Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

France: Ireland-based Ecocem hosted a symposium on the application of new materials technologies in cement production on 14 November 2023. Participating materials scientists published a statement calling on the global cement industry to make use of alternative materials to achieve CO₂ emissions reductions. In the statement, they said “It is no longer possible to say that we lack the technology or that the costs are prohibitive.”

US: Sustainable technology developer ClimeCo has welcomed the Climate Action Reserve (CAR)’s launch of the US Low-Carbon Cement Protocol. The protocol will provide guidance on quantifying, monitoring, reporting and verifying emissions reductions associated with the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in alternative cement production. ClimeCo says that this will help to establish the eligibility of various waste streams and naturally occurring materials for use in cement.

ClimeCo president and CEO Bill Flederbach said "While demand for cement has never been higher, it remains an exceptionally difficult-to-abate industry. This new protocol demonstrates the power of credible, validated and science-based voluntary carbon credits in accelerating the pace and adoption of environmental reforms. It also confirms ClimeCo's belief that, by engaging the right partners and taking a holistic approach, every industry and every company, even those facing the biggest challenges, can make a huge difference. Time is of the essence, and ClimeCo is proud to lead the way toward a brighter future."

India: Nuvoco Vistas sold 4.5Mt of cement during the second quarter of its 2024 financial year (FY2024), up by 1.2% year-on-year. Its revenues grew by 7% to US$309m, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 73% to US$40.4m. The producer achieved specific CO₂ emissions of 462kg/t and an alternate fuel (AF) substitution rate of 14%. During the quarter, it completed debottlenecking projects at the Risda, Chhattisgarh, and Nimbol, Rajasthan, cement plants. The company said that these raised its clinker capacity by 2000t/day. It also secured a new patent, for its fibre reinforced cement composition, and introduced its Concreto UNO and Duraguard F2F premium cements on the Jharkhand market.

Managing director Jayakumar Krishnaswamy said “Our value over volume strategy has positively contributed to the company’s performance. Our trade share has increased from 72% in the second quarter of the 2023 financial year (FY2023) to 74% in the second quarter of FY2024. In addition, the results also demonstrate our commitment to managing the dynamic cost environment through an optimised power and fuel mix, between conventional and clean energy sources.” He added “The expansion at the Haryana cement plant is expected to be completed in FY2024, which will enable us cater to strong demand in the Northern India region.”

France: Lafarge France has ignited the new kiln at its Martres-Tolosane cement plant following a Euro120m upgrade. Local press has reported that the upgrade replaced the plant’s existing kilns and preheater tower with entirely new equipment. The new kiln has tripled the plant’s capacity, to 2.1Mt/yr from 0.7Mt/yr. Meanwhile, the new preheater tower will help to reduce the plant’s electricity consumption by over 20%. As a result of the upgrade, the Martres-Tolosane plant can now support an alternative fuels (AF) substitution rate of 60%, compared to 20% beforehand. Lafarge France aims to carry out further work to reach 85% AF substitution at the plant by 2027. Other planned projects include the installation of a carbon capture system.

Lafarge France chief executive officer François Petry said “We are going to create a research and innovation centre here dedicated to the capture of CO₂, with the ambition of ultimately making the Martres-Tolosane plant net zero carbon.”

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has appointed I Squared Capital subsidiary Berde Renewables to build, maintain and operate two rooftop solar power plants, at its Bulacan and La Union cement plants, respectively. The solar power plants will have a combined capacity of 7.8GWh/yr and reduce Holcim Philippines’ CO2 emissions by 5500t/yr. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that the projects advance the producer’s aim to reduce its energy-related CO2 emissions by 65% between 2018 and 2030.

Holcim Philippines president and CEO Horia Adrian noted the 20% reduction in overall CO¬2 emissions that the company has already achieved up to 2022 and said “This project further strengthens our ability to support Holcim's net zero direction and the country's nationally determined contributions.”

US: Holcim US will invest US$100m in an expansion to raise its Ste. Genevieve cement plant’s capacity by 15% to 4.6Mt/yr. The expansion will involve the installation of a fifth vertical roller mill (VRM) for cement grinding and a new mineral component addition system, alongside a rail-loadout expansion. The producer says that the expanded plant will have lower net CO₂ emissions than before. Construction is set to commence in 2024.

