South Korea: South Korean cement manufacturers recently convened at an event hosted by the Korea Cement Association and the Korea Industry Alliance Forum to discuss how to achieve carbon neutrality. The industry currently faces financial challenges in upgrading equipment due to low cement prices. However, it has achieved a 20% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of cement since 2014, aided by the use of alternative fuels and investment in energy efficiency. The Korean government now requires that greenhouse gases be cut by 12% by 2023 from 2018 levels by 53% by 2050.
The industry currently uses post-consumer plastics as fuels instead of fossil fuels and incorporates byproducts from other industries, like sludge. However, some environmental groups have labelled cement made from industrial byproducts as ‘garbage cement’ claiming it contains hexavalent chromium levels more than four times the EU’s allowable limits. The use of plastics as alternative fuel has also sparked complaints from local waste collection and incineration companies, who argue that cement companies are taking away their business.
Professor Kim Jin-man from Kongju National University said "We also need to focus on developing high-performance clinker, advanced chemical admixtures for concrete, and accelerators that shorten concrete curing times."
