Guatemala: Cemex Latam Holdings plans to invest US$25m in installing a new mill at its 500,000t/yr Guatemala City grinding plant. The company says that the mill will increase the plant’s capacity by 80% to 900,000t/yr.

Cemex South America, Central America and Caribbean president Jesus Gonzalez said "This investment reinforces Cemex's commitment to Guatemala's development and reflects our confidence in the favourable outlook of the economy in the country and the region." Gonzalez added “We are excited about expanding our offer of products and solutions to the market which contribute to sustainable construction, like Vertua, our family of net-zero and low carbon products."

Vietnam: Member of the Vietnam Cement Association produced 70.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first eight months of 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from 27.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Its exports rose by 12% to 27.2Mt. Viet Nam News has reported that the main importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker were China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. During the period, domestic demand fell by 5% to 43.5Mt.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has launched H-Iona clinkerless cement, its first cement to be made available to retail customers in bagged form. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that H-Iona cement production’s CO2 emissions are 150kg/t, according to the producer. It claims that this is just 17% that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies produces H-Iona, primarily from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and gypsum, heat-free at its fully automated Bournezeau plant.

Co-founder Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmannsaid "By launching H-Iona, the lowest carbon cement on the European market, Hoffmann Green Cement is following its continuous innovation approach.” They added “This is the first low-carbon cement to have received CE marking. Thanks to this ground breaking technology, we are democratising access to low-carbon cement.”

India: Shree Cement has given details of its US$67.8m solar power plant project plans. Projects Tiger News has reported that the producer intends to install 106MW-worth of solar power capacity across several Indian cement plants before October 2022. The company expressed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and fossil fuel dependence.

India: Cement companies produced 82Mt of cement in the three-month period ending on 30 June 2021, the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, corresponding to growth of 54% year-on-year. Production in the quarter declined by 12% quarter-on-quarter, due to the proliferation of new state Covid-19 lockdowns from April 2021 onwards. The Hitavada newspaper has reported that ratings agency ICRA forecast that full-year production will rise by 12% in the 2022 financial year, on account of pent-up demand, growing rural housing demand and a pick-up in infrastructure activity. It nonetheless estimated that production will remain 2% below pre-Covid-19 outbreak 2020 financial year levels, with continuing high costs due to rising fuel prices. In the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, coal prices more than doubled and petcoke prices rose by 98% year-on-year.

India: Shree Cement is planning to launch three projects with a total value of US$646m. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that US$476m-worth of the sum will go towards establishing a new 3.8Mt/yr integrated cement plant at Nawalgarh in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. The producer will invest a further US$102m in establishing a grinding plant in Purulia district, West Bengal, to take advantage of ‘favourable’ demand. Lastly, it will invest US$68m in installing solar power plants at ‘various’ cement plants across India.

Shree Cement said “The company has committed to maximising the use of clean energy in its operations. Setting up of the above solar power plants will enhance the proportion of clean energy usage in the total energy consumption of the company.”

Egypt: Suez Cement is planning to invest US$20m on an 18MW waste heat recovery unit at its integrated Helwan plant. The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement started the project in mid-2021 and expects to complete it by the end of 2022. It is currently negotiating with suppliers and hopes to appoint one soon with construction scheduled for 2022.

Pakistan: DG Khan’s full-year profit after tax was US$22.1m in the 2021 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2021. The Dawn newspaper has reported that the company recorded a loss of US$29.2m in the 2020 financial year.

US: LafargeHolcim US says that the integrated 2Mt/yr Midlothian plant in Texas will become the first cement plant in the country to fully convert to Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) production. The unit will switch to producing the company’s OneCem product, a blended cement manufactured with up to 15% of finely ground limestone. The move is intended to help LafargeHolcim US and its customers meet sustainable construction goals and lower carbon emissions.

“This is an important, but not unique, step for us. We were the first to produce OneCem, a PLC product, in one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, and fuel our industry’s step towards a zero carbon future,” said Patrick Cleary, senior vice president of sales, LafargeHolcim US Cement.

The company is promoting OneCem as an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement in terms of concrete workability, set time, durability and strength development. It can be incorporated into a broad spectrum of applications that will support foundational structures. The product is available in the Western and Southern regions of the US and the company plans to ‘rapidly’ expand production.

Australia: US-based Carbon Direct has bought a 7% stake in Calix. Reuters News has reported the value of the stake as US$17.7m. Reuters News has reported that Calix plans to use the proceeds to scale up its carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, as demonstrated at the LEILAC and LEILAC 2 installations at Lixhe, Belgium, and Hanover, Germany.

Calix chief executive officer Phil Hodgson said "As the world puts emissions trading schemes in place, CCS does start to look like a multibillion dollar addressable market.”