August 2025

Cameroon: Cimencam, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim-Maroc Afrique, inaugurated its subsidiary Cimencam Figuil’s (CIMFIG) new clinker and cement production line at the Figuil cement plant in Cameroon’s North Region on 12 June 2025, according to the Business in Cameroon newspaper.

The new line, part of an expansion project at the 40-year-old Figuil cement plant, has a cement capacity of 500,000t/yr and a clinker capacity of 1,000t/day. Cimencam invested US$88m in the expansion. The upgraded plant will supply cement to the North, Adamaoua and Far North regions, and aims to enter the Chadian market, which reportedly experiences frequent shortages and high prices.

Spain: Molins has received permits from the Generalitat de Catalunya to begin operating an auxiliary hydrogen generation facility at its Sant Vicenç dels Horts cement plant in Barcelona.

The producer will install a hydrogen production module based on water electrolysis, using water from subway catchments. The system includes osmosis treatment to purify the water prior to splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. The hydrogen will be consumed directly as fuel in the clinker kiln, replacing part of the petcoke currently used to reduce CO₂ emissions.

Molins forecasts hydrogen consumption of 305t/yr and expects to cut CO₂ emissions by 3600t/yr. The company said the project supports its Sustainability Roadmap 2030, which targets a 20% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2020.

Vietnam: Vietnam exported 2.98Mt of cement and clinker worth US$113m in May 2025, up by 17% in volume and 12% in value year-on-year, according to the government’s National Statistics Office. Between January and May 2025, exports totalled 14.18Mt worth US$523m, marking a 6% rise in volume and 2% in value year-on-year. In 2024, the country exported 29.67Mt of cement and clinker for US$1.14bn, down by 5% in volume and 14% in value from 2023.

Pakistan: Gharibwal Cement has announced the successful installation and commissioning of a new 12.5MW solar power system at its plant in Ismailwal. The new capacity has been integrated with the producer’s existing 12MW solar infrastructure, bringing total installed solar generation capacity to 24.5MW. The company said the additional system commenced commercial operations on 16 June 2025.

Latvia: Schwenk Latvija has captured the first CO₂ at its Brocēni cement plant using a pilot-scale carbon capture unit supplied by Norway-based Capsol Technologies. The CapsolGo unit will run in test mode until the end of 2025, capturing 2t/day of CO₂. The producer plans to make a final investment decision in 2027 on a potential full-scale carbon capture plant capable of capturing 800,000t/yr of CO₂. If this project goes ahead, then commissioning is expected in around 2030.

Chair of the board of Schwenk Latvija and managing director of Schwenk Northern Europe Reinhold Schneider said “We at Schwenk have come a long way through extensive analysis, studies, research and development processes and impact assessments to reach the point of the first CO₂ captured. Schwenk is strongly committed to launching a full-scale carbon capture plant in Brocēni by 2030. This test phase brings us one step closer to that.”

Global: Cumulative investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) will reach US$80bn over the next five years, according to risk management company DNV’s new Energy Transition Outlook: CCS to 2050 report. DNV forecasts that CCS capacity will quadruple by 2030, driven initially by pilot projects in North America and Europe, but now seeing a sharp increase in capacity. As the technologies mature and scale, DNV expects that the average costs will drop by an average of 40% by 2050. The report also states that CCS will grow from 41Mt CO₂/yr captured and stored today to 1.3Bnt CO₂/yr in 2050.

CEO of energy systems at DNV Ditlev Engel said “Carbon capture and storage technologies are a necessity for ensuring that CO₂ emitted by fossil-fuel combustion is stopped from reaching the atmosphere and for keeping the goals of the Paris Agreement alive. DNV’s first Energy Transition Outlook: CCS to 2050 report clearly shows that we are at a turning point in the development of this crucial technology.”

Netherlands: Dutch construction firm Hakkers and startup Paebbl have launched their first joint project at the Port of Rotterdam. The project aims to reduce the environmental impact of maritime anchoring by replacing 15% of traditional cement in the anchoring mix with Paebbl’s carbon-storing material. The substitution stores captured CO₂ into a stable mineral form, sequestering 110kg of CO₂ per tonne of material, for a total of 500kg in this application. Hakkers uses around 5000t/yr of cement for anchoring in civil engineering projects. Paebbl’s material aims to reduce emissions from these projects while maintaining performance.

Commercial manager at Hakkers Jeroen Kuup said “We’re always on the lookout for innovative ways to minimise our carbon footprint at industrial scale. Traditional anchoring systems rely heavily on cement, which generates considerable CO₂ emissions. Partnering with Paebbl on these maritime infrastructures allows us to explore a more sustainable approach without compromising on the scale, reliability and performance that our clients expect.”

Bolivia: Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA) will temporarily halt production due to a diesel shortage, which it attributed to the country’s ‘difficult economic, political, and social situation’, according to La Razón newspaper.  The company said it had not received supplies since mid-May 2025. In a statement, it said that it faces a “severe restriction on the supply of diesel, a fundamental element for the operation of our production equipment and for the transportation of cement.”

The producer added that it had written to Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos and the National Hydrocarbons Agency requesting urgent fuel delivery. It expressed apologies to customers and partners and said it would resume operations immediately once fuel supplies returned. The government said the shortage stemmed from roadblocks preventing the transport of diesel and gasoline.

Vietnam: The government will allocate greenhouse gas emission quotas to cement and steel plants and thermal power facilities by 31 December 2025, following a new decree issued on 9 June 2025, which takes effect on 1 August 2025. These facilities will receive quotas during the 2025–2026 period. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in coordination with the ministries of industry and trade and construction, will lead the pilot proposal process and submit total allowable emissions to the prime minister for approval. Quotas for each plant must be finalised by the end of 2025. From 2027, ministries will propose lists of facilities and quotas for 2027–2028 and 2029–2030, with submissions due by 30 June of the first year of each period. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will allocate quotas by 31 October annually once approved.

Quotas will be based on emission intensity per unit of product, industry growth targets and each facility’s potential to reduce emissions. Facilities may trade quotas and carbon credits on the national market. The decree also revises rules on trading, borrowing, transferring and surrendering quotas. Facilities must surrender quotas equal to verified emissions, minus carbon credit offsets, by 31 December following each compliance period. Penalties and future deductions will apply to those who fail.

Cameroon: A new cement brand, Cimaco, has entered the market, starting in June 2025, according to the Business in Cameroon newspaper. Chinese-owned company Sinafcam Sarl made the announcement, stating that it will produce the cement at its 1Mt/yr-capacity plant in Edéa, Littoral region. The launch will include three product grades: 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5. Sinafcam becomes the country’s seventh cement producer.

The Ministry of Industry expects two additional Chinese plants in Edéa: Central Africa Cement with 1.5Mt/yr of capacity and Yousheng Cement with 1.8Mt/yr. However, despite the rise in production facilities over the past decade, the retail price of a 50kg cement bag still remains high, reportedly due to the elevated cost of clinker imports.