Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has named its first six startups to receive backing under the inaugural Innovandi Open Challenge. The startups have partnered with GCCA members to help increase cement’s sustainability towards achieving net zero CO₂ concrete production by 2050. This will lead to the formation of six consortia to further test, develop and deploy their new technologies.

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) startups CarbonOrO, MOF Technologies and Saipem, all based in Europe, are among the participants. GCCA members are currently involved in dozens of pilot projects and aim to have 10 industrial-scale carbon capture plants installed by 2030. Other startups Carbon Upcycling Technologies and Fortera, from Canada and the US respectively, use captured CO₂ to produce low-carbon cement and cementitious materials, while UK-based Coomtech has developed a low-cost drying technology using turbulent air.

GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said “It’s a proud moment to see the industry coming together to support such innovative start-ups on their journey. Our member companies were greatly impressed by their ambition to be a key part of the climate solution. The programme is another big step forward towards unlocking innovation to help us achieve our net zero goal.” He continued “As the need for resilient and sustainable communities to support a growing global population becomes more pressing , cement and concrete will be essential to providing the infrastructure and buildings that society needs. Achieving net zero concrete relies on a number of different groups playing their part, and as an industry we’re looking outwards as well as inwards, to see how start-ups like these can support our goals.”

Mexico: Cemex intends for its Vertua products to account for over half of all of its cement and concrete sales by 2025. The Vertua range was launched in 2020 and its cement and concrete products accounted for 34% and 31% of total sales respectively in the first quarter of 2022. Vertua products have a CO₂ reduction of at least 25% compared to traditional cements. For concrete the CO₂ reduction ranges from 30% up to a full net-zero option.

References for Vertua concrete include La Marseillaise, a skyscraper in Marseille, the HS2 high-speed railway in London, the Querétaro-Irapuato highway in Mexico, the San Diego State University stadium in California and the Pereira shopping centre in Colombia. Vertua cement and concrete products have been launched in Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, the US, the UK and the UAE.

UK: Aggregate Industries’ Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire has become the first industrial facility to operate a PRISMA liquid air energy storage system. Green technology developer Innovatium developed the product in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. The supplier says that it can deliver 25% energy savings for air compression and will help Aggregate Industries to realise its 2030 goal of 500kg/t of CO₂ emissions for its cementitious products.

Aggregate Industries sustainability director Kirstin McCarthy said “We are very proud to be the first partner to install the PRISMA system in an operational environment. Aggregate Industries is committed to transitioning to net zero, and supporting innovations like PRISMA is vital in helping us achieve that goal. McCarthy continued “We believe PRISMA can play a major role in addressing the ‘energy trilemma’ of managing energy efficiency, energy cost and energy security, and we're confident that its installation at Cauldon will further prove its decarbonisation credentials - a big step towards full commercialisation of the technology.”

India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Denmark-based FLSmidth to collaborate in the research and development of sustainable solutions for cement manufacturing. The agreement has been arranged under the ‘Green Strategic Partnership’ initiatives between Denmark and India that cover energy and climate change.

Under the MOU both companies will cooperate on a range of areas such as substituting conventional energy supplies with renewable sources and working towards CO₂ emissions abatement. Both companies have committed to contributing research and development towards eventually building an industrial scale production plant where the new concepts can be further tested.

Mahendra Singhi, the managing director and chief executive officer of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) said, “In alignment with the ambitious net zero vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and given the strength and stature of our respective organisations, this association will provide futuristic solutions to the cement and concrete industry to emerge clean and green.” He added that India and Dalmia Cement in particular were keen to develop a roadmap for the implementation of Industry 4.0 with totally decarbonised cement plants and a ‘lighthouse’ cement plant.

Australia: Adbri has committed to reduce its cement's CO₂ emissions by 20%/t by 2030. WA Today News has reported that the company also aims to offset 100% of CO₂ emissions from its electricity consumption by 2030. It aims to achieve net zero carbon cement production by 2050. Adbri says that it is Australia's only cement producer not to use coal, relying instead on a combination of gas and refuse derived fuel (RDF).

CEO Nick Miller said "This net-zero emissions roadmap builds on our strong decarbonisation progress to date and establishes clear targets and actions we will advance as we strive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050."

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has partnered with the Society for Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) to integrate calcined clay technology into its operations in order to commence production of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3). United News of India has reported that the producer says that this type of composite cement reduces the product's clinker factor by 50% and its carbon footprint by 40%.

JK Lakshmi Cement said "This partnership will be a game-changer for the cement industry, giving impetus to its efforts in mitigating emissions, combating climate change and bringing a holistic change in the surrounding communities to create sustainable livelihoods in large numbers."

Mexico: Cemex recorded consolidated sales of US$3.77bn in 2022, up by 13% year-on-year from first-quarter 2021 levels. The group recorded operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 3% year-on-year, to US$691m. Cemex said that sales growth in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region led the earnings increase, supported by strong underlying demand conditions with robust volume growth in Europe and the US. It recorded double-digit like-for-like price rises across its global operations. During the quarter, group CO₂ emissions fell by 4% year-on-year.

Chief executive officer CEO Fernando González said “We are quite pleased with our first quarter performance despite the unprecedented global macro challenges. Against the backdrop of the worst inflation headwinds in more than 40 years, we achieved strong pricing traction across our products. Given the tight supply and demand dynamics in most of our markets, we are optimistic that we can recover input cost inflation. In addition, our diversified energy, supply chain and Climate Action strategies are paying off and helping us respond to energy cost pressures.”

Regarding the quarter’s sustainability achievements, González said “Our performance gives me great confidence that we can reach not only our 2030 climate goal but also our Net Zero ambition.”

India: ACC has launched Holcim’s Houses of Tomorrow sustainable homebuilding initiative with the construction of a low CO₂ home in Puducherry called Gratitude Villa. Projects Today News has reported that architect Trupti Doshi selected building materials to reduce CO₂ emissions by 40% by comparison to conventional materials such as ordinary Portland cement (OPC). She opted for ACC’s Suraksha brand cement, fly ash bricks and ECOPact green concrete.

Mexico: Cemex has reported its successful completion of laboratory tests aimed at converting CO₂ emitted by cement kilns into carbon nanomaterials. The producer said that it was able to turn 50% of available carbon in a flue gas stream into nanomaterials. Possible industrial uses for carbon nanomaterials include in building materials, biomedicines, electronics and agriculture. Cemex says that its next step will be to scale the technology for a cement plant pilot study.

CEO Fernando Gonzalez said “This breakthrough technology is significant for Cemex, not only because it offers the potential to commercialise carbon emissions, but because it demonstrates the value of our Smart Innovation platform. The path to carbon neutrality will be built with innovation, and we remain committed to being at the forefront in developing new circular technologies and processes.”

India: Bharathi Cement plans to build a US$17m automated terminal and packaging plant at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. United News of India has reported that the facility will package the company’s bagged and bulk cement and supply the South West Tamil Nadu and Kerala markets.

On 23 April 2022, the subsidiary of France-based Vicat despatched its first rake of cement aboard custom-built tank and box container cars to Coimbatore from its Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, cement plant. Vicat’s India CEO Anoop Kumar Saxena said that the first-of-its method of bulk cement transportation will reduce the company’s logistics costs and carbon emission and increase the service level for customers.