Displaying items by tag: Emissions

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement was among successful bidders in Saudi Arabia's largest carbon credit auction to date earlier in November 2022. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s Voluntary Carbon Market Initiative Auction sold 1.4Mt-worth of carbon credits to 15 different entities, of which Yanbu Cement was the only cement sector representative. The PIF said that the sale will support the country's Saudi Vision 2030 development goal, while also advancing its progress towards net zero CO₂ emissions by 2060.

In Australia and New Zealand, four producers operate a total of six integrated cement plants, with another 13 grinding plants situated in Australia. This relatively small regional cement industry has been on a decades-long trajectory towards ever-greater sustainability – hastened by some notable developments in recent weeks.

Oceania is among the regions most exposed to the impacts of climate change. In Australia, which ranked 16th on the GermanWatch Global Climate Risk Index 2021, destructive changes are already playing out in diverse ways.¹ Boral reported 'significant disruption' to its operations in New South Wales and southeast Queensland due to wet weather earlier in 2022. This time, the operational impact was US$17.1m; in future, such events are expected to come more often and at a higher cost.

Both the Australian cement industry and the sole New Zealand cement producer, Golden Bay Cement, have strategies aimed at restricting climate change to below the 2° scenario. Golden Bay Cement, which reduced its total CO₂ emissions by 12% over the four-year period between its 2018 and 2022 financial years, aims to achieve a 30% reduction by 2030 from the same baseline. The Australian Cement Industry Federation (CIF)'s 2050 net zero cement and concrete production roadmap consists of the following pathways: alternative cements – 7%; green hydrogen and alternative fuels substitution – 6%; carbon capture – 33%; renewable energy, transport and construction innovations – 35% and alternative concretes – 13%, with the remaining 6% accounted for by the recarbonation of set concrete.

Australia produces 5.2Mt/yr of clinker, with specific CO₂ emissions of 791kg/t of clinker, 4% below the global average of 824kg/t.² Calcination generates 55% of cement’s CO₂ emissions in the country, and fuel combustion 26%. Of the remainder, electricity (comprising 21% renewables) accounted for 12%, and distribution 7%. Australian cement production has a clinker factor of 84%, which the industry aims to reduce to 70% by 2030 and 60% by 2050. In New Zealand, Golden Bay Cement's main cement, EverSure general-purpose cement, generates CO₂ at 732kg/t of product.³ It has a clinker factor of 91%, and also contains 4% gypsum and 5% added limestone.

Alternative raw materials

Currently, Australian cement grinding mills process 3.3Mt/yr of fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). In Southern Australia, Hallett Group plans to commission its upcoming US$13.4m Port Augusta slag cement grinding plant in 2023. The plant will use local GGBFS from refineries in nearby Port Pirie and Whyalla, and fly ash from the site of the former Port Augusta power plant, as well as being 100% renewably powered. Upon commissioning, the facility will eliminate regional CO₂ emissions of 300,000t/yr, subsequently rising to 1Mt/yr following planned expansions. Elsewhere, an Australian importer holds an exclusive licencing agreement for UK-based Innovative Ash Solutions' novel air pollution control residue (APCR)-based supplementary cementitious material, an alternative to pulverised fly ash (PFA), while Australian Graphene producer First Graphene is involved in a UK project to develop reduced-CO₂ graphene-enhanced cement.

Golden Bay Cement is investigating the introduction of New Zealand's abundant volcanic ash in its cement production.

Fuels and more

Alternative fuel (AF) substitution in Australian cement production surpassed 18% in 2020, and is set to rise to 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050, or 60% including 10% green hydrogen. In its recent report on Australian cement industry decarbonisation, the German Cement Works Association (VDZ) noted the difficulty that Australia's cement plants face in competing against landfill sites for waste streams. It described current policy as inadequate to incentivise AF use.

Cement producer Adbri is among eight members of an all-Australian consortium currently building a green hydrogen plant at AGL Energy’s Torrens Island gas-fired power plant in South Australia.

Across the Tasman Sea, Golden Bay Cement expects to attain a 60% AF substitution rate through on-going developments in its use of waste tyres and construction wood waste at its Portland cement plant in Northland. The producer will launch its new EcoSure reduced-CO₂ (699kg/t) general-purpose cement in November 2022. In developing EcoSure cement, it co-processed 80,000t of waste, including 3m waste tyres. The company says that this has helped in its efforts to manage its costs amid high coal prices.

