Displaying items by tag: Holcim

US: Holcim US has announced plans for a 25MW solar power plant to serve 75% of the electricity needs of its Alpena cement plant in Michigan. The company says that the installation at the Alpena plant will be the largest in the US Midwest Region. Holcim US chose NorthStar Clean Energy to build the array, which it says will eliminate 25,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Other planned projects at the Alpena cement plant include an upgrade to the plant's dock in order to accommodate larger vessels and reduce the number of trips in its Great Lakes transport operations.

Holcim US' senior vice president, manufacturing, Michael Nixon said “As Holcim is showing in Alpena, the path to net-zero carbon emissions requires a blend of proactive solutions. Whether it’s using alternative fuels or implementing renewable energy from solar power, we are committed to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels — a goal that will benefit the environment as a whole and the Alpena community we have called home for more than 115 years.”

Guatemala: Switzerland-based Holcim has acquired mortars and adhesives producer Minerales y Agregados, Reuters has reported. Holcim described Guatemala as a 'high-growth market.'

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has commissioned its new 120,000t/yr mortar plant at its Malagueño cement plant in Córdoba. The plant cost US$5m to build. It is equipped with six 100t raw material silos and eight 1t additive silos. It also has a 2000l mixer, three packing machines and an automated palletiser. Holcim Argentina says that the plant will produce its Tector Adhesive and Tector Revoques ranges of mortar.

Holcim Argentina chief executive officer Christian Dedeu said “This new plant is aligned with our purpose of generating progress for people and the planet, accompanied by a diversification of our product portfolio. It consolidates us as the leading company in innovative solutions for construction.”

Ireland: Ecocem has appointed Jaouad Nadah as its Innovation Project Manager. He will be responsible for the coordination of the company’s ACT technology as it scales up development. This will include supporting a range of partnerships under development by Ecocem across Europe and beyond. Nadah previously worked for CRH-subsidiary Eqiom and Holcim, with a focus on innovation in the low carbon cement market. Ecocem launched ACT in late 2022. It says it is an alternative materials-based cement ingredient capable of reducing the CO₂ emissions of cement production by up to 70%.

US: Holcim US has joined the New York Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program as part of its plans to enter Purchase Power Agreements (PPA) so that it can use more renewable energy sources. The scheme is intended to help support its investment in on-site renewable energy generation.

Atl Martinez, the Vice President of Procurement at Holcim North America, said “Holcim US is focused on driving significant progress to meet our Green Growth Strategy goals, so we consistently evaluate our environmental impact and opportunities to incorporate more sustainable solutions into our operations.” He added, “Through the New York VDER program, we support not only our ongoing investment in on-site generation but also community solar projects that help drive greener outcomes for all.”

The company will host three separate solar arrays on Holcim's non-mineable aggregate sites. These sites, operating in conjunction with various other offsite arrays within the Holcim VDER agreement, are expected to generate more than 80GWh/yr of energy. Energy generated from these sites will effectively power seven aggregate and cement sites through renewable energy credits.

Other work by Holcim US towards net zero includes its participation in the Northeast Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub program. The company has also expanded its renewable portfolio to include a 40MW battery storage system and 78MW of solar arrays in Ohio, Maryland and Arkansas. In late 2022, it entered into its first virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Romania: Holcim Romania says that it has received Euro15.7m-worth of funding from the Romanian government. Romania Insiders News has reported that the company declined comment on its intended use of the funds.

Holcim Romania controls 3.5Mt/yr-worth of integrated production capacity across three cement plants in Argeș, Bihor and Cluj counties.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines introduced Holcim Optima, a blended Portland limestone cement (PLC), on the Philippine market on 8 June 2023. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that Holcim Optima cement offers 10% reduced CO₂ emissions compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC).

President and CEO Horia Adrian said that Holcim Optima cement 'delivers the same strength, workability and durability as OPC and remains compatible with other cement additives such as slag and fly ash. The new product is best used in large building projects and available in bulk.' Adrian added "It is a timely product for the Philippines, as infrastructure building accelerates and green demand grows."

Taiwan Cement said this week that it is aiming for cement to account for less than half of its sales by 2025. At the annual shareholders’ meeting chair Nelson Chang defended the cement sector as a core business but said that the company was expanding more into the green energy sector through its energy storage and vehicle charging lines. Chang directly linked the strategy to growing carbon taxes around the world, such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, where the carbon price has been occasionally close to pushing past Euro100/t since early 2022. Taiwan Cement formed a joint venture with Türkiye-based Oyak Group in 2018 that runs Cimpor in Portugal.

Table 1: Cement business share by revenue of selected cement producers. Source: Corporate annual reports.

Taiwan Cement’s plan to decrease its reliance on cement is becoming a familiar one. Holcim notably revealed in 2021 that it was growing its light building materials division. Its cement division represented 60% of sales in 2020 with concrete and aggregates making up most of the rest to 92% and the remaining 8% on other products including light building materials. This started to change with the acquisition of roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products in 2021. Other similar acquisitions have followed. Holcim’s current target is to grow the Solutions & Products division to around 30% by 2025, with cement reduced to somewhere between a third and half of sales. Earlier this year Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement said it was doing a similar thing as part of its medium-term strategy to 2035. In its case cement represented 70% of its sales in 2022 but it is now aiming to reduce this to 65% by 2025 and 50% by 2035.

A common pattern for the business composition of European cement companies is a mixture of heavy building materials made up of cement, concrete and aggregate. However, not every cement company follows the same route. Some cement companies are simply parts of larger conglomerates. UltraTech Cement, for example, is mostly just a cement company. However, it is also part of Aditya Birla Group, which runs a wide range of industries including chemicals, textiles, financial services, telecoms, mining and more. Depending on how one looks at it, UltraTech Cement’s cement business ratio is large or Aditya Birla Group’s ratio is small. Siam Cement Group (SCG) in Thailand is another example of a cement producer operated by a conglomerate with other major businesses.

A different approach that some cement producers take is to mix cement production with complimentary businesses outside of heavy building materials. A good example of this is Votorantim Cement in Brazil, which manufactures cement and steel. Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) is another Brazil-based cement producer that is also well known for steel production. Adani Group in India, meanwhile, was well known for logistics, power generation and airports before it purchased Ambuja Cements and ACC from Holcim in 2022.

The driver for cement companies looking to reduce cement as a proportion of their businesses has varied between the three examples presented above. Holcim’s approach has been in response to growing European carbon costs but it also fits with a general desire to broaden its business as the company has sought to reshape itself following the merger between Lafarge and Holcim. Taiheiyo Cement’s plans also have a sustainability angle but the Japanese market has been in slow decline since the 1990s and this has been made worse by the spike in energy prices since 2022. Investing in new businesses makes sense for either of these reasons. Lastly, Taiwan Cement says it is taking action in response to carbon prices around the world. However, its proximity to many other large-scale producers in the Far East may also be a factor. Whether more companies follow suit and also start to reduce the ratio of their cement businesses remains to be seen. Yet, mounting carbon taxes and global production overcapacity look set to make more of the larger cement producers consider their options in certain places.

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.

US: Holcim US has inaugurated a waste tyre processing plant at its Alpena cement plant in Michigan. The facility will process 22,000t/yr of tyres into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at the cement plant. Holcim US partner Geocycle will collect, pre-process and deliver the tyres to the new facility.

Holcim US’ North regional senior vice president of manufacturing Michael Nixon said "Holcim has invested more than US$100m in eco-friendly technologies at the Alpena plant in the past 15 years. The tyre-derived fuel facility is another strong demonstration of our commitment to reducing emissions."