30 June 2021

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos has agreed to buy Cementos Balboa from US-based investment company KKR for an undisclosed sum. The producer operates a 1.6Mt/yr integrated plant at Alconera in Badajoz, Extremadura that started production in 2005. The purchase is subject to regulatory approval in Spain.

“This transaction exemplifies our strategy for growth and positioning in Spain and reinforces our presence in the country,” says Marcelo Castelli, global chief executive officer of Votorantim Cimentos. The Brazilian-based company has been present in Spain since 2012 and currently operates four integrated cement plants, two grinding plants, a mortar plant and several concrete and aggregates plants, operating in the regions of Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, Extremadura and Galicia .

Spain: Cementos Molins has completed the acquisition of a white cement terminal in the Port of Alicante from Turkey-based Çimsa. The unit includes a 10,000t silo and it will be able to supply over 50,000t/yr from the site. The producer also plans to use the terminal to bolster exports from its 0.7Mt/yr integrated white cement plant at Kairaouan in Tunisia, which is operated by subsidiary Société Tuniso-Andalouse de Ciment Blanc (SOTACIB). It distributes products from this plant to over 15 countries.

Pakistan: Bestway Cement and Reon Energy have commissioned a 14.3MW captive solar power unit at the former’s integrated cement plant at Farooqia, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The unit is part of a 50MW project deal that is planned to install solar units at the cement producer’s plant at Farooqia, Chakwal, Kallar Kahar and Hattar, according to the Pakistan Observer newspaper. Energy generated at the new solar plant at Farooqia is expected to reduce energy costs and reduce reliance on the national electricity grid.

Bolivia: Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) has agreed to open up where it sells its cement. Previously the producer mostly sold its products through authorised vendors, according to the Correo del Sur newspaper. New vendors will be subject certain conditions under the new marketing policy, including making a request to the cement producer. However, the company has not decided whether it will change its prices. Shareholders of the company have requested a market study to assess the situation. FANCESA is expecting demand for cement to drop by up to a quarter in 2021.

Georgia: Georgian Cement Company (GCC) has warned of cement dumping by Iran and Turkey. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim is lobbying the government for protective legislation, according to Prime News. GCC operates a 0.3Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Poti. The country consumes 2.5Mt/yr and 1.5Mt/yr of this comprises imports. HeidelbergCement and Eurocement also operate plants locally.

Germany: Two studies looking at how to prepare investments for the conversion to an oxyfuel process have been completed at Hocim’s Germany’s Lägerdorf cement plant. The projects were running with technology partners ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and Linde. Project Oxyfuel100, part of the Westküste100 initiative, was finalised in mid-April 2021. In addition to the oxyfuel process, the technical and economic feasibility of the downstream CO₂ extraction, processing and forwarding was examined. The results of the feasibility study were reported as being “extremely positive.”

India: Ambuja Cements and ACC are planning to participate in parent company LafargeHolcim’s ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ programme. The initiative, which aims to make cement manufacturing more efficient through better plant optimisation, higher plant availability and a safer working environment, is part of LafargeHolcim’s ‘Building for Growth’ strategy, which was launched globally in mid-2019.

The four-year programme implemented by LafargeHolcim aims to create a global network of over 270 integrated cement plants and grinding stations in more than 50 countries by applying automation technologies and robotics, machine learning, predictive maintenance and digital twin technologies to the entire production processes. The ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ initiative is also being implemented in other key markets in Switzerland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, US, Canada and Russia.

“As an industry leader we are looking at 'Plants of Tomorrow’ as a big opportunity and responsibility to place India on the map of global cement manufacturing. This path-breaking project will lead to transformative outcomes not just in terms of operational and financial gains but also make cement manufacturing in the country environmentally sustainable and create a safe work environment for our colleagues across all our plants,” said Neeraj Akhoury, the chief executive officer (CEO) of India Holcim and managing director and CEO of Ambuja Cements.

Australia: Calix has joined as a partner of the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC). The initiative brings together heavy industry players, government and research and aims to boost the capability of Australian companies to remain globally competitive by capitalising on existing mineral and renewable energy resources to become international producers and exporters of low-carbon products. HILT CRC has secured US$29m from the government. This joins funding of US$158m in direct and in-kind contributions from its partners over the last decade.

“It is a chance for us to demonstrate the technology developed for CO₂ mitigation in the production of cement and lime through our European LEILAC-1 and 2 projects in an Australian setting, as well as explore other more sustainable applications for our technology in heavy industry, backed by this impressive team of researchers and industrial participants," said Calix’s managing director Phil Hodgson.

As part of the HILT CRC, Calix will continue to develop its technology for the reduction of carbon emissions from lime and cement production, and also use its Calix Flash Calciner (CFC) technology to develop other more processing applications such as for bauxite processing for the aluminium industry and production of calcined clay from kaolinite for use in new lower carbon cements.

HILT CRC’s core industrial partners include Adbri, Alcoa, Boral, Fortescue, Grange Resources, Liberty, Roy Hill and South32. The initiative has its headquarters in Adelaide and it plans to establish hubs in heavy industry regions of Gladstone, the Pilbara, Northern Tasmania, South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf, Western Australia's Kwinana and South West regions, the Southern Highlands of Nnew South Wales and Portland in Victoria.

Caribbean: Sweden-based Bruks Siwertell has won a new contract to deliver a Siwertell enclosed screw-type ship loader for cement and clinker. It will serve a new cement plant being built by an unnamed end user in the Caribbean. The type-1B ship loader will deliver cement and clinker handling at a continuous rated capacity of 600t/hr, with a peak loading rate of 750t/hr, for vessels up to 20,000dwt. It will be delivered in 2021 and is scheduled to be operational later in the year.

“This is our first Siwertell loader installation in this particular region and it will have to work in one of the most earthquake-prone zones of the world,” said Axel Dahl, Sales Manager, Bruks Siwertell. “The cement industry in the area is currently undergoing some of its most advanced improvements in decades, and as part of this, environmental protection is very much under the magnifying glass.