31 March 2023

Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Osaka Gas have launched a collaboration to develop a value chain for captured CO₂ from Japan's hard-to-abate industries, including the cement sector. JCN Newswire has reported that their collaboration will leverage MHI's expertise in CO₂ capture, liquefied CO₂ maritime vessel transport and CO₂ management, and Osaka Gas' expertise in e-methane production and CO₂ storage. The project will integrate MHI and IBM Japan's CO₂nnex software platform to model value chains. The project aims to contribute to the realisation of Japan's target of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

UK: Hanson UK says that its planned installation of a carbon capture system at its Padeswood cement plant in Flintshire has proceeded to the due diligence and negotiations stage. The project aims to achieve net zero CO₂ cement production by capturing 800,000t/yr of CO₂. It is part of the HyNet North West array of projects, which combines green hydrogen and carbon capture to build a first-of-its-kind industrial decarbonisation cluster.

Hanson UK CEO Simon Willis said “I would like to thank the government and all of those that supported us in our bid to receive funding which will enable us to help decarbonise the construction industry and meet our overall ambition to become a net zero business. This global exemplar project will provide net zero construction materials for major projects across the country, from new offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations to clean transport infrastructure.”

Colombia: A criminal court has found former Cemex Colombia vice president Édgar Ramírez Martínez and fellow former director Eugenio Correa Díaz guilty of fraud, according to El Espactador newspaper. The court found that Ramírez Martínez had committed unfair administration, illicit enrichment and falsification of a private document in the process of obtaining land for use as a quarry to supply its Maceo cement plant in Antioquia. It found that Correa Díaz had committed illicit enrichment, money laundering and falsification of a private document while serving as an intermediary in the same process. Ramírez Martínez received a prison sentence of 15 years and one month, while Correa Díaz received a sentence of 20 years.

Cemex Colombia obtained the land in question during the administration of the estate of deceased embezzler José Aldemar Moncada. The court found that it had defrauded the true owners, a local family, in order to include it in Moncada's asset forfeiture prior to sale to Cemex Colombia by Correa Díaz.

China: Xinjiang Tianshan Cement has secured board approval for an issue of commercial paper. Reuters has reported the total value of the paper as US$2.19bn.

India: Adani Group has reportedly relocated 'significant roles' in ACC and Ambuja Cements to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ACC and Ambuja Cements' headquarters are situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and employ 6000 and 4700 people respectively. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that many people in leadership positions now based in Ahmedabad continue to run teams in Mumbai.