Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

UK: Holcim has completed the acquisition of Land Recovery. This acquisition broadens Holcim's access to construction demolition materials, with Land Recovery having recycled over 300,000t in 2023. The deal follows the previous purchase of Sivyer Logistics.

CEO of Holcim, Miljan Gutovic, said "Land Recovery strengthens Holcim’s leading position in circular construction and advances our group target of recycling 10Mt of construction demolition materials in 2024. I look forward to welcoming all 85 employees of Land Recovery and investing in our next era of growth together."

Global: Policymakers, including those from the governments of Canada, the UAE and Thailand, are meeting cement industry CEOs in Bangkok to discuss how to further advance the decarbonisation of the cement industry. Thailand’s Minister of Industry, Pimphattra Wichaikul, opened the conference.

Wichaikul said “Thailand is one of the first countries in the word with a credible national roadmap for delivering on the cement industry’s net zero commitments. Key to success is innovation, cross-sectorial cooperation, strong leadership with clear targets and international collaboration to drive policy and implementation.”

Fernando González, CEO of Cemex and President of the GCCA, said “We have strong commitments and are already delivering the goal of building a more sustainable industry, and by working with governments, policymakers, built environment experts and other key players we have the opportunity to accelerate our progress in this important ‘decade to deliver’.”

The UN’s Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) also unveiled a new package of investment, technical and other support, to help Thailand decarbonise its own cement industry.

Indonesia: The local government will begin using 'green' cement supplied by state-owned PT Semen Indonesia (SIG) in a bid to ensure sustainable construction in the new capital of Nusantara. This initiative will be a partnership to provide 'green' cement and cement-based products between SIG and PT Bina Karya, a state-owned company carrying out property development in Nusantara. Through 'green' cement production, the company has reportedly recorded a reduction in carbon emissions of up to 38% per tonne of cement so far.

SIG was chosen to supply materials for infrastructure development needs in Nusantara in December 2022. As of February 2024, the company has supplied 0.4Mt of cement from its production facilities in Balikpapan and Samarinda, near Nusantara.

PUPR Ministry’s secretary general, Mohammad Zainal Fatah, said "The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is seeking to encourage the supply of domestic industry-based material resources and construction equipment, which can support sustainable infrastructure development principles. SIG has the advantage of extensive production and distribution networks that are able to meet development needs in all regions in Indonesia.”

Thailand: B.Grimm Power has partnered with Siam City Cement (SCCC) to establish a joint venture named ‘Insee B.Grimm Solar.’ This collaboration aims to develop a solar rooftop project and a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) project within SCCC’s plant located in Saraburi province.

This project is expected to contribute to Thailand’s clean energy goals by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and integrating renewable energy sources into industrial operations. Specific details regarding the project’s capacity and timeline are not yet available.

Spain: The Cemex plant in Alcanar has been granted €3m from the PERTE project for industrial decarbonisation, facilitated by the Ministry of Industry. This subsidy is part of a broader initiative involving 19 projects with a total aid of €96m under Line 1 of the programme. Cemex aims to contribute to decarbonisation of the clinker production process at its Alcanar facility by centralising compressed air production to enhance energy efficiency, replacing 14 old compressors with two more powerful and efficient units. The plant also plans to increase the use of alternative fuels in clinker production by integrating waste-derived and biomass fuels.

Ireland: In a move towards sustainability, the Irish government has mandated green procurement requirements for low carbon cement, effective from September 2024. This initiative is part of Ireland's goal to achieve a net-zero carbon society by 2050.

The new regulations require a 30% reduction in clinker use and the elimination of high clinker cement for all government and public works. Additional provisions include the necessity for Environmental Product Declarations and comprehensive life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions assessments for major new projects. This aims to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions from the construction sector.

US: Cemex and Clean Energy Fuels have entered into a fuelling agreement to supply renewable natural gas (RNG) to 39 of Cemex US’s ready-mix and cement bulk trucks in Southern California. The agreement is projected to provide around 1.1Ml/yr of RNG. Cemex plans to complete the project by the end of 2024 and start fuelling the trucks on-site soon after.

Francisco Rivera, Cemex US Regional President West Region, said "As leaders in the building materials industry, we recognise the pivotal role we play in building a more sustainable future. Embracing renewable fuels isn't just an option; it's an imperative.”

Spain: The Cemex plant in Morata de Jalón, Zaragoza, has won €2.8m in aid from the Spanish Ministry of Industry's first Perte resolution for industrial decarbonisation. This funding, part of a larger €96m aid package, will support the plant's clinker production process and its transition to using sustainable fuels.

