Displaying items by tag: Plant

Heidelberg Materials announced this week that it had received the funding clearance to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit at its Padeswood cement plant in Cymru (also known as Wales). Construction on the project will start later in 2025 with net zero cement production expected in 2029. The upgrade will be the group’s first full-scale carbon capture facility. It will capture around 0.8Mt/yr of CO₂ at the site or around 95% of the CO₂ emissions from the process. As the captured emissions will also include biogenic CO₂ from biomass fuels - including domestic food, wood and paper wastes - cement produced at the plant could potentially be net negative.

Just like Heidelberg Material’s first large-scale CCS project at the Brevik cement plant in Norway, the work at Padeswood is part of a larger government-backed decarbonisation cluster. In this case it’s the HyNet North West project. Captured CO₂ from Padeswood will be transported via an underground pipeline for storage under the seabed in Liverpool Bay. The wider cluster will also produce, transport and store hydrogen. A waste-to-energy company Encyclis also announced this week that it had also agreed terms with the government for its Protos CCS project.

It is worth noting the differences between Heidelberg Material’s first two large-scale CCS projects. Padeswood, like Brevik, will use an amine-based carbon capture system but the technology is likely to be provided by a different supplier. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Worley were awarded the contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase of the project in 2024 with the intention of using MHI’s Advanced KM CDR Process. The funding model is also different for Padeswood. In Norway the original estimate was that over three-quarters of the carbon capture unit would be paid for using state aid and over two-thirds of the funding for the transport and storage of CO₂ would come from the government. Large sums of government grant funding could be seen entering Heidelberg Materials’ balance sheet in 2024 for example. By contrast, Heidelberg Materials says it has agreed a ‘contract for difference’ (CFD) with the UK government. Under the terms of this contract the cement company will provide the upfront investment to build the project and will also be responsible for any additional costs over the agreed contract price. The CFD will likely track the carbon price in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The wider picture is that the UK government allocated just under €25bn in late 2024 towards two decarbonisation clusters with the funding to be made available over 25 years. However, the completion date for the Padeswood CCS of 2029 is, coincidentally, the latest year by which the next UK parliamentary election could be held. The incumbent Labour party is currently behind in the polls to the populist Reform UK party. The deputy leader of the latter said that his party would cut all "net stupid zero" policies if they entered government. It is likely that the arrangement between Heidelberg Materials and the UK government is legally binding for decades to come with provision for all sorts of eventualities. Yet readers may recall the decision by the second Trump administration in the US to cancel funding for various carbon capture projects including at least one cement project. There is also opposition from various groups in the UK to carbon capture generally and from some groups to HyNet specifically. HyNot, for example, applied for a judicial review in August 2025 challenging the government’s decision to allow Italy-based Eni to store carbon dioxide in Liverpool Bay.

Another issue is that UK cement production dropped to 7.3Mt in 2024, the lowest level since 1950. The impending carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), due in 2027, should help local producers fight off imports but if the market stays down then the production base may need to be rationalised. A cement plant with a new CCS unit linked to the government’s flagship decarbonisation cluster doesn’t seem an obvious choice for closure anytime soon though.

From here it’s all about building new carbon capture projects at different cement plants in different locations with different technologies and so on to determine what works and what doesn’t. A major part of this phase is deciding what kind of government involvement fits and trying it out over the coming years. To end, a CCS project in the north of the UK is poignant given that the Industrial Revolution started here in the late 18th Century. ‘Pob lwc’ (good luck) to all concerned!

UK: Holcim UK has appointed Jan-Willem Verkaik as the Project Director for its carbon capture project at its cement plant at Cauldon in Staffordshire.

Verkaik holds over 30 years’ project management experience, having overseen the planning and execution of gas developments in countries including Brunei, Iraq, Norway, Russia and the UAE. Much of his career has been spent working for Shell and related companies. He worked for Brunei Shell Petroleum on offshore projects from 2007 to 2013. He later held positions with Shell and joint-venture Basrah Gas Company. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

France: Switzerland-based F. Scott Group is seeking public opinion on its plans to build a new cement plant, named Coastline West, at the multi-bulk terminal of the port of Montoir-de-Bretagne near Saint-Nazaire, according to Ouest-France. The €55m project, covering 6.4 hectares, is now under public consultation until 15 October 2025. Raw materials such as limestone and slag will be shipped in by boat and transported by truck to the site, with traffic reportedly expected at around 13 trucks per day. The proposed facility will employ 35 people once operational.