Carbon capture

As the largest single contributor in Australia's cement decarbonisation pathway, carbon capture is now beginning to realise its potential. Boral and carbon capture specialist Calix are due to complete a feasibility study for a commercial-scale carbon capture pilot at the Berrima, New South Wales, cement plant in June 2023.

At Cement Australia's Gladstone, Queensland, cement plant, carbon capture is set to combine with green hydrocarbon production in a US$150m circular carbon methanol production facility supplied by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company. From its commissioning in mid-2028, the installation will use the Gladstone plant's captured CO₂ emissions and locally sourced green hydrogen to produce 100,000t/yr of methanol.

More Australian cement plant carbon capture installations may be in the offing. Heidelberg Materials, joint parent company of Cement Australia, obtained an indefinite global licence to Calix's LEILAC technology on 28 October 2022. The Germany-based group said that the method offers effective capture with minimal operational impact.

Cement Australia said “The Gladstone region is the ideal location for growing a diverse green hydrogen sector, with abundant renewable energy sources, existing infrastructure, including port facilities, and a highly skilled workforce." It added "The green hydrogen economy is a priority for the Queensland government under the Queensland Hydrogen Industry Strategy.”

Logistics

Australian and New Zealand cement facilities' remoteness makes logistics an important area of CO₂ emissions reduction. In Australia, cement production uses a 60:40 mix of Australian and imported clinker, while imported cement accounts for 5 – 10% of local cement sales of 11.7Mt/yr.

Fremantle Ports recently broke ground on construction of its US$35.1m Kwinana, Western Australia, clinker terminal. It will supply clinker to grinding plants in the state from its commissioning in 2024. Besides increasing the speed and safety of cement production, the state government said that the facility presents 'very significant environmental benefits.'

Conclusion

Antipodean cement production is undergoing a sustainability transformation, characterised by international collaboration and alliances across industries. The current structure of industrial and energy policy makes it an uphill journey, but for Australia and New Zealand's innovating cement industries, clear goals are in sight and ever nearer within reach.

References

1. Eckstein, Künzel and Schäfer, 'Global Climate Risk Index 2021,' 25 January 2021, https://www.germanwatch.org/en/19777

2. VDZ, 'Decarbonisation Pathways for the Australian Cement and Concrete Sector,' November 2021, https://cement.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Full_Report_Decarbonisation_Pathways_web_single_page.pdf

3. Golden Bay Cement, 'Environmental Product Declaration,' 12 May 2019, https://www.goldenbay.co.nz/assets/Uploads/d310c4f72a/GoldenBayCement_EPD_2019_HighRes.pdf

Egypt: Suez Cement has partnered with Intro Power and Utilities for the construction of a 20MW solar power plant at its Suez cement plant. From its commissioning in early-mid-2023, the installation will provide the plant with 45GWh of energy annually, 20% of its annual consumption. Suez Cement says that this will eliminate 22,000t/yr-worth of CO₂ emissions. Construction is expected to cost US$350m and commence in 2023.

Suez cement aims to achieve specific CO₂ emissions of 400kg/t of cementitious product by 2030, down by 47% from 1990 levels.

Managing director Mohamed Hegazy said “Through transitioning to renewable solar energy, we are looking at long-term economic benefits, laying the foundation for a low-carbon business and energy security, without jeopardising the health of our environment. We are proud about this new milestone and to be one of the few cement players in Egypt taking this step towards using a more affordable and cleaner energy."

Mexico: Cemex sold 47.8Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2022, down by 5.3% year-on-year from 40.5Mt in the same period of 2021. Despite this, its consolidated revenues rose by 8%, to US$11.7bn from US$10.8bn. The group's cost of sales grew by 12% to US$8.09bn from US$7.25bn, and its operating earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 6.6%. Nonetheless, contributions from discontinued operations led to net income growth of 72%, to US$987m from US$574m.

