Displaying items by tag: Cemex
Cemex chief participates in First Movers Coalition panel at COP27
09 November 2022Egypt: Cemex’s chief executive officer (CEO) Fernando A González was part of the First Movers Coalition panel at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh on 8 November 2022. He participated alongside the World Economic Forum’s president Borge Brende, Microsoft president Brad Smith, ReNew chair and managing director Sumant Sinha, Volvo Group chief purchasing officer Andrea Fuder and US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry.
Cemex is a founding member of the First Movers Coalition, a partnership between the World Economic Forum and the US Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. It is the only buyers’ club working to scale new technologies across the heavy industry and heavy-duty transport sectors.
As a First Movers Coalition member, Cemex committed to making 32% of its heavy-duty transport purchases zero emissions by 2030. This commitment aligns with the company’s ambitious goals of reducing transport carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and becoming net zero by 2050, part of its Future in Action program to achieve sustainable excellence and become a net zero CO2 company.
This commitment is particularly challenging, as zero-emission heavy-duty transport is presently unavailable at scale. At the panel, Fernando A Gonzalez talked about how collaboration and innovation are at the core of his company’s efforts. Cemex is already piloting fully electric concrete mixer trucks with partners like Volvo. It is also investing in transition technologies such as natural gas, replacing 200 diesel trucks with this lower-emission alternative in 2022.
Cemex will a host a discussion panel called Working Together to Decarbonise the Construction Value Chain, to be moderated by Thomas Guillot, chief executive of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), on 10 November 2022. The panelists will include Diane Hoskins (Gensler Co), Aniruddha Sharma (Carbon Clean), Hubertus Meinecke (BCG) and Adair Turner (Energy Transitions Commission), in addition to Cemex’s Fernando A González.
Cemex increases nine-month 2022 sales and income
27 October 2022Mexico: Cemex sold 47.8Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2022, down by 5.3% year-on-year from 40.5Mt in the same period of 2021. Despite this, its consolidated revenues rose by 8%, to US$11.7bn from US$10.8bn. The group's cost of sales grew by 12% to US$8.09bn from US$7.25bn, and its operating earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 6.6%. Nonetheless, contributions from discontinued operations led to net income growth of 72%, to US$987m from US$574m.
Cemex said that higher prices in local currency terms drove sales growth across all of its regions. As a percentage of sales, costs grew to 70% from 68%, mainly on account of energy price rises. Operating EBITDA fell across all regions apart from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA), where it rose by 2.5% to US$524m from US$511m. Cemex noted Europe's 'remarkable resilience' in implementing 'double-digit' price increases to increase earnings, while also crossing a threshold of 40% in CO2 emissions reduction from its 1990 baseline.
Update on the Philippines, October 2022
12 October 2022Cement imports are back on the agenda this week in the Philippines with the news that the Tariff Commission has backed repealing the duties currently being implemented. If it’s anything like what happened last time, back in 2019, the commission’s opinion will once again be passed back to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the final decision. The safeguard measure the commission wants to cut covers Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Blended Cement. It summarised the situation as follows, “There is no existence of an imminent threat of serious injury and significant overall impairment to the position of the domestic cement industry in the near future.”
The commission reviewed the sector between 2019 and 2021 and concluded that the domestic cement industry maintained its market position, increased its mill capacities, stabilised its manufacturing costs and improved its profitability. It found that local producers recovered their profits in 2021, following the coronavirus pandemic. It also noted that imports continued to rise whilst the safeguard measure was in force. Volumes of imported OPC and blended cements increased at levels above 10% year-on-year in both the 2019 – 2020 and 2020 – 2021 periods. They also rose by 7% year-on-year to 3.51Mt in the first half of 2022 compared to the half-year average from 2019 - 2021. In the commission’s view, relaxing the duties on imported cement would slow price rises for both locally produced and imported cement leading to an overall national economic benefit.
Local cement producers in the Philippines are likely to be unhappy with the Tariff Commission’s recommendation. The Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CEMAP) spent the summer of 2022 lobbying for the safeguard measure to be extended past October 2022. It too pointed out that imports of cement had continued to grow even whilst the increased duties had been levied from 2019. A few days before the commission’s decision was published, APO Cement said that it had temporarily suspended operations at its Davao terminal. The subsidiary of Cemex Philippines blamed imports of cement, particularly from Vietnam, for the decision.
