Displaying items by tag: Heidelberg Materials

Typical! We published a cement sector news review for 2024 in the December 2024 issue of Global Cement Magazine and a load of big important events happened afterwards. So, here is a roundup of some of the major stories that have taken place in the last two months of the year.

The TL:DR (too long; didn't read) version of ‘Global Cement News in 2024’ was: focus on the US market by the multinationals; cement joining the emissions trading scheme in China as the world’s largest market stagnates; continued rivalry between UltraTech Cement and Adani Group in India as that sector grows; markets in the Middle East and North Africa adjusting to higher exports; the drawn out divestment of InterCement in Brazil; lots of new plants in Sub-Saharan Africa reflecting demographic trends; and an emphasis on construction and demolition materials in Europe but one on aggregates in North America.

However, from November 2024 onwards… Donald Trump was re-elected as President in the US, Quikrete put in an US$11.5bn deal to buy Summit Materials, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan ended in acrimony, Gautam Adani was accused of fraud by a US court and Huaxin Cement said it was buying Holcim’s majority stake in Lafarge Africa for US$1bn. These have all been covered in previous editions of Global Cement Weekly. Check them out for more information. One can tell it’s been a busy tail-end to the year though when a US$600m agreement by Heidelberg Materials North America to buy Giant Cement Holding did not make the top five, admittedly selective, noteworthy news stories of the last two months of 2024. These stories also, roughly, followed the trends highlighted in the ‘Global Cement News in 2024’ article.

To reflect on the Adani story a few weeks later, nothing much seems to have occurred. Yet. The share price of various Adani Group companies fell when the US authorities made the announcement in late November 2024 but they have mostly regained much of their value since then. The consensus by Reuters, this week, was that the US prosecutors have a strong case backed up by documentation but extradition seems unlikely. Adani himself has made public appearances in India since the allegations surfaced. One minor consequence has been that Gautam Adani exited the US$100bn Bloomberg Billionaires Index in 2024. This is likely to have been caused, in part at least, by the allegations from Hindenburg Research in 2023 and the current legal problems from the US bringing down share prices. On the cement side of Adani Group it appears to have been business as usual so far. A large-scale investment in Rajasthan was announced in December 2024 and, this week, plans to merge subsidiaries Sanghi Industries and Penna Cement with Ambuja Cements were disclosed.

Another general trend that we haven’t covered much online have been changes in the Australian market. Last week, Cement Australia, a joint venture between Heidelberg Materials Australia and Holcim Australia, said it was acquiring the cementitious division of the Buckeridge Group of Companies (BGC) for US$800m. This follows CRH’s purchase of a majority stake in AdBri that was approved by the latter’s shareholders over the summer. Around the same time, Seven Group Holdings completed its acquisition of the remaining 28% stake in Boral that it did not already own. For more on the situation in Australia and New Zealand read the article in the January 2025 issue of Global Cement Magazine.

That’s it for 2024. Unless another massive news story in the cement sector gets announced in the next week-and-a-half.

Global Cement Weekly will return on Wednesday 8 January 2025

Germany: KHD will carry out a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the new oxyfuel kiln at Heidelberg Materials' Geseke cement plant, part of the GeZero carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. The project will capture and store around 0.7Mt/yr of CO₂.

Matthias Mersmann, chief technology officer at KHD, said "At KHD, we have long recognised oxyfuel technology’s potential for cement decarbonisation and are well-positioned to contribute to this important flagship project.”

Germany: Fluor has signed a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract with Heidelberg Materials for its GeZero project to integrate an industrial-scale CO₂ capture and storage solution into its cement production facility in Geseke. Fluor will recognise the undisclosed contract value in the fourth quarter of 2024. It will be responsible for design integration of several decarbonisation technologies at the Geseke cement production facility. Construction is planned to start in 2026, with commissioning three years later.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has appointed Gün Burak Günbey as Senior Project Manager at its Competence Center Cement global research and development hub.

Günbey has worked for the cement sector since the late 2000s. He has held engineering, project management and investment roles at OYAK Bolu Çimento, Limak Cement and Vicat. He became the Group Investment Manager for Vicat Group Türkiye in 2021 and subsequently worked as Project Expert for VICAT Senegal Sococim from 2023.

Norway: SLB Capturi has reached mechanical completion of the carbon capture unit at Heidelberg Materials' cement plant in Brevik. The unit includes the carbon capture system, compression system, heat integration system, intermediate storage, and loadout facilities. The plant is now ready for testing and commissioning. The carbon capture plant is designed to capture up to 0.4Mt/yr of CO₂ from one production line at the cement plant. When operational, this world-first commercial-scale carbon capture plant at a cement plant will enable production of an amount of net-zero cement, without compromising on the product strength or quality. SLB Capturi is a joint venture between SLB and Aker Carbon Capture.