Cemex said that higher prices in local currency terms drove sales growth across all of its regions. As a percentage of sales, costs grew to 70% from 68%, mainly on account of energy price rises. Operating EBITDA fell across all regions apart from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA), where it rose by 2.5% to US$524m from US$511m. Cemex noted Europe's 'remarkable resilience' in implementing 'double-digit' price increases to increase earnings, while also crossing a threshold of 40% in CO2 emissions reduction from its 1990 baseline.

Greece: Titan Group has set new CO₂ reduction targets by adding Scope 3 emissions. Titan Group had previously committed to a 21% Scope 1 emissions reduction and a 42% Scope 2 emissions reduction per tonne of cementitious material between 2020 and 2030. Titan Group reduced its total CO₂ emissions by 20% between 1990 and 2021, and by 5.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022. Its latest targets are currently under review by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Titan Group chair Marcel Cobuz said “The initiatives in our decarbonisation roadmap offer significant business growth opportunities. Our technology and sales teams across all our markets are focused on decarbonising our operations more quickly and offering our customers more and more sustainable and circular solutions.”

New Zealand: Fletcher Building subsidiary Golden Bay Cement has co-processed 80,000t of waste in production of its EcoSure reduced-CO₂ general-purpose cement at its Golden Bay, Whangarei, cement plant. The plant has achieved a coal substitution rate of 50%. It has processed various waste streams, including 3 million used tyres. EcoSure cement generates CO₂ emissions of 699kg/t of product, 20% less than its imported alternatives, according to Golden Bay Cement. Fletcher building CEO Nick Traber said that this figure is 'simply our starting point.' The company's next target is to achieve a 30% CO₂ reduction by 2030.

Traber said "We needed to think outside the box, or rather the cement bag to be more precise. The challenge was around what enhancements we could make to our manufacturing processes at our Golden Bay cement works in order to improve the plant's sustainability. We quickly realised that consuming used tyres and wood waste as alternative fuels was a win-win. When we started with the idea in 2015, we were aiming to replace 15% of coal with end-of-life tyres. Fast forward to 2022, and our rate of coal substitution is now at 50%, which has obviously delivered further reductions in carbon emissions, as well as helping to offset increased coal costs."

Denmark: Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has granted a 150m loan to FLSmidth to support technological developments for the growth of sustainability in the cement and mining sectors. The supplier said that the loan tracks three core sustainability indicators: FLSmidth's ratio of partners with SBTi-certified science-based targets, FLSmidth’s own Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions and its products' Scope 3 impacts.

Chief financial officer Roland Andersen said “With our MissionZero pledge, we are fully committed to developing technologies and solutions that will enable the mining and cement industries to move towards zero emissions by 2030. As sustainability is an integral part of everything we do, it is only natural for us to also link our financing to our sustainability ambitions. This is a first step in this direction, and we are very pleased with the long-term commitment provided by NIB."

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has reaffirmed its 2030 CO₂ emissions reduction targets and submitted them to the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for review. These include a reduction in Scope 1 emissions per tonne of cementitious material of 47% between 1990 and 2030. The initiative will now ensure that the targets conform to a 1.5°C climate change scenario.

Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “We have been actively supporting SBTi’s efforts to develop a 1.5°C roadmap and impactful criteria for the cement industry. With the industry's most ambitious CO₂ reduction targets and a steadily growing portfolio of CCUS projects, we are eager to continue leading the way.”

UK: Denmark-based architecture fund Henrik Frode Obel Foundation has named Seratech as winner of its Obel Award 2022. The award recognises architectural contributions to global development. Seratech has developed an olivine-based composite cement produced using CO₂ from flue emissions, which can sequester double the CO₂ of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). When used as 40% of a blend with OPC, it is able to completely offset the emissions of concrete production.

Team member Barnaby Shanks said "The beauty of the idea is that you can just use it as normal concrete. There are other carbon-neutral materials, but they can be limiting because they can only be precast, cured in a lab in special conditions and shipped elsewhere. We want people to retain the freedom to use concrete the way that they are used to. We don’t want to limit people in any way because we’ll just lessen the amount of impact we can have."

India: Research by the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT Madras) has concluded that limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) production emits 40% less CO₂ than ordinary Portland cement (OPC) production, and is 20% less energy intensive. United News of India has reported that the Switzerland-based Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation supported the study.