Finished cement will be shipped by both truck and rail, with construction expected to take 18 months, requiring around 50 workers on-site during the building phase.

Sierra Leone: IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a US$24m financing package for MACCEM Industries to build and operate a new cement grinding plant in Freetown. The project aims to reduce Sierra Leone’s reliance on cement imports, improve access to locally produced building materials and create new jobs. The package includes a US$12m loan from IFC’s own account and an additional US$12m from the IDA20 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. The new plant has a planned capacity of 657,000t/yr and is expected to meet up to 65% of the country’s domestic cement demand. It will also reportedly integrate solar energy into its operations.

Ahmad Mackie, CEO of Maccem Industries, said “Together we are building the country’s first cement grinding plant in four decades, a project that will reduce import dependency, create jobs, empower local businesses, and set a stronger foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth.”

Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Group joint country representative in Sierra Leone, added “IFC’s partnership with MACCEM will support the development of housing and vital infrastructure such as roads, housing, water systems and energy projects.”

Mexico: The government of Campeche and directors of La Cruz Azul Cooperativa have officially launched the construction of the company’s new 1.0Mt/yr cement plant in Seybaplaya, Campeche. This will be the company’s fifth cement plant.

Gustavo Cruz Vega, director of new projects, said the plant will be “a modern automated facility, with 432 vibration measurement points, 600 temperature and vibration sensors, digital management and 100% advanced artificial intelligence, in addition to being able to generate clean energy and use alternative fuels.” He added that the plant’s systems will ‘guarantee zero dust emissions’ and low levels of pollutants.

He Xiaolong, vice president of China National Materials Group Corporation (SINOMA) and president of China National Building Material Group (CNBM) and Equipment Group (TCDRI), said this will be the first smart production line the consortium has built outside China, with 90% of the equipment designed and manufactured by its own engineering teams.

Zimbabwe: Construction of the Chegutu cement plant by Chinese investor Shuntal Investment has reportedly reached the halfway stage, with production scheduled to begin in early 2026, according to the government-owned newspaper The Sunday Mail. The plant will produce 800,000t/yr of cement and is the second cement plant under development in Mashonaland West, alongside WIH-Zim’s Magunje plant, also set to open in 2026.

Shuntal Investment general manager Zhou Bin said the project is on schedule. “The entire project is expected to be completed before the onset of the 2025/2026 rainy season. This timing is deliberate so that production will not be disrupted during the critical rainy months,” he said  

He added that the plant will adopt modern technology, including a pipe spray cooling system, bag-type dust removers reportedly capable of reducing 99% of dust emissions, and fully enclosed, spill-proof production lines. Raw materials will be sourced from the nearby Lambourne quarry site, reducing Zimbabwe’s dependence on imports. Around 200 local workers are currently employed, building staff housing, storage facilities, warehouses and plant infrastructure.

Ropafadzo Chafesuka, a female truck driver at the site, said 'There are several female workers here, and this has empowered us. We are certain that once the plant starts production, more women will be employed, reducing early marriages and helping fight drug and substance abuse.”

Local press in Zimbabwe previously reported in August 2025 that Shuntai Holdings was in a legal battle with a local school over the construction of the plant 497m from the school’s boundary. Construction has reportedly continued despite a High Court judge ordering construction to cease.

Cameroon: The Central Africa Cement (CAC) plant in Koukoue, Edéa district, was inaugurated on 19 September 2025, in a ceremony chaired by Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development Fuh Calixtus. The event was also attended by the Minister of Transport and local leaders. The US$21m project has a production capacity of 1Mt/yr, and will use local resources such as limestone and pozzolan, while importing clinker. Cement output will serve both domestic demand and export markets, according to Afrik Info.

The new facility will reportedly create 121 direct jobs and boost local supply with affordable cement. It also reinforces Cameroon’s position as a cement hub in Central Africa and aligns with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which aim to increase competitiveness in international trade.

Nigeria/Botswana: Nigeria-based producer Dangote Cement has announced plans to expand into Botswana with a new plant, which would increase its presence on the continent to 12 countries. The plan was disclosed by Emmanuel Ikazoboh, newly appointed chair of Dangote Cement, during a presentation at the Nigerian Exchange Group.

“We are fully aware of the challenges in South Africa, which is why we’re opening a plant in Botswana, geographically close to the market,” Ikazoboh said. “South Africa currently imports cement, and while we have urged the government to curb imports, progress has been slow.”

