Displaying items by tag: Research

Volvo Autonomous Solutions and Holcim Switzerland announced this week that they are testing and developing the use of autonomous electric haulers in a limestone quarry. It’s a two-part project, as being able to run electric dump trucks will help Holcim to meet its sustainability goals by switching to renewable energy supplies. Automating the control of the trucks then lets Holcim work towards its digitisation targets as part of its ‘Plants of Tomorrow’ initiative. Holcim Switzerland has also been running a drone programme at the plant (see GCW520) and has been using a few electric concrete mixer trucks since early 2021.

The use of autonomous haulage systems (AHS) in quarries by the cement industry seems to mark the start of something new. As far as Global Cement Weekly can tell, the Volvo Autonomous Solutions - Holcim Switzerland project is the first one in the cement sector that has been announced publicly. Most of the examples of AHS to date have been for heavy mining applications such as iron ore, copper, oil sands and coal. Automation in limestone and aggregate extraction has been slower. One recent example in the aggregate sector was announced in late 2020 when Norway-based technology company Steer said it had signed a contract with Romarheim to supply three autonomous dump trucks for use in a stone quarry. Previously Steer has used its vehicles to clear unexploded ordinance for the Norwegian army.

AHS have been around commercially since the mid-2000s when Komatsu tested and then deployed one at a copper mine run by Codelco in Chile. By September 2021 Komatsu said it had commissioned over 400 trucks with its autonomous system and that these had hauled over 4Bnt of materials. For its part Caterpillar says it started its first automated vehicle research program in 1985 and was even testing a pair of Cat 773 dump trucks in the 1990s. However, it then took a pause before resuming after 2000 and starting its commercial projects in the 2010s. In April 2020 it hit 2Bnt of hauled materials by AHS using its MineStar Command product. Hitachi, Liebherr and Belaz have also been working on their own AHS products in conjunction with third party technology providers and these were developed later in the 2010s. Most of these products are complimentary control systems that have been added to existing models or can be added to new ones. Autonomous vehicle company ASI is the other big name in the field with its Mobius product. Unlike the other systems, this is purely a retrofit product. ASI does not make its own vehicles. Komatsu and Caterpillar have also developed retrofit kits for their systems.

Most of the products above look mostly like normal trucks with the addition of extra kit. Volvo and Scania have also been working on AHS but their products have been taking it further by removing the cab entirely. Scania launched its AXL product in September 2019. Volvo launched its Volvo Autonomous Solutions subsidiary in 2020 and its Tara system electric dump truck the same year. Volvo had previously planned to run a pilot for its Tara truck with Harsco Environmental carrying slag at the Ovako Steelworks in Hofors, Sweden. Unfortunately the pilot was disrupted by the start of the coronavirus pandemic shortly after it started.

It’s early days yet with the use of autonomous vehicles in the quarries of the cement and aggregates sectors. Obvious advantages are additional operational hours, better worker safety and reduced costs. As ever with automation, cutting out human jobs would be one disadvantage for the current workers at least. There is also the possibility that an experienced human driver using efficiency software tools might be better than a fully AHS. A challenge in the field is developing open standards or methods to allow autonomous machines to communicate or work with both products by the same manufacturer and its rivals, as well as with conventional human-driven ones. Another challenge is for the mining and quarrying industry to determine how flexible it wants its heavy vehicles to be. One thought to end with this that an autonomous vehicle with a cab and a steering wheel can still be driven by a human. The cab-less vehicles being tested by Volvo and Scania would be rather less useful if they get into a situation where the software can’t cope. Lots to consider.

If readers are aware of other examples AHS in the cement industry, please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Switzerland: Holcim Schweiz has partnered with Sweden-based Volvo Autonomous Solutions to test and develop automated electric dumpsters at its Gabenchopf quarry in the Siggenthal. The companies aim to develop a safe, efficient and sustainable dumpster for use in the cement industry.

CEO Simon Kronenberg said “We are very excited to be working with Volvo on this project. For us, this project means a further step towards realising our sustainability goals: in order to make a contribution to a sustainably built future, we continuously invest in measures to reduce our ecological footprint and look for solutions that are both innovative and sustainable."

US: LafargeHolcim US has revealed more information about a commercial-scale carbon-capture study based at its integrated Ste. Genevieve cement plant in Missouri. The project aims to deliver a front-end engineering design (FEED) study for a carbon capture retrofit that can separate up to 95% of CO₂ emissions at the plant. The captured CO₂ will be ‘pipeline ready’ for geological storage and analysis of the project socio-economic impact will also be part of the study. The US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory awarded US$4m to the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois to work on the project in early October 2021. LafargeHolcim and Air Liquide are also making cost share contributions.

The design will use Air Liquide’s Crycocap FG system at the cement plant. LafargeHolcim US says that it combines pressure swing adsorption capabilities with cryogenic refrigeration technologies to achieve high CO₂ capture rates with high CO₂ purity rates. Notably, for a carbon capture project, the Ste. Genevieve plant has one of the largest single clinker kilns in the world.

