UK: Breedon Group recorded sales of US$958m during the first half of 2023, up by 11% year-on-year from US$866m during the first half of 2022. The producer’s cement sales rose by 18% in value, despite an 8.3% drop in sales volumes to 1.1Mt from 1.2Mt. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 5% to US$80.2m.

UK: Private equity firm BGF has invested US$4.39m in carbon capture specialist Nuada. Nuada, formerly called MOF Technologies, is currently supplying its technology for a project at Buzzi’s Monselice cement plant in Italy. The system applies metal-organic framework (MOF) filters and vacuum swing absorption. Other partners on the project include Cementir Holding and Heidelberg Materials.

Nuada’s co-chief executive officer Conor Hamill said “There is no net zero without carbon capture. However, incumbent solutions are notoriously costly and energy intensive. Investment from BGF will further catalyse the scale-up and deployment of our technology, ensuring we are primed to efficiently decarbonise heavy industries.”

BGF’s investment is an extension to Nuada’s US$5.81m Series A funding round, which was co-led by the Clean Growth Fund and Barclays’ Sustainable Impact Capital portfolio.

Canada: Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada has successfully transitioned its Richmond cement plant to exclusively producing ECOPlanet reduced-CO2 cement. The company says that cement produced at the plant in British Columbia will offer at least 30% reduced CO2 emissions compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Lafarge Canada West president and chief executive officer Brad Kohl said “This is a proud moment for our organisation. This conversion in Lafarge’s Western Canada division highlights our strong commitment to accelerating green growth."

Nepal: Cement and clinker exports to India totalled 1.04Mt throughout the 2023 financial year, which ended on 15 July 2023. The República newspaper has reported that three separate cement companies exported their products during the year. Palpa Cement Industry began exports in July 2022, followed by Arghakhachi Cement in October 2022 and Balaji Cement in June 2023.

Total Nepalese export volumes to India were 607,000t of cement, worth US$2.74m, and 397,000t of clinker, worth US$3.21m.

India: Police are investigating an incident in which a construction worker died and two others were injured at My Home Industries’ Huzurnagar cement plant in the Suryapet District of Telangana. Workers were laying concrete for a new medium-rise building on the site on 25 July 2023, when a pipe conveying concrete became congested. Three workers succeeded in clearing the blockage, however this caused a powerful burst of concrete, knocking them into a lift, which fell to the ground floor. The Indian Express newspaper has reported that 32 year-old Arvind Singh died, while his colleague Raja Singh is receiving treatment for a head injury in Hyderabad. The third worker, Hassan Jamal, has since been discharged from hospital.

Police have reportedly filed charges of negligence against the contractor responsible for the site.

Germany: The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has approved funding for Holcim Deutschland's Höver cement plant carbon capture project. The test phase of the project is scheduled to commence in early 2024. Holcim Deutschland, together with project partners Cool Planet Technologies and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, carried out preliminary testing in 2022. They reported 'positive' results in May 2022.

Plant manager Stephan Hinrichs said "The funding commitment from the federal government is great news for Holcim and our partners. We are doing real pioneering work for the entire cement industry, and look forward to the next step on our way to becoming a climate-neutral company."

France: Vicat and Materrup plan to build their first reduced-CO₂ MCC1 raw clay cement plant at Carbonne in Occitanie. The plant will have a capacity of 60,000t/yr. Vicat and Materrup plan for their joint venture to subsequently build three further units across France.

Vicat's chair and chief executive officer Guy Sidos said "This new structure will enable Vicat to provide complementary very low-carbon solutions and meet the different needs of players in the construction sector. Development prospects are promising."

Peru: Grupo Gloria subsidiary Cemento Yura plans to transition its Yura cement plant from using coal to alternative fuels (AF) in its cement production. Additionally, the producer will build a 30MW solar power plant at the site. The Gestión newspaper has reported the total value of the upgrades as US$50m. Both projects are scheduled for commissioning in mid-2025.

In the 2023 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2023, Peruvian cement despatches fell by 8% to 12.6Mt.

UK: Aggregate Industries subsidiary Lafarge Cement has begun installing a new Euro10m bag filter system at its 1Mt/yr Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire. The project is due for delivery in early 2024. The system consists of 2080 fabric bags to remove particulates from the plant's flue gases. It will replace the plant's existing electrostatic precipitation system. The company says that the system will triple the removal rate of particulates, reducing them to 10mg/Nm³ from 30mg/Nm³.

Cauldon cement plant manager Thierry Davila said “The installation of the new system will help us provide a step change in our efficiency and effectiveness, and optimise kiln performance. The plant and our operations will hugely benefit from up-to-date technology, which will result in more consistent running of the site, but also it will improve environmental performance and benefit the local community. The new filter system will mean less dust and emissions into the atmosphere and a reduction in pollutants, which is hugely positive and in line with our approach to sustainability.”

India: Adani Cement and JK Lakshmi Cement have emerged as frontrunners in the contest to acquire Sanghi Cement for US$733m. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that the prospective buyers are expected to submit formal offers before October 2023.