in the cement manufacturing process. Continental Cement will provide its expertise related to the use of alternative fuels in the cement production process, while PCCH2 will develop a plan for the construction of one of its hydrogen production facilities to support the hydrogen needs resulting from the collaboration. It is the first MoU of its kind signed by Continental Cement and represents another positive step toward its efforts related to decarbonizing cement production.

"Continental Cement has a longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship, seeking out opportunities to develop innovative practices and differentiated solutions to build a better tomorrow," said David Loomes, President at Continental Cement. "Our company has signed on to the Portland Cement Association's (PCA) Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, a goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050. By coupling PCCH2's hydrogen production process with our cement manufacturing know-how, we are taking a bold stride towards achieving that goal while continuing the push to cost-effective decarbonization of cement manufacturing."

Using ethanol as a feed source and by capturing the pure CO₂ byproduct of the hydrogen manufacturing process, PCCH2 can deliver high purity, negative carbon green hydrogen to fuel Continental Cement's manufacturing process resulting in optimal efficiency and thermal stability. Green hydrogen is one of the most attractive means to mitigate CO₂ in industrial applications and ultimately to get closer to net zero CO₂ emissions.

"We couldn't have found a better partner to explore innovative ways to decarbonize cement manufacturing, the backbone of our economy," said Timothy Fogarty, CEO at PCCH2. "Continental Cement is an industry leader with over a century of operational history and is already evidencing its commitment to the environment through its subsidiary Green America Recycling, LLC. We are excited to help fulfill that commitment with our negative carbon intensity hydrogen providing a new avenue to decarbonization."

Working closely with Green America Recycling, Continental Cement is championing several sustainability initiatives, adopting new technologies and cutting-edge approaches to address climate change, while delivering social, environmental and economic benefits.

"Hydrogen represents a promising pathway for decarbonizing cement manufacturing. We are excited to partner with PCC Hydrogen to explore how to deliver on that promise." Loomes concludes.

About Summit Materials
Summit Materials is a leading vertically integrated materials-based company that supplies aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete and asphalt in the United States and British Columbia, Canada. Summit is a geographically diverse, materials-based business of scale that offers customers a single-source provider of construction materials and related downstream products in the public infrastructure, residential and nonresidential end markets. Summit has a strong track record of successful acquisitions since its founding and continues to pursue growth opportunities in new and existing markets. Visit summit-materials.com and connect with Summit on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Continental Cement Company, L.L.C.
Continental Cement Company, L.L.C. ("Continental Cement") is a leading provider of cement based in Chesterfield, MO with plants in Hannibal, MO and Davenport, IA and nine distribution terminals along the Mississippi River between Minneapolis, MN and New Orleans, LA. Continental Cement has built its business on consistent quality, superior service, and delivering a great experience since they began production cement at their Hannibal location in 1903. The Company provides high quality cement for projects along the Mississippi corridor and is a an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Summit Materials, Inc.

About PCC Hydrogen, Inc.
PCC Hydrogen has developed a groundbreaking method to produce hydrogen from ethanol and other renewable fuels in a distributed and cost-competitive way. This innovative patented process also allows for easy capture of pure CO₂ byproduct gas for sequestration, enabling production of negative carbon intensity hydrogen.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "outlook," "should," "seeks," "intends," "trends," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "aims" or "anticipates" or similar expressions that concern our strategy, plans, expectations or intentions. All statements made relating to our estimated and projected growth rates, environmental commitments and financial results are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements about our decarbonization efforts, and other statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

While we believe that the assumptions behind our forward-looking statements are reasonable, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the results or conditions described in such statements or our objectives and plans will be realized. Important factors could affect our results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the SEC, and any factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in any of our subsequently filed SEC filings.

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Any forward-looking statement that we make herein speaks only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

For additional information contact:

Investors:
Andy Larkin
VP, Investor Relations
Andy.Larkin@summit-materials.com

Media:
Brian Morandi
Manager, Communications
Brian.Morandi@summit-materials.com 

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SOURCE Summit Materials, Inc.

FAQ

What is the strategic alliance between Summit Materials and PCC Hydrogen?

The strategic alliance between Summit Materials and PCC Hydrogen aims to develop a fuel replacement strategy to lower carbon emissions in cement manufacturing.

What is the goal of Continental Cement in terms of carbon neutrality?

Continental Cement aims to achieve carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050.

What is the role of PCCH2 in the collaboration?

PCCH2 will develop a plan for the construction of a hydrogen production facility to support the hydrogen needs of the collaboration.

What are the benefits of using negative carbon intensity hydrogen in cement manufacturing?

Using negative carbon intensity hydrogen derived from ethanol can improve efficiency and thermal stability in cement manufacturing.

What sustainability initiatives is Continental Cement championing?

Continental Cement is championing several sustainability initiatives, adopting new technologies and approaches to address climate change.