Displaying items by tag: Additives

Vietnam: Cement producers have raised their prices due to mounting coal costs. In October 2021 Bim Son Cement increased the cost of its products by 6%, according to the Viet Nam News newspaper. Other manufacturers have done likewise. Data from the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors shows that local coal prices have grown by 7 – 10% recently. Coal represents around 40 – 45% of the production cost of cement. Prices of diesel and additives have also risen.

Croatia: Holcim Croatia plans to invest Euro1.28m to upgrade the dosing equipment of its Koromačno cement plant’s kiln line. The planned upgrade will enable the line to increase the proportion of alternative materials used in its cement production, thus equipping the plant for low-carbon cement production. Innovation Norway has granted the producer Euro441,000 towards the cost of the project.

Managing director Nikola Kovačević said “Mineral admixtures in cement have a threefold benefit: on the one hand, different characteristics are created in the cement to meet the requirements of different types of construction; on the other hand, the exploitation of natural resources decreases. Thirdly, the carbon footprint of the cement is thus reduced through the lowering of the clinker factor.”

Finland: Betolar has launched Geoprime, an alkali-activated additive for slag and fly ash used in concrete production. The company says that the product will enable concrete production from raw materials with 80% lower CO₂ than ordinary Portland cement (OPC).It aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable and cost-effective construction materials. Geoprime enjoys fast global scaling potential thanks to Betolar’s intellectual property licensing business model, which enables the use of existing production facilities, according to the company.

Chief executive officer Matti Löppönen said “We have seen a massive shift in the concrete manufacturing and construction industries driven by investor pressure for environmental, social and governance data transparency and Net Zero commitments, and now people are keen to hear what we have to offer.”

Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with carbon utilisation company, Carbon Upcycling Technologies. The agreement allows for the potential integration of Carbon Upcycling’s CO₂-embedded concrete additive into Lafarge operations and will explore opportunities to expand Carbon Upcycling’s operating capacity by developing larger processing facilities.

Carbon Upcycling produces an additive that makes concrete both stronger and more sustainable with the ability to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 25% on a lifecycle basis. Carbon Upcycling’s involvement into construction materials began in 2018 through its participation in the LafargeHolcim Accelerator program, which aimed to accelerate the growth of innovations in the building materials industry.

The deal aligns with Lafarge's Net-Zero 2030 pledge to accelerate green construction and combat the climate change crisis with low carbon concrete and circular economy solutions, and Carbon Upcycling goal to reduce overall CO₂ emissions by 600Mt by 2030.

France: Saint-Gobain has agreed to buy Chryso for an undisclosed sum. It said that the construction chemicals producer had an enterprise value of Euro1.02bn, based on its recent earnings and anticipated synergies. Saint-Gobain intends to finance the acquisition from the proceeds of other divestments made by the group. Key benefits it expects from the purchase include a strengthened position in the construction chemicals market, market growth in the sector, further strategic movements towards sustainability goals through the use of additives, anticipated ease of integration and value for shareholders.

“The acquisition of Chryso is a unique growth platform opportunity for Saint-Gobain to further develop our already strong presence in the growing construction chemicals market. It is fully in line with our environment, social and governance strategy of providing a sustainable and performance driven value proposition to our customers,” commented Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain, and Benoit Bazin, chief operating officer.

Subject to consultation and approval with employee representative bodies and competition authorities the acquisition is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2021.

Morocco: France-based Chryso has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in construction chemicals producer APTEX. The local producer operates an application laboratory and plant in Casablanca, Anfa-Settat Region. President and director general Mohamed Benlyamani said, “We are delighted to partner with an international structure offering significant means of development and a strong culture of innovation.”

Chryso chief executive officer (CEO) Thierry Bernard said, “By acquiring a majority stake in APTEX, we sustain our long-term relationship with our Moroccan customers and strengthen our local roots in Morocco. We will thus accelerate the deployment of new technologies and support producers in the development of high-performance, environmentally friendly building materials.”

US: Solidia Technologies and France-based Chryso have announced a collaborative partnership for the further development of the Solidia ‘ultra-low’ CO₂ concrete product. The companies plan to use their “combined expertise to improve the sustainability performance and material properties” of the concrete.

“Incorporating Chryso’s exclusive water-reducing admixtures adapted to the specific chemistry of Solidia Concrete, will further reduce water consumption in the curing process,” said Tom Schuler, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Solidia Technologies.

India: Birla Corporation has entered the construction chemicals and additives business by launching three new products. It is promoting Perfect Plus IWP, Perfect Plus SBR Latex and Perfect Plus Wall Putty, according to the Business Standard newspaper. The products will have been released in Uttar Pradesh and further rollout will follow. The initiative is intended to create a new revenue stream for the cement producer.

Europe: US-based company GCP Applied Technologies has received a European patent for increasing the efficiency of cement grinding by using sustainable raw materials. The grinding aids and quality improvers allow the use of bio-derived glycerol and reduce the use and the impact of oil-derived chemicals. The new Opteva and Tavero brand cement additives enable cement producers to reduce the energy consumption and the CO₂ emissions associated with cement production, with a reduced use, or no use at all, of oil-derived chemicals.

European Patent No. EP 1 728 771 B1 has been granted and registered into 17 European countries. The patent addresses methods for increasing the efficiency of cement and mineral grinding by using sustainable raw materials.

The patent relates to methods for improving the efficiency of grinding materials such as clinker and limestone, using glycerol derived from biofuel production, in combination with various grinding additives. GCP products can help to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. Grinding aids and quality improvers make cement manufacturing more efficient, while concrete admixtures can reduce the amount of cement needed to achieve a given strength specification.

France/Italy: Chryso has signed an agreement to buy certain assets of Italy’s Ruredil, including its cement additives, concrete admixtures and technical mortars business divisions, but excluding the Rurmec brand. The cost of the acquisition has not been revealed. The transaction is expected to complete over the summer of 2018 subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary conditions precedent.

“The combination of our operating businesses in Italy will provide a wider range of products to our customers, as well as improve our geographic coverage, enabling us to serve a greater number of building companies and cement and concrete manufacturers across Italy and abroad. The businesses will have strong offerings to answer the new technical challenges of the building industry,” said Thierry Bernard, president and chief executive officer of Chryso.

In Italy, Chryso operates as Chryso Italia, which was established in 1997. Its customers in the region include cement manufacturers, concrete producers and building companies. Ruredil is an Italian company, established in the 1950s. It manufactures chemicals and structural reinforcement systems, and owns well-recognised brands in the construction industry such as Ruredil and Levocell.