Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Lafarge Canada has engaged Canadian Utilities on a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) basis to supply solar energy for its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta. Under the agreement, the Exshaw cement plant will receive 100% of energy generated at the 38.5MW Empress solar power plant in Cypress County. The VPPA lasts until 2036, and covers 34% of the Exshaw plant’s energy consumption up to that time.

Lafarge Canada (West) president and CEO Brad Kohl said "We're continually assessing ways we can reduce our environmental impact while actively pursuing sustainable solutions within our operations." He concluded "Our collaboration with Atco underscores our commitment to adopting renewable energy at our plants and sites, which is key to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels."

Canada: Heidelberg Materials says that its integrated Delta cement plant in British Columbia has switched to exclusively producing its EcoCem Portland limestone cement (PLC). EcoCem PLC is a Portland limestone cement that contains up to 15% limestone and generates approximately 10% less CO₂ compared to other Portland cements. It has equivalent performance to ASTM and CSA standards for Type I/II Portland cement in strength and durability, and can be used in any application where Portland cement Type I is normally used.

Prior to the full transition to PLC production, the plant had already taken steps to reduce its CO2 emissions by using alternative fuels. The Delta cement plant has been in operation since the 1970s.

Canada: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has successfully delivered and installed a KS-21 solvent-based carbon capture pilot system at Heidelberg Materials North America’s Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The partners will now proceed to test the technology using different fuel sources and plant operating modes. Heidelberg Materials North America says that the installation is an ‘important step’ in the CO₂MPACT carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Once completed the project will comprise a 1Mt/yr capture installation at the plant and its integrated heat and power system. Heidelberg Materials North America expects the installation to be operational by late 2026.

Heidelberg Materials North America’s vice president cement operations, Northwest Region, Joerg Nixdorf said “Today is a substantial milestone in our journey to building the world’s first full-scale carbon capture project in the cement industry.”

Canada: Lafarge Canada says that it successfully integrated 10,000t of recycled concrete waste in cement production at its St. Constant cement plant in Quebec using its ECOCycle Technology process. The year-long production trial constituted the first phase of Lafarge Canada’s pilot of ECOCycle Technology. The producer says that the achievement solidifies its leading position in North American circular construction innovation. Waste360 News has reported that concrete constitutes 4Mt (40%) of Canada’s 10Mt annual generation of construction and demolition waste.

President and CEO David Redfern said “By reusing construction and demolition wastes in the production of new building materials, we are reducing waste sent to landfill. Across Lafarge Canada, we’re evaluating any opportunity to decarbonise our operations, and circularity is part of this effort. This pilot is critical to demonstrate that we can effectively repurpose concrete waste, which goes a long way to conserve our naturally occurring resources and loops in construction sustainability - building new from old.”

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$2.59bn during the first half of 2023, up by 51% year-on-year from US$2.37bn in the first half of 2022. The group reported that cement demand was ‘strong’ in the US and ‘stable’ in Spain, however the Brazilian and Canadian markets were ‘challenging.’ Its costs also rose, by 4.2% to US$2.1bn from US$2.02bn. Despite this, Votorantim Cimentos’ net profit grew by a factor of 11, to US$112m from US$10.1m.

Canada/UK: Carbon Upcycling has raised US$26m in a Series A funding round. The clean tech company says that the funding will support its construction of planned carbon capture systems at CRH's Mississauga cement plant in Canada and Cemex UK's Rugby cement plant in the UK. Carbon Upcycling’s technology injects captured CO₂ into industrial byproducts and minerals to produce supplementary cementitious materials. BDC Capital and Climate Investment led the funding round, with strategic investments from Cemex Ventures, CRH and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures.

Carbon Upcycling chief executive officer Apoorv Sinha said "Closing this round is a major milestone on the road to becoming the most impactful carbon tech company of this decade.” He continued “Over the next year, our mission is to demonstrate our technology's versatility, scalability and operational elegance. Significant, cost-effective decarbonisation potential in the cement industry is possible without a green premium.”

Mexico-based Cemex first invested in Carbon Upcycling via its venture capital unit Cemex Ventures in February 2022. Its said “Cemex is committed to supporting decarbonisation for the built environment, and our follow-on investment in Carbon Upcycling demonstrates such ambition. Carbon Upcycling provides a scalable solution that effectively reduces the carbon footprint of cement. Increasing the supply and use of cementitious materials aligns with Cemex’s goals of reducing CO₂ emissions and becoming fully net-zero by 2050”

The collaboration between Carbon Upcycling and Cemex dates to early 2020, and work towards a commercial-scale plant at the Rugby cement plant commenced in June 2022. The project will target a capture capacity of 1600t/yr, and has secured US$2.96m in government funding from UK Research and Innovation. Cemex says that it will subsequently roll out further CO₂ mitigation projects in partnership with Carbon Upcycling at cement plants across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Mexico and the US.

US: The United States Geological Survey has reported that the US consumed 40.5Mt-worth of cement shipments in the first five months of 2023. This corresponds to a 4.3% year-on-year fall from five-month 2022 volumes of 41.5Mt. Blended cement, primarily Type IL Portland limestone cement (PLC), accounted for 37% of shipments, compared to 16% in the corresponding period of 2022. Total demand rose by 4.3% year-on-year and by 19% month-on-month to 10.2Mt in May 2023. Imports of cement and clinker totalled 10.5Mt. The leading source of imported cement and clinker were Türkiye, which supplied 3.34Mt (32%), Canada, which supplied 1.58Mt (15%), and Vietnam, which supplied 1.3Mt (13%).

US production of clinker dropped by 2.1% to 29.5Mt in the first five months of 2023, from 30.1Mt a year earlier.

Canada: Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada has successfully transitioned its Richmond cement plant to exclusively producing ECOPlanet reduced-CO2 cement. The company says that cement produced at the plant in British Columbia will offer at least 30% reduced CO2 emissions compared with ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

Lafarge Canada West president and chief executive officer Brad Kohl said “This is a proud moment for our organisation. This conversion in Lafarge’s Western Canada division highlights our strong commitment to accelerating green growth."

Canada: Heidelberg Materials North America has appointed engineering firm WSP to carry out design, engineering and implementation of a planned 1Mt/yr carbon capture installation at its Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. Construction will begin in late 2024 and reach completion in late 2027. Through the project, Heidelberg Materials North America aims to realise net zero CO₂ cement production at the 1.4Mt/yr Edmonton plant.

Heidelberg Materials’ vice president of cement Joerg Nixdorf said "WSP’s proven track record of delivering high-quality and sustainable engineering solutions aligns perfectly with our vision of driving decarbonisation in the cement industry. Together, we will push the boundaries of what's possible and create a truly transformative project."

Canada: Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada has extended its biodiversity collaboration with the Forêt-Boucher Foundation. Under the expanded partnership, Lafarge Canada has committed to annual contributions of US$11,200/yr until 2028.

The collaboration will focus its efforts on conservation of the Boucher Forest in Quebec, near the site of Lafarge Canada’s Klock quarry. Boucher Forest contains habitats with 1150 different species.