Yet, the local sector has been active over the last year with a number of capacity upgrades being launched or underway. In January 2022 the government gave tax breaks to San Miguel Equity Investments for the construction of a 2Mt/yr cement plant in Mindanao. In February 2022 San Miguel subsidiary Southern Concrete Industries said it was doubling the capacity of an upgrade to its grinding plant at Davao del Sur, with initial commissioning planned in mid-2022. Meanwhile, Solid Cement’s upgrade of a new production line at its integrated plant in Antipolo, Rizal, has been ongoing since it officially started in 2019. The current commissioning date for the subsidiary of Cemex is now expected in early 2024. In August 2022 Taiheiyo Cement Philippines held a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction of a new production line at its integrated San Fernando plant in Cebu. The US$85m project is due to be commissioned in mid-2024. Finally, importer Philcement revealed in late September 2022 that it had taken out a US$1.73m loan for an expansion and upgrades to its Mariveles cement terminal in Bataan.
Holcim Philippines’ president and chief executive officer Horia Adrain told local press in July 2022 that the cement sector was continuing to recover in 2022, following the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but that the pace would be slower. And so it proved, with reduced revenue, earnings and profits reported by Holcim for the first half of 2022. Costs rose due to higher fuel and energy prices like elsewhere in the world but a construction ban in connection with the presidential election in May 2022 didn’t help either. Both CRH and Cemex Philippines reported a similar situation in their financial results. However, Eagle Cement did manage to raise its revenue in the same period.
The Tariff Commission has been explicit with its opinion about the impact of imports upon the local cement sector. Investment by the local producers has been forthcoming with a number of new plants and upgrades on the way. Finally, despite the market recovering since 2020, there has been less growth in the first half of 2022 due to global energy prices and the country’s elections. This last point has handed a gift to the cement producers as any further reductions in growth can be blamed on imports, whether it is connected or not. One thing is certain, if or when the safeguard measures are lifted, then the regular calls to restrict imports will resume just like they did prior to 2019.
Colombia: BBVA has extended a sustainable line of credit to Cemex Colombia customers for purchases of the producer's Vertua reduced CO2 cements range. The line will enable them to extend their payment term on invoices for the products.
Portafolio News has reported that Cemex's Colombia and Peru president Alejandro Ramírez said "Within the framework of our Future in Action strategy, which seeks to develop products, solutions and processes with lower carbon emissions with the aim of becoming a company with zero CO2 emissions, we seek synergies with high-level partners such as BBVA to encourage our customers to buy products that reduce their carbon footprint, as well as to work hand in hand with our stakeholders to generate shared value.”
Philippines: Cemex Holdings Philippines subsidiary APO Cement has suspended operations at its 25,000 bag/day Davao cement terminal. The Philippines Star newspaper has reported that the cement producer and importer cited low sales volumes, along with high operating costs, as the cause of its decision. It added that an 'influx' of Vietnamese cement imports had precipitated the situation. Cemex's Philippines supply chain vice president Edwin Hufemia said that the suspension will allow the company to keep its focus on its cement plant and other facilities in the Philippines.
Hufemia said “We remain committed to supporting the country’s development programme and the administration’s Build, Better, More infrastructure programme, and we assure the public that there will be no disruption to the supply and delivery of our cement."
Cemex Panama secures solid recovered fuel supply from EMG
04 October 2022Panama: Waste management company EMG has won a contract with Cemex Panama for the supply of solid recovered fuel (SRF) derived from commercial and industrial waste, beginning in early 2023. EMG is working to expand its SRF production capacity to 18,000t/yr from the start of the supply contract.
Cemex USA loses Dowe Flats quarry dispute
30 September 2022US: The Board of County Commissioners of Boulder, Colorado, has denied Cemex USA’s application for a 15-year extension to its Dowe Flats quarry mining licence, following its expiry on 30 September 2022. Commissioner Claire Levy cited dust, traffic, noise and disturbances to wildlife as reasons behind the decision.
Cemex USA’s nearby Lyons cement plant has previously relied on the quarry for the supply of 760,000t/yr of limestone.
