Displaying items by tag: Sustainability
Adani Group to establish US$70bn integrated hydrogen-based value chain
29 September 2022India: Adani Group plans to invest US$100bn in capital expenditure across all of its operations between 2022 and 2032. Mint News has reported that the conglomerate will establish 45GW-worth of new hybrid renewable power plants under the plans. It will also build three new green hydrogen plants, with a combined capacity of 3Mt/yr. It plans to support the latter move with an investment of US$70bn in the establishment of an integrated hydrogen-based value chain.
CIMB Group sets 2030 cement financing sustainability targets
28 September 2022Malaysia: Bank CIMB Group Holding Berhad has published sustainable finance targets for its lending to cement sector clients. Islamic Finance News has reported that the institution will reduce the emissions intensity of loans to cement producers by 36% to 720,000t per tonne of cementitious product by 2030 from 460,000 at present.
CIMB Group Holding Berhad recently doubled its sustainable finance target to US$13m by 2024, from US$6.48m.
Titan Cement Group’s H2CEM green hydrogen project included in EU Hy2Use initiative
27 September 2022Greece: Titan Cement Group says that its H2CEM green hydrogen projection has received inclusion under the EU Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Hy2Use. Hy2Use consolidates funding for hydrogen electrolysis, transport and storage development projects across Europe. Titan Cement Group’s H2CEM project consists of Euro60m-worth of new green hydrogen production installations at its Drepano, Efkarpia and Kamari cement plants. The installations will produce hydrogen through electrolysis using renewable energy sources. The producer says that use of the hydrogen as cement fuel will reduce the plants’ CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by 8%, corresponding to 160,000t/yr of emissions. H2CEM is Hy2Use’s only cement plant project.
Titan Cement Group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Innovative Ash Solutions launches supplementary cementitious material made from incinerator waste
27 September 2022UK: Innovative Ash Solutions, a joint venture of Levenseat and Organic Innovative Solutions, has launched a new air pollution control residue (APCR)-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM). The supplier produces the material at its Lanarkshire treatment facility using APCR local from municipal solid waste (MSW) and wood biomass incinerators. Innovative Ash Solutions has received planning permission for a 54,000t/yr industrial-scale APCR-based SCM plant, and plans to establish a total of three plants in the UK, one of which will reach a capacity of 500,000t/yr. It has also signed an exclusive licensing agreement with an Australia-based importer for the material.
The SCM is designed to replace pulverised fly ash (PFA), of which the UK imported 325,000t in 2019, more than four times its 2012 import volumes of 76,000t.
Innovative Ash Solutions director Robert Gren said “We are excited to bring this new product to market. Innovative Ash Solutions is the first and, so far, the only company in the UK to have achieved ‘End of Waste’ accreditation for a PFA replacement for this type of use. Our research shows there is potential to produce more than 500,000t/yr of PFA replacement from UK APCRs every year, which would reduce the need for importing materials and support the decarbonisation of cement and concrete products.”
Clean Energy Ministerial CCUS and the GCCA to collaborate to scale up cement carbon capture deployment
26 September 2022UK: Clean Energy Ministerial CCUS (CEM CCUS) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) have announced a new partnership aimed at scaling up the deployment of carbon capture technologies in global cement and concrete production over the 10-year period up to 2033. The partners will explore incentives, policy frameworks and finance solutions that can best facilitate industrial-scale CCUS projects. Additionally, they will seek to ensure the long-term development of CCUS via technological developments.
CEM CCUS Norway initiative co-lead Henriette Nesheim said “This is a great opportunity to work together with a vitally important industry. In Norway we are already building our first cement CCS project in Brevik, and we look forward to sharing the experience with others.”
India: The Confederation of Indian Industry has certified Sagar Cements’ Bayyavaram grinding plant as an Excellent Energy Efficient Unit with an award at the Energy Management Excellence Awards 2022. The facility was also among recipients of the confederation’s GreenCo Star Performer Awards 2022.
Cementos Portland Valderrivas renews Alcalá de Guadaíra cement plant’s EMAS registration
23 September 2022Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has renewed its European Environmental Management System (EMAS) registration for its Alcalá de Guadaíra cement plant. The Spanish Association for Standardisation (AENOR) and government of Andalusia verified the registration. The company says that it confirms its commitment to the environment and transparency.
Europe: The European Commission has approved the IPCEI Hy2Use plan for the construction of an international hydrogen electrolysis, transport and storage network. IPCEI Hy2Use consists of multiple projects planned for completion by 2026, with the commissioning of all infrastructure scheduled for 2036. 13 EU member states and Norway will contribute Euro5.2bn in funding, with a view to attracting private investments worth Euro7bn.
Lafarge Algeria launches Chamil reduced-CO2 cement
22 September 2022Algeria: Lafarge Algeria has launched Chamil cement, a 40% reduced-CO2 cement, which contains locally sourced clay and ferrous materials. The producer developed Chamil cement based on technology from the Rouiba Construction Development Laboratory.
Lafarge Algeria aims to achieve export volumes of 3Mt across its product range in 2022.
A cement producer by any other name
21 September 2022HeidelbergCement’s latest sustainability target has been to reduce the ‘cement’ footprint from its own name. From this week it has become Heildelberg Materials. Of the top ten global cement producers in Global Cement Magazine’s roundup in the December 2021 issue only three now have the word ‘cement’ in their names.
In Heildelberg Materials’ own words, the “new brand identity underlines the company's pioneering role on the path to carbon neutrality and digitalisation in the building materials industry.” Chair Dominik von Achten then goes on to explain that the company is proud of its cement business but its range of services goes far beyond cement. This is certainly true but in 2021 the cement business generated 44% of the group’s revenue. 19% came from aggregates, 25% from ready-mixed concrete plus asphalt and the remaining 12% from services and other lines.
Yet, Heidelberg Materials is also a leader in driving innovation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for the cement sector with a full production line capture unit planned for commissioning in 2024 at the Brevik plant in Norway. When it opens it will be the only full scale CCUS unit at a cement plant anywhere in the world. The group further plans to reduce the CO2 footprint of its cementitious products to below 500kg/t CO2 by 2030 and aims to generate half of its revenue from low-carbon products. These are not small achievements or ambitions.
Meanwhile, Holcim completed the divestment of its Indian business to Adani Group this week for US$6.4bn. For Holcim the move marks a milestone in the reshaping of its business away from developing markets and the diversification on its product lines into light (and more sustainable) building materials. So why would a company like Adani Group move into the cement sector when multinationals are getting out?
Money is the obvious answer and the one group owner Gautam Adani raised at a speech marking his latest mega-acquisition. He said, “Our entry into this business is happening at a time when India is on the cusp of one of the greatest economic surges seen in the modern world.” He expects his new cement arm to become the most profitable cement producer in the country although his competitors may have other ideas. As well as operational efficiency, Adani also plans to inject US$2.5bn into the business as part of plans to increase its production capacity to 140Mt/yr in the next five years, from around 70Mt/yr at present. However, the financial press in India and elsewhere has wondered how much debt Adani Group can cope with and whether it will consolidate its latest acquisitions or simply use them to buy into even more sectors. Time will tell.
Lastly, it should be noted that Adani Group’s new rival UltraTech Cement has targeted a production capacity of 154Mt/yr by 2025. Any growth in the Indian market will clearly be contested. It is also worth noting that the latter company has retained ‘cement’ in its name. For now at least.