23 July 2024

Australia: Calix has been awarded a US$10m grant from the Australian government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program to build a commercial demonstration electric calciner for ‘near zero emissions’ lime and cement production. The grant covers up to 50% of the expenditure, contingent on meeting project milestones.

The project will utilise the Leilac technology to capture up to 20,000t/yr of CO₂ from the cement and lime manufacturing processes. The project will create two revenue streams via a ‘near zero emissions’ lime product, as well as up to 15,000t/yr of captured CO₂ being sold to the SM1 project for green methanol production.

In the second phase of the project, production will be expanded to include the processing of cement raw meal to a ‘near zero emissions’ clinker product, with captured CO₂ supplied for use.

India: Dalmia Bharat reported a net profit rise to US$17.3m for the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, up from US$17.2m crore in the same period in 2024. The company’s revenue from operations remained steady at US$433m. Cement sales volumes increased by 6% year-on-year to 7.4Mt, compared to 7Mt in 2023.

Managing director and CEO, Puneet Dalmia, said "During the quarter, even though cement demand was weak across regions amidst general elections, our volumes grew 6.2% year-on-year while margins improved to 18.5% from 16.9% in 2023."

Afghanistan: The Ghori Cement plant in Baghlan province plans to increase its production from 0.18Mt in 2023 to 0.2Mt in 2024 due to a growing demand for cement. Technical deputy of the factory, Sarbaz Banuzai, also revealed plans for a new cement plant capable of producing 1.3Mt/yr, which would stand adjacent to the current facility.

Factory workers voiced support for the expansion as a means to combat unemployment and boost local production.

Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has launched ECOPlanet Unicem, the country's first low-carbon multipurpose cement, from its Mfamosing plant in Cross River State. The new product is reportedly designed with over 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions. ECOPlanet will be available nationwide by the end of 2024.

Germany: Canada-based company Rock Tech has promoted a peer-reviewed study by the German Lithium Institute that confirms the potential of byproducts from lithium production to be used in cement manufacture. The study found that leached spodumene concentrate (LSC), primarily composed of aluminosilicates, can replace fly ash as an additive in the cement industry. The study also revealed that adding 20% LSC to Portland cement increases its compressive strength by 10%. The process for producing and utilising LSC has been submitted for a patent.

"The phase-out of coal and the transformation of the steel industry will sooner or later lead to changed or disappearing material streams that have been significant for the cement industry in terms of CO₂ savings and product portfolio. The LSC from lithium production has the potential to compensate for these depleting material streams in the future."