Displaying items by tag: renewable energy

Spain: Cementos El Molino plans to invest Euro3.7m in an upgrade to energy infrastructure at its 450,000t Santa Eulalia grinding plant in Aragon. Alimarket Construction News has reported that the upgrade consists of a 12MW substation and a 2.4MW solar power plant. Euro2m-worth (54%) of investments will go towards construction of the subsystem and Euro1.7m (46%) towards the solar power plant. Cementos El Molino expects to carry out the investments before the end of 2023.

Nigeria: Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Africa hosted industry professional and policy makers at an event dedicated to advancing understanding of renewable energy on 8 July 2023. The Business and Financial Times newspaper has reported that the event included a panel session entitled 'The Business of Clean Energy: Opportunities for Industries.'

Lafarge Africa chair Prince Adebode Adefioye said "It is about stimulating every part of our economy, creating incentives for investors in clean energy and for people and businesses to embrace the use of clean energy products and technologies. It allows Nigeria not only to boost its energy supply and create new high-value jobs, but also to be at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions and saving our planet. Therefore, the whole idea is to bring people together to be able to stimulate ideas, even the banks and broader financial sector, to involve them in creating innovative tech and financial products that allow us to generate and use energy more effectively and productively.”

CEO Khaled El Dokani added “Fighting climate change and making the transition towards a greener economy requires a concerted effort by industries, individuals and the government. As a leader in innovation, Lafarge will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and we expect that the discussions by a range of industry experts and public officials here present today will provide a clear view of the business of clean energy and reveal the opportunities, insights and strategic agendas for leaders in the private and public sectors to accelerate our society’s access to clean energy.”

China: Asia Cement has launched its 2050 decarbonisation strategy, entitled 'Net-Zero Carbon Emissions By 2050 - Asia Cement Advanced Deployment.' The strategy consists of multiple pillars, namely 'alternative fuels,' 'reducing cement's clinker factor,' 'increasing renewable energy reliance' and 'carbon capture.'

During 2022, Asia Cement reduced its limestone, clay, iron and sand consumption by 266,000t, its coal consumption by 17,000t and its gypsum consumption by 56,000t year-on-year. This eliminated 95,100t of CO₂ emissions throughout the year, according to the producer.

Peru: UNACEM Peru said that it reduced its CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 2.7% year-on-year during 2022. Throughout the year, the company reduced its electricity consumption by 3.4%. It sourced 90% of its electricity from renewable sources and met 70% of its fuel needs with natural gas. UNACEM Peru is committed to reaching carbon neutral cement production by 2050.

In terms of community engagement, the producer benefitted 76,700 people through its social infrastructure investments and 14,1000 people through its dialogue space initiatives, and provided its remote health guidance service to 3000 people.

Thailand: US-based Rondo Energy and Siam Cement Group (SCG) plan to expand the production capacity of a heat battery storage unit at a SCG plant to 90GWh/yr. Once complete the site will reportedly have a production capacity larger than any current heat battery-supported manufacturing facility worldwide and will save up to 12Mt/yr of CO₂. The SCG site already has a capacity of 2.4GWh/yr.

SCG’s executive vice president Thammasak Sethaudom said “Rondo offers an innovative solution to reduce the carbon emissions from industrial process heat used in factories worldwide. SCG can use Rondo’s technology to lower our own carbon emissions and SCG Cleanergy can partner with Rondo to help our customers cut emissions.” He added “We also realised that we can leverage our 70 years of technical expertise in the refractory business and supply chain.”

Rondo heat batteries consist of refractory bricks capable of storing renewable energy as heat. The heat energy can then be returned to an industrial process as hot air or steam. SCG invested in Rondo Energy in 2022.

This story was amended on 4 July 2023, after a previous version erroneously stated the location of the plant as Ukraine. Global Cement apologises for this error.

India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a 3000t/day integrated cement line at its Ramamasamy Raja Nagar cement plant in Tamil Nadu. Projects Today News has reported that the plant runs on renewable energy from a captive wind farm, and recycles 90% of water used in production.

Ramco Cements produces Ramco 53 Infra Super cement at the Ramamasamy Raja Nagar plant. The product allows for lower cement and admixture content to be used in the production of concrete structures.

India: Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC have transitioned to reporting their results in line with the (April - March) Indian financial year. As such, they have published 15-month results for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. During the period, Ambuja Cements reported sales of US$4.75bn, up by 34% year-on-year from US$3.53bn. Its cement volumes rose by 28% to 68Mt, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to US$714m. Meanwhile, ACC recorded sales of US$2.71bn, up by 38% from US$1.97bn in 2021. Its cement volumes rose by 31% to 37.9Mt, while its EBITDA fell by 30% to US$275m.

ACC announced its goal to become India's 'most profitable cement company.' To realise this, the company will implement a three-pronged strategy of capacity expansion, efficiency improvements and development of its distributor and dealer network. Under the capacity expansion heading, the producer will double its production capacity through the construction of new cement plants and the expansion of existing ones. In this, it will lay special emphasis on securing supplies of renewable energy and supplementary cementitious materials, including fly ash from its own power plant segment. The company noted that it recently secured access to 1Bnt-worth of new limestone reserves in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka and Rajasthan. It will also seek to increase its coal production to avoid the rising cost of imports.

In the 2024 financial year, the government of India plans to invest US$11.4bn in the construction of new housing, roads and sanitation infrastructure nationally. Ambuja Cements has forecast an increase in domestic cement consumption of 6 - 8% to over 390Mt/yr. It expects Indian cement production to rise by 8 - 10% year-on-year to 390Mt in the 2024 financial year.

UK: Mineral Products Association Lime (MPA Lime), the body representing the UK lime sector, has launched the Net Negative 2040 Roadmap. The association said that the roadmap sets out the strategy for its to 'go beyond net zero' by 2040. The industry will rely on the deployment of fuel switching, carbon capture, renewable energy sources and green transport technologies, among other approaches. It called on the government to support its aims through the implementation of carbon accounting, subsidisation of renewables and decarbonisation technologies, the development of green hydrogen infrastructure, ensuring that UK lime can remain competitive in the UK and overseas markets.

MPA Lime director Mike Haynes said “Each lever will contribute to decarbonisation – many initiatives are happening already or will come on stream this decade." He added "The combination of using biomass fuels with carbon capture and lime product carbonation will result in removal of 250,000t/yr of atmospheric CO₂, making the sector net negative overall. Other levers, especially indirect emissions and transportation, require broader collaboration and enabling action by government and other industries.”

Through their actions to date, MPA Lime members reduced their absolute CO₂ emissions by 25% between 2005 and 2022.

Uzbekistan: China Energy and the government of Uzbekistan have set a resolution to inaugurate the upcoming 3Mt/yr Samarkand cement plant before the end of 2024. Within the same timeframe, China Energy will launch 400MW-worth of new solar power plants in Bukhara and Kashkadarya. The China-based utilities company will subsequently expand its solar power capacity in Uzbekistan to 1000GW.

Uzbekistan Daily News has reported that China Energy and the government committed to cooperating further on the development of a programme for the implementation of joint projects, including more new 'production plants' and renewable energy infrastructure.

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.”