"Reaching this milestone is a testament to the power of working together and the collective determination to make a positive climate impact," said Egil Fagerland, CEO of SLB Capturi. "We look forward to continuing these collaborative efforts as we move toward the commissioning and operational phases of the project. The Brevik CCS plant sets a precedent for future carbon capture initiatives, where learnings and insights from this groundbreaking project enable others to follow."

"The mechanical completion of the Brevik CCS project is a landmark achievement in the decarbonisation journey of the cement industry,” said Giv Brantenberg, general manager Northern Europe, Heidelberg Materials. “This project exemplifies our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and the pursuit of solutions that address the pressing issue of climate change. We are immensely proud of the dedication and hard work of our teams and partners who have made this possible."

Spain: Heidelberg Materials Hispania and Enagás have signed a collaboration agreement for a CO₂ capture, transmission, liquefaction and storage project in Northern Spain. Heidelberg Materials Hispania says that the collaboration will support carbon capture installations at its plants in the region. The partners will now produce a feasibility study and technical designs for CO₂ transmission, liquefaction and storage infrastructure, including the use of Enagás’ existing regasification terminals.

Heidelberg Materials Hispania operates the 1.1Mt/yr Añorga and Arrigorriaga cement plants, both in the Basque Country.

Azerbaijan: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has called on governments at the COP29 climate conference to support the decarbonisation of the cement industry. The association published its Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25 to coincide with the conference. The report details the ‘extensive decarbonisation work’ currently underway in the industry, including accelerating carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), switching to renewable energy sources, advancing the circular economy and reducing cement’s clinker factor. The sector expects to commission its first net zero cement plant, following a carbon capture upgrade to Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway, later in 2024.

GCCA president Fernando González said “Our industry is engaged in the most significant transformation in its history. To fully unlock our decarbonisation progress in this crucial Decade to Deliver, we urgently need effective policy support."

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has started the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study phase on the GeZero project at its Milke plant in Geseke. The technical planning phase is being conducted by Fluor Corporation. It will focus on the design and integration of the various systems into the overall technical concept, which also includes a CO₂ transport solution. The technical planning is expected to be completed in mid-2025 with construction scheduled to start in 2026.

Christian Knell, CEO of Heidelberg Materials Germany, said “With GeZero, Heidelberg Materials will rely on CO₂ capture using state-of-the-art oxyfuel technology in combination with a CO₂ cleaning and liquefaction plant. To pave the way for domestic CCS plants, a CO₂ transport solution by rail is part of the planning until the necessary pipeline infrastructure is available. In addition, a local CO2 storage hub is to be created as interim storage. The electrical energy requirement for the operation of the plant is to be covered exclusively by renewable energies. A new photovoltaic system in the vicinity of the factory premises will help to meet the needs.”

The GeZero project is preparing to build a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) value chain for the Geseke cement plant, North Rhine-Westphalia, in inland Germany. It aims to capture 0.7Mt/yr of CO₂ starting from 2029. The project is supported by the European Union Innovation Fund.

Australia: Hanson Australia has changed its name to Heidelberg Materials Australia as part of parent company Heidelberg Materials’ global rebranding strategy.

The company started in 1949 when Pioneer was established as a ready-mix concrete producer. It was later acquired by Hanson in 2000 and rebranded as Hanson Australia in 2004. Hanson was subsequently acquired by Heidelberg Materials in 2007. Heidelberg Materials began its global rebranding from Heidelberg Cement in September 2022. Hanson’s subsidiaries Hymix, Pioneer North Queensland, Placecrete, Traino, Alex Fraser and Suncoast Asphalt will continue to operate under their existing brands.

Germany: In the first nine months of 2024, Heidelberg Materials' sales fell by 2.1% to €15.75bn from €16.8bn in the same period of 2023. The result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation rose by €101m or 3% to €3.28bn, while the result from current operations increased by €58m or 2.6% to €2.33bn.

The company’s businesses in Europe reported a revenue of €7.1bn in the nine-month period, a 2.7% decrease from €7.3bn in 2023. In North America, Heidelberg Materials reported a revenue of €3.98bn, marking a 0.5% increase from January - September 2023. In the Asia-Pacific region, revenue decreased by 5.2% to €2.6bn, and the Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia region also saw a decline of 6.2% year-on-year to €1.65bn.