Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement will launch its new sustainability committee on 1 April 2023. The committee will promote initiatives to reduce the producer's CO2 emissions and help it to 'realise a decarbonised society.' The new committee will operate alongside Sumitomo Osaka Cement's existing corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee, which has been in operation since April 2020.
Barbados: Arawak Cement has ceased clinker production at its St Lucy cement plant. The facility will continue to operate as a grinding plant. Loop News has reported that the company now seeks to lay off 70% of the plant's staff. Negotiations between the producer and the Barbados Workers' Union are reportedly in 'advanced' stages.
In its previous restructuring in 2016, Arawak Cement offered voluntary separation packages to employees. At that time, 'unfavourable economic conditions globally and in the region' necessitated cost reduction.
Vicat and Materrup launch raw clay cement joint venture
France: Vicat and Materrup have formed a joint venture to industrialise production and accelerate marketing of Materrup's Clay Cement 1 (MCC1) raw clay cement. The Le Moniteur newspaper has reported that the technology is based on a precursor and activator mixture which removes the need for calcination of the clay. Materrup said that this halves MCC1 cement's CO2 emissions compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC).
The partners say that clay has better long-term feasibility than other alternative raw materials for cement production, because global reserves are currently 2Tnt.
Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement has incurred a fine of Euro5.07m from the Cypriot Committee for the Protection of Competition (EPA). The commission found that the producer took advantage of its dominant position in the local cement market to impose 'unfair sale prices.' This 'excessively enlarged' the producer's profit margins in the period from 2013 to 2018.
The EPA also ordered Vassiliko Cement not to repeat the violation.
Eternit Österreich rebrands to Swisspearl Österreich
Austria: Fibre cement products company Eternit Österreich will rebrand as Swisspearl Österreich, effective from 1 April 2023. The company has been a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Swisspearl Group since 2009.
Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has accused the US government of funding environmentalists' challenges to the government's planned Tren Maya tourist railway project. AP News has reported that López Obrador has declared the project a matter of national security.
Cemex is currently embroiled in a dispute with Vulcan Materials subsidiary Sac-Tun over use of the latter's Punta Venado terminal in Quintana Roo. The terminal sits along the planned route of the Tren Maya line. The Mexican State Prosecutor's Office supported Cemex's re-entry into the terminal on 14 March 2023. The government previously rejected Sac-Tun's application to renew its quarrying licence for its quarry at the site of the terminal.
For more on this story, read our Global Cement Weekly analysis.
Brazil: Secil Supremo Cimentos has appointed FLSmidth to carry out a pyro process upgrade at its Adrianópolis cement plant in Paraná. The Denmark-based supplier says that it plans to carry out modifications on the plant's preheater, cooler and related auxiliary equipment. It says the new equipment will expand the plant's capacity to 3900t/day, corresponding to an annual production capacity of 1.42Mt/yr. It will also enable it to increase its alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate to 40%. Secil Supremo Cimentos' AF mix consists of shredded tyres, wood and other refuse-derived fuels.
FLSmidth's head of capital sales, Jens Jonas Skov Larsen, said “We are grateful for our continued partnership with Supremo, which has consistently invested in the latest technology. As the plant was already operating an ILC five-stage preheater from FLSmidth, it was well positioned to use AF.”
Poland: Lafarge Polska has signed a 10-year power supply agreement with Germany-based energy provider RWE Supply & Trading. Under the contract, Lafarge Polska will receive renewable energy from Windfarm Polska III on the coast at Sztum, Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is owned by German state-owned Stadtwerke München (SWM).
Renewables Now News has reported that Lafarge Polska is currently building a 41MW solar power plant at the site of its former Wierzbica cement plant in Masovian Voivodeship. This will cover a further 10% of its energy consumption.
Thang Thang Cement despatches cement to Central America
Vietnam: Thang Thang Cement has despatched a shipment of 55,000t of cement produced at its Ha Nam cement plant to a customer in Central America. Vietnam Investment Review News has reported that Lotus Cement and Commodities Trading Corporation shipped the order from Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese cement producers are reportedly seeking new trade partners due to 'lingering headwinds' in the domestic and global markets.
Cembureau voices support for EU carbon storage quotas
EU: Cembureau, the European cement sector association, has lobbied the EU in support of a draft act for the setting of CO2 storage capacity quotas for member states. It called for the simplification and acceleration of permitting procedures for storage sites. It also encouraged policymakers to strengthen the focus on CO2 transport networks, ensuring fair access conditions for cement plants.
Cembureau said "Whilst a mix of technologies are needed to decarbonise cement production, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is particularly critical, as our sector faces unavoidable process emissions. A large number of CCUS pilot and demonstration projects have been launched by cement companies across Europe, with the first of them becoming operational as early as 2024. The pipeline of investments is particularly strong – for instance, the latest ETS Innovation Fund call awarded over Euro500m three cement CCUS projects."
