Displaying items by tag: France

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies plans to expand its low-CO2 cement’s presence in and beyond France through the establishment of 15 – 20 new licenced plants before 2030. The Les Echos newspaper has reported that the company plans to raise Euro25m, of which it will invest Euro15.7m in international licencing contracts for its technology. In 2026, it expects the contracts to derive 10Mt of its revenues, 7.7% of its target for the year.

France/US: Vicat Group has signed a Euro250m financing agreement taking the form of a private placement with US investors. The first tranche of the agreement covers Euro100m, with a maturity of 10 years, at a fixed rate of 1.27%. The second tranche is for Euro150m, with a maturity of 15 years, at a fixed rate of 1.57%. The group says it will use the funding to strengthen the liquidity of its balance sheet, extend the overall maturity of its debt and reduce its average debt ratio.

France: Vicat has reiterated its CO₂ emissions reduction target of 55% between 1990 and 2030 and reaffirmed its 2050 carbon neutrality commitment. The company says that its will invest Euro800m in transitioning to lower-CO₂ cement production between 2021 and 2030 in order to meet the 2030 target. It said that eight US and European cement plants with ‘limited decarbonisation standards’ currently generate 67% of its earnings before interest, taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

France: Vicat plans to test hydrogen electrolysis technology provided by Genvia for a pilot project at its Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant. Genvia made the announcement following a tour of its facilities by President Emmanuel Macron. It will be working with Vicat, Hynamics, a subsidiary of EDF group, and EDF Energy on the initiative. Other pilot projects have been announced with steel producers ArcelorMittal and Ugitech.

Genvia is a hydrogen production joint venture between French Alternative Energies and the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Schlumberger New Energy, VINCI Construction, Vicat Group and the Occitanie Region. It is developing and promoting solid oxide technology to enable industrial decarbonisation through hydrogen production, energy storage and fuel applications at scale.

Europe: US-based CASE Construction Equipment has won a contract to supply Cemex with a new fleet of backhoe and wheel loaders for its building solutions operations in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Europe regional mobile equipment fleet and category manager Craig Hooper said “As one of the world’s largest building solutions providers, Cemex is committed to leading on the path to a low carbon economy and is closely evaluating all areas of its business to make efficiency improvements. The vehicles we use as part of our work are a key part of this and we are pleased to have agreed this contract with CASE for these vehicles, which will provide a significant sustainability benefit to Cemex’s European operations. They incorporate advanced technology alongside lower fuel consumption due to an improved power to weight ratio. We look forward to working with CASE to explore other opportunities to enhance the eco-credentials of our fleet.”

France/US: Fortera has appointed Thierry Legrand as the president of its European region. The company said that the addition of a president in Europe was the first step in creating a broader presence allowing for Fortera's carbon reducing cement to be deployed on a global scale.

Legrand previously worked for Lafarge and Holcim for over 25 years in European, Asian and African markets. During this time he became the country chief executive officer (CEO) in South Africa and Malaysia before finally becoming the Project Director Logistic Europe for LafargeHolcim between 2018 and 2020. Legrand follows former LafargeHolcim CEO Eric Olsen in joining Fortera. Olsen was appointed to Fortera’s board of directors in June 2021.

Read more about Fortera in the October 2021 issue of Global Cement Magazine

France: Vicat says it aims to start cultivating spirulina at its Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant in the summer of 2022 as part of its Cimentalgue project. It plans to grow 1t/yr until 2024 as part of a trial looking at volume and quality, according to the Agence France Presse. It will use CO₂ and waste heat from the plant to grow the cyanobacteria that can be used as a food source.

The project is being conducted with Algosource and the GEPEA (Process Engineering for Environment and Food) laboratory at the University of Nantes. TotalEnergies is also involved as a financial backer. The project has a budget of Euro2m and is also supported by the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME).

France: Ireland-based Ecocem has opened its new innovation centre, the Centre of Excellence, in Paris. The purpose of the facility is to help to accelerate the development of new technology for the decarbonisation of the cement and construction industries. Ecocem's innovation team will use it for industrial-scale trials in collaboration with industry and academic partners, including Paris-Saclay University and The University of Toulouse. It says that it hopes that one outcome will be the further developmentof the Ecocem reduced-CO₂ product range. Breakthrough Energy Ventures provided funding towards the centre's construction.

Ecocem innovation director Laurent Frouin said “Ecocem is committed to the deep and rapid decarbonisation of the global cement industry. It is essential for the planet and future generations, and it can be achieved through innovation and technology." He added “The cement and construction industries are developing and deploying a range of emission reduction technologies – Ecocem and our new Centre of Excellence will add a further dimension to these efforts.”

France: Fives Pillard has appointed Fabien Illy as an executive director. His main role will be to drive the business strategy, the international development of the company and boost its growth.

Illy first started his career at Air Liquide where he worked in its research and development department for combustion and cryogenics. He joined Fives Group in 2015 and has held various positions from sales and business development to management. He holds a master’s degree in thermal engineering from the CentraleSupélec graduate engineering school of Paris-Saclay University in Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

Fives Pillard designs and manufactures burners for the mineral and energy sectors.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has renewed its strategic partnership with research and testing organization Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB). CSTB has provided Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies with certification for its clinker-free cements since 2017.It evaluates the products' performance, durability and safety.

The producer said "Hoffmann Green Cement's research and development strategy is to continually invest in the development of new low-carbon technologies. The signing of this partnership agreement will allow the company to benefit over time from optimised deadlines in the processing of its files for the evaluation of its current and future technologies."