Displaying items by tag: Cemex

UK: Cemex’s corporate venture capital unit Cemex Ventures has invested in gas-to-hydrogen plant producer HiiROC. HiiROC’s thermal plasma electrolysis technology can process biomethane, flare gas and natural gas into hydrogen and carbon black without any CO₂ emissions.

Cemex Ventures president Gonzalo Galindo said “HiiROC's solution is sustainable, scalable, cost-effective and has strong growth potential inside the hydrogen ecosystem. This investment is yet another important step in our transition from fossil to alternative fuels (AF) and towards achieving our Net Zero goal for 2050. Cemex is the clear industry leader in the use of hydrogen, and this partnership allows us to further expand our hydrogen knowledge in the ultimate quest to replace fossil fuels with hydrogen in our plants." He added "With hydrogen becoming an increasingly attractive element for industrial decarbonisation, we are excited to be one of the top companies in the cement industry that includes a clean hydrogen production startup in its investment portfolio."

UK: Cemex UK has launched ReadyBlock Zero, a zero carbon concrete block, on the UK market. The product joins the company’s Vertua reduced-CO₂ product range. Cemex UK achieved zero carbon production by means of offsetting. It said that ReadyBlock Zero will help builders to meet the UK’s government’s Future Homes Standard, which requires a 75 – 80% CO₂ emissions reduction in all newly built homes.

Cemex’s Europe regional urbanisation solutions director of asphalt, paving and building products Carl Platt said “We have developed the UK’s first carbon neutral concrete block to help housebuilders get ahead of the game when it comes to building low carbon homes that meet and exceed government guidelines and changes to building regulations. We want to make life easier for housebuilders to make simple sustainable choices that make large scale impacts on the often complex road to net zero. Concrete blocks are the most common structural component in the construction of UK homes, so by switching to zero carbon blocks, ReadyBlock Zero presents a huge opportunity for housebuilders to make significant carbon reductions.”

Mexico: The average price of bagged grey cement has soared by an average of 14.5% so far in January 2022. Bulk cement prices have increased by 20% month-on-month since mid December 2021.

Locally-owned multinational producer Cemex said that, to maintain margins, it increased the price of its bagged cement by 14.4% nationwide and its bulk cement by 17 - 20%. "The increases applied to our products seek to recover part of the inflation that the company has had in its costs," the company explained in a press release.

Javier Fernández, director of the materials distributor Grupo Mecasa, which has a presence in Nuevo León, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Veracruz, said that the rest of the country's cement companies also raised prices in a similar proportion to Cemex.

Puerto Rico: Cemex Puerto Rico has extended its contract with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority by 20 years. The subsidiary of Mexico-based Cemex uses Pier 16 of the Port of San Juan. Joel A Pizá Batiz, the executive director of the port authority, said that data from the Development Bank Economic showed that country had a cement demand of 590,000t in 2020. He added that Cemex’s investment in the local economy was over US$400m and it injects US$20m/yr into the local economy. Cemex operates the Ponce plant in Puerto Rico. It switched to grinding cement in 2018.

Puerto Rico: Cemex Puerto Rico has successfully renewed its licence for use of Pier 16 at the Port of San Juan until 2042. Puerto Rico Ports Authority executive director Joel Pizá Batiz estimated Cemex Puerto Rica’s contribution to the territorial economy to be US$20m in 2020 and its total investments in the island to be US$400m.

The Metro Puerto Rico newspaper has reported that Puerto Rican cement consumption was 590,000t in 2020.

France: Cemex France has supplied 900m³ of its white architectural concrete to the site of Vitesco Technologies’ upcoming Toulouse campus in Occitanie Region. The producer also supplied pumping services and managed the project through its Cemex Go digital platform. It said that the campus aims to achieve High Environmental Quality (HQE) certification for its environmental and energy performance, while ensuring acoustic, hygrothermal and visual comfort for occupants.

Croatia: Volunteers from Cemex collaborated with the Agricultural and Veterans’ Cooperative Lintar and local school pupils to harvest 6.5t of olives from the site of its rehabilitated Split quarry in Split-Dalmatia. The company says that the winter crop produced 900l of olive oil.

Cemex’s Europe, Middle East and Africa corporate affairs, sustainability and environmental resources manangement vice president Andrew Spencer said “We recognise that our industry has consequences for the environment, but Cemex is working hard to actively counteract climate change and this drive is present through all aspects of our business. In our cement and aggregate quarrying operations across Europe, we restore and recultivate our sites to provide optimal conditions that are managed well to deliver for biodiversity.” He added “Our vision is of a successful, sustainable Cemex that makes a positive contribution to people and the environment.”

UAE: Cemex has supplied 400,000m³ of advanced semi-dry heavy-duty concrete to Abu Dhabi Ports Group’s Khalifa Port. Cemex said that the concrete’s composition maximises its lifespan, increasing sustainability.

Mexico: Cemex’s total dispatches of its Vertua reduced-CO₂ concrete in Mexico reached 284,000t in 2021. After launching the product in its home country on 8 December 2020, the company supplied it to 3820 sites throughout 2021. Cemex says that it enters 2022 with 1580 orders outstanding.

Oman: The German University of Technology in Oman (GUTech) has 3D printed a 190m² house in Halban, Al Batinah South governorate, using conventional concrete. Trade Arabia News has reported that the structure is the world’s largest 3D printed building. GUTech applied Denmark-based Cobod’s D.fab product to print the building using Mexico-based Cemex’s concrete in five days.