27 September 2022

Greece: Titan Cement Group says that its H2CEM green hydrogen projection has received inclusion under the EU Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Hy2Use. Hy2Use consolidates funding for hydrogen electrolysis, transport and storage development projects across Europe. Titan Cement Group’s H2CEM project consists of Euro60m-worth of new green hydrogen production installations at its Drepano, Efkarpia and Kamari cement plants. The installations will produce hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy sources. The producer says that use of the hydrogen as cement fuel will reduce the plants’ CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by 8%, corresponding to 160,000t/yr of emissions. H2CEM is Hy2Use’s only cement plant project.

Titan Cement Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

UK: Innovative Ash Solutions, a joint venture of Levenseat and Organic Innovative Solutions, has launched a new air pollution control residue (APCR)-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM). The supplier produces the material at its Lanarkshire treatment facility using APCR local from municipal solid waste (MSW) and wood biomass incinerators. Innovative Ash Solutions has received planning permission for a 54,000t/yr industrial-scale APCR-based SCM plant, and plans to establish a total of three plants in the UK, one of which will reach a capacity of 500,000t/yr. It has also signed an exclusive licensing agreement with an Australia-based importer for the material.

The SCM is designed to replace pulverised fly ash (PFA), of which the UK imported 325,000t in 2019, more than four times its 2012 import volumes of 76,000t.

Innovative Ash Solutions director Robert Gren said “We are excited to bring this new product to market. Innovative Ash Solutions is the first and, so far, the only company in the UK to have achieved ‘End of Waste’ accreditation for a PFA replacement for this type of use. Our research shows there is potential to produce more than 500,000t/yr of PFA replacement from UK APCRs every year, which would reduce the need for importing materials and support the decarbonisation of cement and concrete products.”

India: A court has ruled that the Builders Association of India (BAI) is an interested party, and thus able to complain to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged cement sector cartelisation leading to cement price rises. BusinessLine Online News has reported that the BAI believes high Southern Indian prices to be unaccountable except as an outcome of cartelisation.

The CCI launched its on-going cement cartel investigation in 2019.

Costa Rica: The Costa Rica Institute of Technical Standards (INTECO), with confirmation of the National Institute for Women (INAMU), has renewed Holcim Costa Rica’s Management System for Gender Equality in the Workplace certification. This recognises the company’s commitment to promoting the role of women in its operations. Holcim Costa Rica requires the candidate pool for new positions to consist of 50% men and 50% women. This has helped its realise representation of 52% women across its corporate offices, and 35% in all leadership roles. Its CEO Andrea Lara said that the producer assures its employees a work environment characterised by respect, fairness and an absence of harassment or discrimination.

Lara said “Both men and women have the same opportunities. The position is awarded to the most qualified man or woman for the position.”

India: Police raided a Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, fake cement bagging plant on 26 September 2022. The Free Press Journal newspaper has reported that the officers arrested multiple suspects and recovered 200 bags of fake cement and 5000 bags of raw materials for fake cement mixing.

UltraTech Cement had previously reported to police that counterfeit cement bearing UltraTech Cement branding was circulating in the district.