Toufic Tabbara, head of Holcim’s North America region, said “With an emphasis on achieving the highest levels of environmental performance and operational efficiency, Ste. Genevieve has been the leader in US cement manufacturing since it was built in 2009. This investment will ensure we maintain that leadership in supporting the sustainable growth of our nation’s infrastructure and residential construction while accelerating net carbon reduction across the built environment.”

Switzerland: Holcim has reported growing sales and earnings on an organic basis in first nine months of 2023. In real terms its sales declined by 10% year-on-year to US$22.7bn during the first nine months of 2023 from US$25.2bn in the first nine months of 2022. Its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 2.2% to US$4.05bn from US$4.14bn. However, sales and recurring EBIT grew by 6.2% and 14% respectively on an organic basis. The group divested businesses in India, Brazil and Russia in 2022.

Cement sales were US$11.5bn (51% of group sales), down by 20% from US$14.4bn (57% of group sales). These sales rose by 12% on an organic basis. Throughout the period, ECOPlanet low-carbon cement accounted for 19% of the company’s cement sales. It also recycled 17% more construction and demolition waste year-on-year. Group CO2 emissions per net sales fell by 43% between 2020 and 2023.

Chair and chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I thank all members of the Holcim family for delivering profitable growth in the third quarter of 2023 despite challenging economic conditions, marked by softer demand in some markets and foreign exchange headwinds.” He added “The third quarter of 2023 results confirm Holcim’s strong earnings profile, with broad-based growth drivers delivering another increase in profitability. This performance gives us the confidence to upgrade our 2023 guidance to an industry-leading recurring EBIT margin of above 17% for the year.” The group also upgraded its outlook for full year organic sales growth to above 6% and for organic EBIT growth to above 10%.

Vietnam: Cement producers received 811,000t of boiler slag and fly ash from the Vinh Tan 1 coal-fired power plant in Binh Thuan during the first nine months of 2023. This corresponds to 74% of the volume of the by-products generated at the plant during the period. Việt Nam News has reported that the nearby Vinh Tan 4 coal-fired power plant also ‘almost entirely’ avoided waste in the same way. The Vinh Tan 1 coal-fired power plant ended the period with 4.3Mt of ash and slag in stockpiles, while the neighbouring Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant had 7Mt.

The provincial government of Binh Thuan Province has lobbied the Ministry of Construction to review and adjust current requirements around HDPE liner use, water quality testing and radiation safety in order to facilitate the use of boiler slag and fly ash in cement and other construction products.

Mexico: Cemex’s sales were US$13.2bn during the first nine months of 2023, up by 13% year-on-year from US$11.7bn in the first nine months of 2022. The group’s operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$2.6bn, up by 27% from US$2.1bn. This came in spite of a 7% year-on-year decline in its cement volumes, to 39.1Mt from 41.8Mt. Volumes rose by 3% in Mexico, but fell by 13% in the US, 4% in South, Central America and the Caribbean and 10% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Cemex chief executive officer Fernando González said “2023 is proving to be an exceptional year for our company, and I am especially encouraged by our recovery of EBITDA margins to 2021 levels, a key strategic priority. The success of our pricing strategy, contribution of growth investments and our fast-growing Urbanisation Solutions business, as well as decelerating cost inflation, are contributing to profitability in a very meaningful way.” He continued “We are making significant progress on our decarbonization roadmap, reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions by 12% and 11%, respectively, since 2020. Prior to the introduction of our Future in Action programme in 2020, a reduction of this magnitude would have taken almost 15 years.”

US: Solidia Technologies has appointed climate consultancy 3Degrees to manage the measurement, verification and sale of carbon credits for CO₂ emissions reductions generated using Solidia Technologies products. Users of the products can deploy the credits against their Scope 3 emissions from cement and concrete, as well as to compensate for other greenhouse gas emissions.

Solidia Technologies chief executive officer Russell Hill said "By partnering with 3Degrees to issue carbon credits, Solidia is providing a mechanism for the marketplace to invest in technologies that will accelerate and enable global carbon emissions reduction.”