According to the company, the Botswana blending plant will help boost production and improve profitability, with Dangote Cement targeting 66.4Mt/yr across all of its operations by 2030, a 28% increase from its current capacity of 52Mt/yr.

Pakistan: The Punjab government has approved the construction of a new Gharibwal Cement plant in Chakwal. The Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman described the approval of a new cement plant in Chakwal as a milestone for industrial growth that would support the construction sector and stabilise the local economy.

There have been a few burner and related stories to note in the cement industry news this week. Firstly, Canada-based PyroGenesis announced that it had signed a deal with an unnamed-European cement company to supply a plasma torch system for a ‘calcination furnace.’ Around the same time UBE Mitsubishi Cement (MUCC) revealed that it had successfully tested natural gas co-firing at MUCC’s Kyushu Plant using a newly developed burner.

The PyroGenesis project is a potential game-changer for the sector because it alters the way cement production lines are heated. Roughly one third of CO₂ emissions associated with cement manufacture arise from the fossil fuels used to heat the kiln and the pre-calcination system. Cut out some of that and the specific CO₂ emissions of cement production drop. PyroGenesis’ approach uses electricity to generate high-temperature plasma. This then gives the cement plant the option of obtaining its electricity from renewable sources. PyroGenesis signed a memorandum of understanding with the power conversion division of GE Vernova in March 2025. This had the aim of targeting high temperature processes, such as cement production, with electric plasma torches. The current deal with a cement producer has been valued at US$871,000 with delivery to the client scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

We don’t know who the mystery client might be. However, Heidelberg Materials reportedly operated a 300kW plasma-heated cement kiln at its Slite cement plant in February 2025 as part of the ELECTRA project. The producer said it had achieved 54 hours of continuous operation, with 60% CO₂ concentration in the flue gas. The aim was to reach 99%. It then said that it was planning to build a larger 1MWel furnace at its Skövde cement plant in 2026 with tests to continue in 2027. In an interview with Global Cement Magazine in May 2025, Heidelberg Materials said that it was using commercially supplied CO₂ as the ionising gas in the plasma generator but that it was considering using captured CO₂ from the production process in the future. It also mentioned issues from its trials such as the effective ‘flame’ being hotter than the conventional process but not as long. This increased the reactivity of the resulting clinker. Finally, Heidelberg Materials noted from a feasibility study that a 1Mt/yr cement plant would need around 170MW of plasma generation, but that typical plasma generators topped out at around 8MW. Hence, any full set-up would likely require multiple plasma generators. For more on non-combustion style kilns see GCW561.

UBE Mitsubishi Cement’s burner installation is more conventional but again it is concerned about sustainability. In this case the line has tested burning natural gas. The cement producer says it is the first such installation at a cement plant in Japan to do so commercially. The burner was jointly developed by UBE Mitsubishi Cement, Osaka Gas and Daigas Energy. Firstly, the plant will consider switching to natural gas. This will reduce the unit’s CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. However, a later step being considered is to move on to e-methane. This is a synthetic methane made from CO₂ and hydrogen using renewable energy.

Finally, another recent story on this theme is the installation of a new satellite burner by Northern Ireland-based Mannok at its Derrylin cement plant in August 2025. This is Phase One of a two-part project to upgrade the pyro kiln system at the site. The cement company worked with FLSmidth on the €2.5m upgrade. The new burner has now allowed the plant to burn solid recovered fuel (SRF) by up to a 30% substitution rate in the kiln. This followed a project, also with FLSmidth, to install a FuelFlex Pyrolyzer in 2022. This is used to replace coal with SRF in the pre-calcination stage of cement production. Phase two will be an upgrade of the main burner to a new Jetflex burner. Once this part is completed, Mannok is aiming for an overall substitution rate of 65 - 70% on the whole pyro-processing system.

Burners at cement plants are replaced fairly commonly. However, the supplier companies don’t advertise every installation due to the commercial relationships with their clients and other factors. Hence the more interesting upgrades tend to get the publicity. Typically this means if a burner uses new technology, meets sustainability goals and so on, we find out about it. It’s a similar situation when a new heating technology such as plasma is trialled. Changing trends in fuel types for cement plants suggest different types of conventional burners. Some of this can be seen in the burner stories above with the trend moving towards ever higher rates of alternative fuels usage. Combustion in cement kilns is here to stay for the time being but plasma trials will be watched carefully.

The 18th Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition on alternative fuels for cement and lime 2025 will take place in Milan on 17 - 18 September 2025