World: A Systems Change Lab report on the state of climate change action has warned that the global cement industry is making insufficient progress towards its 2030 climate change targets and that a step-change in action is required. It recorded the carbon intensity of global cement production at 635kgCO₂/t in 2018 with the 2030 target of no more than 370kgCO₂/t. The rate of change over the previous five years was reported as being 2.9% but an annual rate of change of 22.5% would now be required to meet the 2030 target.

It also noted that emissions intensity from the cement industry had actually increased slightly in recent years. It reached this conclusion by using a different methodology from the Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) project. Instead it estimated the global emissions intensity by using global data on process emissions and energy data from the International Energy Agency and the GNR.

The report said that the cement sector would need to go beyond traditional mitigation options such as improving energy efficiency and switching fuels to meet its climate commitments. However, carbon capture utilisation and/or storage (CCUS) and novel cements were described as costly and immature. In its view, “Decarbonisation in the long term thus will depend on significant investments in research, development, and demonstration, alongside efforts to create a demand for low-carbon cements and policies to support investment in decarbonisation technologies.” It described both strategies as, “not yet fully mature in terms of technology development, costs and scaling.” The ‘critical enablers’ it identified to help the cement sector meet its target included stricter regulations, increased demand for low-carbon cement and investment in pilot and industrial scale projects looking at novel cements.

Overall, the report said that change towards averting climate change across 40 key areas in power generation, buildings, industry, transport, land use, coastal zone management and agriculture was not happening fast enough and that none were on track to meet their respective 2030 targets. Change was happening but not at the required pace. Systems Change Lab is a collaboration between the High-Level Climate Champions, Climate Action Tracker, ClimateWorks Foundation, the Bezos Earth Fund and World Resources Institute.

France: Ireland-based Ecocem has opened its new innovation centre, the Centre of Excellence, in Paris. The purpose of the facility is to help to accelerate the development of new technology for the decarbonisation of the cement and construction industries. Ecocem's innovation team will use it for industrial-scale trials in collaboration with industry and academic partners, including Paris-Saclay University and The University of Toulouse. It says that it hopes that one outcome will be the further developmentof the Ecocem reduced-CO₂ product range. Breakthrough Energy Ventures provided funding towards the centre's construction.

Ecocem innovation director Laurent Frouin said “Ecocem is committed to the deep and rapid decarbonisation of the global cement industry. It is essential for the planet and future generations, and it can be achieved through innovation and technology." He added “The cement and construction industries are developing and deploying a range of emission reduction technologies – Ecocem and our new Centre of Excellence will add a further dimension to these efforts.”

US: LafargeHolcim US and ECOncrete Tech have launched a research and development collaboration to design and manufacture a fully structural concrete scour protection unit for offshore wind turbines. The unit’s specifications include seabed stabilisation and promotion of the growth of marine organisms. The collaboration includes a large-scale pilot project to evaluate the ecological performance of units in an offshore environment. The US/Canada Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy programme are funding the project, which will conclude in May 2024.

LafargeHolcim US commercial excellence vice president Josep Maset said “There are many paths to achieving our net zero commitment, and most require innovative partnerships and out-of-the-box thinking. The work we’re doing with ECOncrete Tech is a notable example of searching for solutions that enable increased use of renewable energy in an environmentally responsible way.”

Finland: The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Finnsementti have revealed work on the Decarbonate project to test a 12m electrically-heated rotary kiln. Other partners on the initiative included Nordkalk and UPM. Precalcination was tested as well as the projection of quick lime. The eventual goal is to use electricity from renewable sources to power the kiln and then capture the CO₂ released for utilisation.

The Decarbonate project has been exploring CO₂ capture and utilisation concepts that can be commercialised. It has run for two years since late 2019 and has funding of Euro1.2m. It has also looked at oxyfuel and electrolysis experiments.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has renewed its strategic partnership with research and testing organization Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB). CSTB has provided Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies with certification for its clinker-free cements since 2017.It evaluates the products' performance, durability and safety.

The producer said "Hoffmann Green Cement's research and development strategy is to continually invest in the development of new low-carbon technologies. The signing of this partnership agreement will allow the company to benefit over time from optimised deadlines in the processing of its files for the evaluation of its current and future technologies."

Germany/Brazil: Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt and the University of Pará in Pará have produced a cement alternative with 66% reduced CO₂ emissions. A type of calcium sulphoaluminate cement, it replaces up to 60% of limestone in clinker with overburden from bauxite mining. Researchers demonstrated that the resulting product conforms to all standards for commercial Ordinary Portland Cement. The results of the research have been published in ‘Sustainable Materials and Technologies.’

Mexico: Cemex has announced that it will join forces with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEM) to promote Research and Development projects focused on ‘solving the company's current needs to offer more value to its customers, suppliers and stakeholders.’ Cemex has joined the Consortium for Research, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship UNAM - TEC through the signing of a ‘’ memorandum of understanding’ that took place on 19 August 2021.

"Cemex recognises the value and capacity of UNAM and TEM for the development of research,” said Ricardo Naya, President of Cemex Mexico. “We are convinced that by joining the Consortium we are taking an important step towards solving the real and current challenges we face as a company. This alliance will help us accelerate our innovation projects, such as the Future in Action program, with which we seek to achieve carbon neutrality, among many other projects that we hope to promote with both academic institutions.”