The aid will increase the use of alternative fuels in clinker production by incorporating waste-derived and biomass fuels.

Belgium: The Alliance for Low-Carbon Cement & Concrete (ALCCC) has marked its first anniversary with a new policy roadmap aimed at achieving net zero emissions by 2040. Initiated in May 2023, the alliance brings together environmental NGOs and industry stakeholders to transform the cement and concrete sectors. The ALCCC has grown significantly, now comprising 25 members.

Senior programme manager Joren Verschaeve from ECOS, the coordinator of ALCCC, said "Our members show that the technologies needed to make low-carbon cement and concrete the norm already exist. This uniquely positions our Alliance to raise the alarm when policies and standards lead to unfair competition instead of a greener future – and the latter is perfectly achievable if policymakers implement our roadmap."

Cemex announced last week that it will stop producing clinker at its Lloseta plant in Mallorca. Grinding activity at the site will continue, along with the shipment of bagged and bulk cement products. The company has framed the closure as part of its decarbonisation plans. The dismantling of the two preheater towers at the plant is scheduled to take place by the end of 2030. Cemex said that it will take this long to allow the cement plant to continue operating, as well as a neighbouring hydrogen unit and other nearby industrial units. The status of the Lloseta plant has been in question before. It was closed in early 2019 due to reduced cement demand and mounting European CO₂ emissions regulations. However, it reopened in 2021.

Readers may recall that Cemex España participated in the Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca project. Land by the Lloseta cement plant was used to hold solar panels and a solar-powered hydrogen unit. Other partners in the project included energy suppliers Enagás and Redexis and renewable power and infrastructure company Acciona, among others. When the unit was commissioned in early 2022, it said it was the first solar power-to-green hydrogen plant in Spain. The link between Cemex and hydrogen is noteworthy given the cement company’s adoption of hydrogen injection as part of its alternative fuels strategy. Interestingly, Acciona planned to use a blockchain method to certify that hydrogen produced at the site was made using renewable energy sources. Heidelberg Materials also plans to use the same process to verify its evoZero brand of net-zero cement products in 2025. Another recent sustainability sector news story in Spain is the commissioning by Çimsa of a 7.2MW solar plant supporting its Buñol white cement plant in Valencia. The new installation is expected to supply about 18% of the plant’s energy needs.

On the corporate side of things, FCC revealed in mid-May 2024 that it was preparing to spin-off its cement and real estate subsidiaries into a new company called Inmocemento. The cement part of this is Spain-based Cementos Portland Valderrivas. The move is intended to bolster the values of the different parts of the business. The proposal will be put to FCC’s shareholders in late June 2024, with any resulting action taking place by the end of the year. The decision to separate FCC’s cement assets is reminiscent of the financial engineering Holcim has proposed with its US business. However, in this case the driver does not appear to be the disparity between the European and US stock markets.

Graph 1: Domestic consumption and exports of cement in Spain, 2013 - 2023. Source: Oficemen.

Market data was also out this week from Oficemen, the Spanish cement association. Domestic cement consumption grew year-on-year in April 2024 but the year so far is looking weaker with consumption from January to April 2024 down by 4.5% year-on-year to 4.65Mt. This is below Oficemen’s forecast for 2024 where it expected a stagnant situation. However, there are eight more months to go. In 2023 cement consumption fell by 3% to 14.5Mt and exports declined by 7.5% to 5.2Mt. The association blamed continued underinvestment in both the public and private sectors due to economic instability since the Covid-19 pandemic. Graph 1 above shows the wider situation in the Spanish cement market over the last decade. The share of exports has declined and local consumption rebounded after 2020 but has declined since then.

These news stories provide a snapshot of what’s been happening in Spain recently in the cement sector. Oficemen’s prediction for 2024 is gloomy but local consumption has risen over the past 10 years. Exports have fallen but the cement association has started to spin the country’s decarbonsiation drive as a potential positive for the industry’s competitiveness generally. It’s hard to discern right now but there might be an advantage for an export-focused country that conforms to European standards in the future if it can hold onto its capacity. Admittedly, that’s a big if. This thinking along sustainability lines could be seen earlier in May 2024 when Cementos Molins Group rebranded itself as Molins. It described the rebranding as a bid to represent the wider range of construction products it manufactures and sells beyond cement. Oficemen has also pointed out that the local market has room for development given the relatively low cement consumption per capita in Spain compared to its peers. So, whatever happens next, there is likely to be room for improvement in the cement market.