Cementir Group launched two of its lower carbon cement products in the Middle East and Africa markets this week. We’ll take a look at this in more detail and cover other recent products news from cement producers.
Egypt-based Sinai White Cement will manufacture the products under Cementir’s D-Carb umbrella. One will be a Limestone Portland cement, to the CEM II/A-LL 52.5N specification EN197-1, with around a 10% clinker reduction. The other will be CEM II/B-LL 42.5N with around a 20% clinker reduction. Both of these reductions are in comparison to Aalborg White CEM I 52.5R. D-Carb is the name of Cementir’s product range for white low-carbon cements. It was launched in European markets in 2024, with II/ALL 52.5R cement, and then expanded to Asia Pacific regions, including Australia, in early 2025. Cementir says that its customers can switch to D-Carb from CEM I as it “integrates well with their production processes without requiring major formulation changes.”
In late October 2025 Dyckerhoff revealed that it was the first cement manufacturer in Germany to receive general building authority approval (abZ) for the use of CEM VI (SLL) cement in accordance with DIN EN 197-5. The German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt) granted approval for Dyckerhoff’s Lengerich cement plant. CEM VI is a newer type of composite cement similar to CEM II but with a lower clinker content. The SLL type that Dyckerhoff wants to make has a clinker content of 35 – 49 %, granulated blast furnace slag of 31 – 59% and limestone of 6 – 20%. The company says that this cement can be used in more than 60% of all concrete types produced in ready-mixed concrete plants. Its composition is also useful for low-carbon concretes when no fillers, such as fly ash, are available. Dyckerhoff added that the low hydration heat of the cement has a particularly positive effect in massive cast components.
Earlier in October 2025 Rohrdorfer held an inauguration ceremony for a new pilot unit for calcined (they say tempered) clays at its Rohrdorf cement plant. The pilot project started in July 2025 and has been processing up to 50t/day of raw clay. When Rohrdorfer launched the project in early 2024 it said that it was going to use waste heat from the main production line and was also considering the use of hydrogen to provide the remaining amount of heat required. Waste gases produced during calcination were also going to be fed back into the existing waste gas cleaning system of the clinker production line after leaving the pilot plant to further reduce emissions. Rohrdorfer said that its approach was going to be the first time waste heat recovery was going to be used in conjunction with calcining clay.
Meanwhile, in West Africa, Dangote Cement inaugurated its new 3Mt/yr cement plant near Abidjan in the Ivory Coast in mid-October 2024. Around the same time the company launched various products in the country, including its CEM I and CEM II brands 32.5R, 3X42.5N, 3X42.5R and 52.5N. This is a more traditional range of cement products compared to the ones above but note the highlighting of strength. This has been a key selling point for products in this part of the world previously, hence its focus. CEM II is a blended cement that uses lower levels of clinker. One clinker substitute in CEM II products is calcined clay. Gebr. Pfeiffer, for example, said in August 2025 that it was to supply a vertical roller mill to Ciments de Côte d'Ivoire (CIMCI) for clay grinding at its cement plant. There are also a number of other calcined clay projects in the Ivory Coast and other countries in West Africa. Further afield, JK Cement in India also started to market its LC3 clay calcined cement product line in October 2025.
Finally, US-based Amrize launched its ‘Made in America’ label for its cement range this week, “offering builders the guarantee of American manufacturing and quality, supporting American jobs and local communities.” Readers may recall that Amrize was recently owned by Switzerland-based Holcim. However, the company is currently keen to point out that its cement products are “made in the US from its raw materials and processing to manufacturing, meeting rigorous US performance standards.” Amrize does sell blended cements including FortiCem Portland-Pozzolan Blended Cement, ECOPlanet Cements and OneCem Portland Limestone Cement.
Most of the news stories highlighted above demonstrate a trend for blended cements with lower clinker factors. There’s no real change here. This has been happening for a long time and it is being driven by both profit and sustainability motives, although the current bunch of stories may also be turning up to coincide with the COP30 conference in Brazil. Note the inclusion of places outside of Europe and the drive for new blends. Another factor to consider here is protectionism in certain markets, as Amrize’s marketing drive suggests. New blends will also require new certifications, standards and approvals as is the case with Dyckerhoff’s work on CEM VI (SLL). The next trend to watch for will be the market reaction to carbon captured cements, such as Heidelberg Materials’ evoZero product. Will end users pay a premium for zero-carbon cements?