Three cement producers among Spanish pollution top 10 in 2021
28 September 2022Spain: Sustainability Observatory's Decarbonisation 2022 report has named FCC, Cemex and Holcim on a list of Spain's top 10 CO2 emitters. Construction conglomerate FCC, parent company of Cementos Portland Valderrivas, was the seventh largest contributor the country's CO2 emissions during the year. Mexico-based Cemex placed joint eighth with energy provider Iberdrola at 2.4Mt-worth of CO2 emissions in 2021, followed by Switzerland-based Holcim with 2Mt.
Spanish CO2 emissions grew by 5.1% year-on-year in 2021, and by 3% across industries subject to emissions credit trading, which include the cement sector. Together, the top 10 emitters accounted for 57% of these industries' emissions, and 19% of total national emissions.
Update on hydrogen injection in cement plants
14 September 2022Argos Honduras revealed this week that it has been testing the injection of hydrogen into the kiln of its integrated Piedras Azules cement plant. It has completed a pilot with Portugal-based company UTIS. As part of the process it has been trialling, it has split water by electrolysis and then injected the hydrogen and oxygen directly into the kiln via the main burner. The pilot has reportedly increased clinker production and reduced petcoke consumption at the plant.
Argos is far from alone in using hydrogen in this way. At the end of August 2022 Cemex said that it was also starting to use hydrogen at its San Pedro de Macorís cement plant in the Dominican Republic. CRH UK-subsidiary Tarmac completed a trial in July 2022 using hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas at its Tunstead lime plant. HeidelbergCement UK-subsidiary Hanson also ran a successful trial using hydrogen as part of the fuel mix at its Ribblesdale cement plant in 2021. The government-funded trial used a combination of hydrogen (39%), meat and bone meal (12%) and glycerine (49%) to reach a 100% alternative fuels substitution rate. In 2021 Hanson reported that fuel switching to hydrogen could help it reduce its 2050 CO2 emissions by about 3%, or by -35kg CO2/t of cement product.
Cemex appears to be a leader in using hydrogen in this way. The Mexico-based company started injecting hydrogen in 2019 and retrofitted all of its European cement plants with the technology to do so in 2020. It then said it wanted to roll this out to the rest of its operations. The project in the Dominican Republic is an example of this. In February 2022 it announced an investment in HiiROC, a UK-based company that has developed a method using thermal plasma electrolysis to convert biomethane, flare gas, or natural gas into hydrogen. The stated aim of this investment was to increase Cemex's hydrogen injection capacity in its cement kilns and to increase its alternative fuel substitution rate. Back in 2020 Cemex said that it planned to use hydrogen injection to contribute 5% of its progress towards its 2030 CO2 emissions reduction target along with other measures such as increasing its thermal substitution rate and reducing its clinker factor.
As can be seen above there are a number of examples of hydrogen injection being used in cement plants in Europe and the Americas. However, there is very little actual data available publicly at this stage on how much hydrogen that the plants are actually using. For example, Cemex may have hydrogen injection equipment installed at all of its plants in Europe but it is unclear how many plants are actually using it. This is understandable though, given how commercially sensitive the fuel mix of a cement plant is and in Cemex’s case if it wishes to maintain a leader’s advantage in using a new technology.
It is interesting to see, in what has been released so far, the focus on doing deals with companies that supply electrolysis technology such as HiiROC and UTIS. A feasibility study ahead of the Hanson trial at Ribblesdale by the MPA, Cinar and the VDZ suggested that upgrading a kiln burner and adding all the necessary hydrogen storage and pipework could cost at least Euro400,000. However, this study also pointed out that the cost of hydrogen made a big difference to the cost of the CO2 saving from using it as an alternative fuel. Hence the focus on the technology partners. It will be interesting to see how many more hydrogen injection projects are announced in the coming months and years and, crucially, who is providing the technology to supply the hydrogen.
Cemex UK upgrades conveyor system at Swinderby aggregates quarry
12 September 2022UK: Cemex UK has invested in a new Canning Conveyor conveyor system at its Swinderby sand and gravel quarry in Lincolnshire. The 1.6km-long system will convey extracted materials to a new processing plant. The new plant will double the quarry’s aggregates production capacity. The system includes a 20t hopper feeder and a radial stockpile, also supplied by Canning Conveyor. The company producer says that the new equipment will cut 50% of the operations’ CO2 emissions by eliminating diesel-powered dumpster use and saving 300,000l/yr of fuel, in line with Cemex’s Future in Action sustainability programme. It will also reduce dust and noise at the quarry. The investment is due for completion in early 2023.