Displaying items by tag: Partnership

India: Dalmia Bharat Foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bokaro Steel Plant for the training of 600 new young people from Bokaro every year. Under the initiative, the partners will run short, placement-based courses at the DIKSHa (Dalmia Institute of Knowledge and Skill Harnessing) centre.

Dalmia Bharat Foundation CEO and Dalmia Bharat group head - corporate social responsibility Vishal Bhardwaj said “Since our inception in 2009, we’ve witnessed our role gradually transform from being a resource provider to a key enabler for positive change in society. While we’ve created a legacy of development and change for the better, we continue to strive to ensure that we meet newer economic and environmental needs and close wider societal gaps as much as possible.”

Denmark: FLSmidth has formed a partnership called ECoClay to develop and commercialise the technology needed to electrify the calcination of clay used in cement production. The partners include the Danish Technological Institute, US-based industrial heating specialist Rondo Energy, France-based Vicat, Colombia-based Cementos Argos and the Technical University of Denmark. The project is partly funded by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) under the Danish Energy Agency.

The use of calcined clay in cement production allows cement producers to replace up to 30% of limestone-based clinker, resulting in up to 40% lower CO₂/t in cement produced. By electrifying the process, ideally powered by renewable sources, the ECoClay partnership expects to further reduce emissions by 10% at more uniform conditions that allow processing of a broader range of raw clays.

Based on the shared research and tests on high-temperature electric heat generation, storage solutions and renewable grid integration, the ECoClay partnership will build a pilot plant at FLSmidth’s research and development centre in Denmark. The consortium will seek to demonstrate how the ECoClay process is superior to the conventional combustion processes, has a smaller physical footprint on site and significantly lower emissions of air pollutants. According to the project plan, the ECoClay partners expect to be able to commence construction of the first full-scale electric clay calcination installation by the end of 2025.

Switzerland/France: Holcim is collaborating with Engie and and the French National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) Lyon to develop a cement-based energy storage technology to serve as an alternative to batteries. The solution will use cement hydration to store heat as energy and release it when needed in an infinitely repeatable cycle. The partners say that it will make energy storage local, safe, affordable and recyclable.

Holcim’s head of global innovation Edelio Bermejo said "The world needs innovative solutions to accelerate our shift towards renewable energy generation, distribution and storage – all areas in which Holcim can play a big part. With this collaboration, we are moving energy storage forward, opening up a new range of solutions based on materials that are local and recyclable."

Switzerland/Germany: Holcim has announced the launch of a strategic partnership with inductive charging technology developer Magment to test and commercialise magnetisable concrete technology for use in roads. The technology will power and charge electric vehicles as they drive on roads fitted with Magment. Another possible application is in industrial floors, to charge robots and forklifts.

Holcim’s Global Innovation Center head Edelio Bermejo said: “At Holcim we are innovating to put concrete at the centre of our world’s transition to net-zero. With Magment, we are excited to be developing concrete solutions to accelerate electric mobility. Partnering with start-ups all over the world, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation to lead the way in sustainability.”

Mexico/UK: Cemex has partnered with UK-based carbon capture equipment supplier Carbon8 Systems to evaluate possible uses of the supplier’s Accelerated Carbonation Technology (ACT) in the group’s cement production. Operators can use the equipment to produce carbon-infused sustainable materials from thermal residues. Cemex says that one possible application will be in the production of supplementary cementitious materials. Under the partnership, Carbon8 Systems will evaluate a range of Cemex’s byproducts for possible use, beginning at its Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany and Rugby cement plant in the UK. It will also evaluate the suitability of alternative lightweight aggregates produced using ACT for sale in each market.

Executive vice president sustainability, commercial, and operations development Juan Romero said "This initiative with Carbon8 Systems is another example of the work we are doing with partners across industries, academia, and startups to tap into the latest innovation and disruptive technologies to achieve our ambition of delivering net-zero CO2 concrete globally to all of our customers."

Colombia: Cementos Argos and Saint-Gobain have launched a joint venture in the area of lightweight construction materials. The new business will supply the Colombian market with mortar and ‘a wide range’ of other products. Cementos Argos says that the venture will combine Saint-Gobain’s global mortars technology and know-how with its own strong leadership and local presence to accelerate the evolution of the construction market towards a sustainable future. It added that the undertaking aims to strengthen both parties’ leadership and regional growth. They expect to conclude the deal in early 2022.

Taiwan: Asia Cement Corporation plans to establish further offshore wind power plants under an extension of its partnership with Germany-based power company RWE. SNL Energy Finance Daily News has reported that the partners are investigating potential sites in Changhua, Hsinchu and Taichung.

China: Australia-based FCT Combustion has announced a formal alliance with air pollution control partner Enelco Environmental Technology (EET). Together the companies will target the Chinese cement, steel, glass and other markets. EET has become the exclusive China representative of FCT Combustion, with which it shares its capabilities and resources in the service of Chinese customers.

The two companies have set up a joint office in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. A workshop in Bengbu, Anhui province will support its work. FCT Combustion and EET also plan to launch local technical support, engineering and procurement teams for customers in China.

FCT Group chief executive officer Adriano Greco said “We have great respect for our growing customer base within China and believe that it is important to establish a locally based business unit so that we can deliver the best outcomes and customer experiences, providing customer service and engineering according to the local culture and language, as well as local procurement to offer the most cost-effective solution.”

World: Three cement producers - Cemex, Dalmia Cement and Holcim – are founding members of COP26’s First Movers Coalition public-private partnership. The partnership plans to use its global purchasing power to create markets for emerging CO₂ emissions reduction technologies, in order to accelerate and scale collective impact towards the global realisation of emissions reduction targets.

The coalition expects technologies currently on the market to account for 82% of CO₂ emissions reduction before 2030 and 50% before 2050, while it expects future technologies to account for 15% before 2030 and 46% before 2050.

Germany: Cemex Zement’s Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg, cement plant is to host a new 100t/day carbon capture installation. Cemex Zement will collaborate with UK-based Carbon Clean on a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the project. The system will combine captured CO₂ with sustainably sourced hydrogen in order to produce green synthetic hydrocarbons. The partners aim to increase the system’s CO₂ capture capacity to 300t/day by 2026, before finally scaling it up to 2000t/day.

Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia regional president Sergio Menendez said “This project with Carbon Clean is the latest development in Cemex’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality at the Rüdersdorf cement plant by 2030, through our pioneering carbon neutral alliance with expert industrial consortiums. Carbon capture will play a fundamental role in the efforts to succeed at this goal and ensure our operations are more sustainable.”