Argentina: Holcim Argentina has launched a hackathon for project proposals aimed at boosting gender inclusivity in the Argentinian construction sector. Projects may fall along one or more target axes: awareness, education and training, enterprise or public policy. Two winning projects will claim US$300,000 each in prize money, and the contest is open to anyone over 18. The company says that the hackathon is an invite to open a conversation about the presence and appreciation of women in cement and construction.

Switzerland: The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has informed policymakers that the best current route to reduce carbon emissions from cement production is through the increased use secondary cementitious materials and by encouraging the development and uptake of carbon capture. Alternatively, the development of new chemistries for building materials could help the situation but this is not expected in the short to medium term.

The report noted that 12Gt of CO₂ equivalent was released directly and indirectly in 2019 from buildings and emissions from cement and steel use for building construction and renovation. These emissions included indirect emissions from offsite generation of electricity and heat, direct emissions produced onsite and emissions from cement and steel used for building construction and renovation. In sections of the IPCC report yet to be finally approved the authors said, “Cement and concrete are currently overused because they are inexpensive, durable, and ubiquitous, and consumption decisions typically do not give weight to their production emissions.”

Overall, the report concluded that average annual global greenhouse gas emissions from 2010 to 2019 were at their highest levels in human history but the rate of growth had slowed. The IPCC has called on “immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors” for any chance for society to limit global warming to 1.5°C. To do this global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030. However, even if this did occur, it would take until the end of the 21st century for the temperature threshold to be stabilised.

South Korea: Seven cement producers have agreed to produce 3.77Mt of cement in the second quarter of 2022, up by 36% quarter-on-quarter from first-quarter 2022 levels, to alleviate a shortage. 380,000t of cement which would previously have been exported will now supply the domestic market instead. The Yonhap News Agency has reported that bituminous coal supply issues have hampered the domestic cement industry's ability to increase its production in line with demand growth. In the first quarter of 2022, South Korea's coal imports consisted of 54% Russian coal and 46% Australian coal, compared to 75% Russian and 25% Australian coal in 2021.

The government plans to invest US$764m between 2023 and 2030 in improving the sustainability of South Korean cement production, including moving it away from reliance on coal through increased alternative fuel use.

UAE: Switzerland-based ABB has carried out an upgrade of the control system for UltraTech Cement subsidiary Star Super Cement at the company's Dubai grinding plant. The supplier says that it installed its ABB Ability 800xA distributed control system (DCS) across three grinding units at the facility. The DCS will communicate between the plant and the company's Ras Al Khaimah clinker plant. ABB previously supplied electric and automation engineering services for the Ras Al Khaimah plant in 2012.

ABB Process Industries global cement lead Max Tschurtschenthaler said that Star Cement's operations will benefit from improved operator visibility, easier maintenance and reduced downtime due to the new systems.

US: Cemex has increased production of Portland limestone cement (PLC) at its Lyons plant in Colorado. PLC is expected to become the plant’s primary product by the summer of 2022. The blended cement has been produced at the site for over 15 years. However, Cemex says it is growing production to meet the company’s carbon reduction goals and meet increased demand for lower carbon materials.

Cemex USA has also increased PLC production at its plants in Brooksville, Florida, and Demopolis, Alabama. The start of PLC production or further increases is planned for other cement plants later in 2022.

US: Drake Cement despatched 80,000t of cement in March 2022, its highest ever figure. The company has congratulated colleagues on the record volumes.

Argentina: Christian Dedeu, the chief executive officer of Holcim Argentina, has warned that there is no guarantee that there will be gas available for his company’s cement plants in the winter of 2022. In an interview with the El Cronista newspaper, Dedeu said that energy prices had risen due to the war in Ukraine and that importing liquefied gas by ship was becoming both harder and more expensive.

He also expressed concern about the government system of price controls on bagged cement, which had made it cheaper to buy bagged instead of bulk cement. Smaller companies are already reportedly buying large consignments of bagged cement and breaking it up to save money.

Japan: Logistics group Tohbu Network has acquired Shiogama-based cement distributor Tohoku Sanko. The Nikkei newspaper has reported that Tohoku Sanko serves the customers of cement producers in Akita and Miyagi Prefectures. The group aims to expand its sales footprint and its productivity through shared use of vehicles, facilities, software and human resources.

Norway: HeidelbergCement, agricultural cooperative Felleskjøpet AGRI and shipping company Egil Ulvan Rederi plan to build what they say will be the world's first zero-emission bulk carrier. The project has also received support of around Euro12m from the Norwegian government-owned sustainability company Enova. The vessel is scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2024. Once operational the ship will be used to transport aggregates products for HeidelbergCement and grain for Felleskjøpet between west Norway and east Norway using hydrogen powered transport.

Egil Ulvan Rederi was selected following a tendering process in 2021. The ship is intended to be highly energy efficient, using rotor sails and has a streamlined design to reduce energy consumption. It will be powered by hydrogen from Norwegian energy supplier Statkraft but will also have small auxiliary batteries and a fuel cell on board to maximize flexibility.

Giv Brantenberg, general manager HeidelbergCement Northern Europe, said “The project addresses emissions from the transport part of our value chain. It is unique, ambitious and future-orientated. It is fully in line with HeidelbergCement Group's target to be the leading actor in our industry on the path to carbon neutrality." HeidelbergCement estimates that the carbon footprint of the aggregates products can be reduced by 50 - 60% by using the zero emission vessel, as transport accounts for a significant part of the total carbon footprint of these products.

Switzerland: Environmental activists have occupied a forest on private land next to the Gabenchopf quarry that supplies limestone to Holcim Schweiz’s Siggenthal cement plant. The activists are protesting about a planned expansion to the quarry, according to the Blick newspaper. Police have described the mood of the activists as ‘peaceful.’ The occupation follows a similar protest against expansion of another Holcim-owned quarry at Mormont, Vaud, in 2021.