Displaying items by tag: Sustainability
Holcim Deutschland upgrades Beckum cement plant
09 January 2024Germany: Holcim Deutschland has announced for the ‘most extensive’ modernisation of its Beckum cement plant to date. Local press has reported that the modernisation will commence with the installation of a Euro20m pendulum cooler to replace the plant’s existing tube cooler. The new cooler will reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions and make separated CO2 better suited for capture, according to the producer. The Beckum cement plant is the site of an on-going carbon capture trial.
General manager Jan Kristof Peters said “We want to implement all construction work as quickly as possible and with as little noise pollution as possible for the neighbourhood. As in previous years, we ask for our neighbourhood’s understanding.”
France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has announced the signing of its latest partnership agreement, with single-family home construction firm Groupe Trecobat. Under the agreement, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies will supply its clinker-free alternative cement for Groupe Trecobat’s property developments throughout western France. Groupe Trecobat generated Euro203m in sales in 2023.
Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies co-founders Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "We are delighted to be working with a leading player in single-family home construction such as Groupe Trecobat. This local partnership, which will enable us to develop a low-carbon offering for single-family home construction, accelerates our diversification and further strengthens our presence in the eco-responsible construction market."
Neustark sees potential in German market
04 January 2024Germany: Switzerland-based CO2 mineralisation technology developer Neustark says that it sees major potential for recycling concrete from construction and demolition waste (CDW) to produce carbon-negative products using its process in Germany. Neustark inaugurated its first German plant, and 12th overall, at Marzahn in Berlin in late 2023. Capital Online News has reported that the start-up estimates that Germany generates 60Mt/yr of CDW concrete, but only recycles 600,000t/yr (1%). This contrasts with international CDW concrete recycling rates as high as 15% in Switzerland and the US.
The start-up, founded at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 2019, currently absorbs 10kg/t of CO2 in its recycled materials, but aims to reach 60kg/t. Its investors include Holcim.
Spain: Cementos La Cruz plans to build a new unit to produce reduced-CO2 cement at its 1.5Mt/yr Abanilla grinding plant in Murcia. In a video posted on YouTube, the producer said that the new unit will produce cement using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) derived from industrial waste streams. Additionally, it will source 100% of its electricity consumption from biofuel-fired generators. Cementos La Cruz has secured Euro4.5m in European Union funding for the project.
General director Juan Luis Porrúa said that cement from the upcoming unit will have a specific carbon footprint below 200kg/t, and will eliminate over 400,000t of CO2 emissions from Spanish construction in its first 10 years of operation.
World Cement Association calls on cement industry to promote low-carbon development through enhanced connectivity and communication
03 January 2024UK: The World Cement Association (WCA) marked the achievement of an ‘historic’ global consensus for decarbonisation at the COP28 climate change conference in the UAE in December 2023 with a new call to global cement producers and suppliers. The association called on all participants in the industry to help promote developments in reduced-CO2 cement production through enhanced connectivity and communication. It said that technologies like alternative raw materials and alternative fuels (AF), efficiency-enhancing process changes and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) are widely applied, but unequally, applied in the global cement industry.
Regarding the disparity between different markets, the WCA said “This imbalance underscores the critical need for more research and development funding in emerging markets, where there is real demand for this kind of support as a crucial enabler of progress.” It added “We will join hands with our members and stakeholders to advance the low-carbon and sustainable development of the industry and contribute to building a clean, safe and beautiful world.”
Spain: Cemex España has announced its participation in the HYIELD consortium, which plans to build a waste-to-hydrogen demonstration plant at the producer’s Alcanar cement plant in Catalonia. The demonstration plant will process a total of 2000t of biogenic waste to produce 400t of green hydrogen for use as fuel, fertiliser and for other applications. The trial commands Euro10m in funding from the EU’s research and innovation funding programme Horizon Europe. Parent company Cemex believes that the technology being demonstrated at Alcanar has the potential to process 300Mt/yr of waste across Europe and produce 30Mt/yr of hydrogen.
Cemex’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said “As part of its drive towards reaching net zero by 2050, Cemex is committed to partnering with like-minded organisations to explore the very latest innovations in more sustainable technology that can support the cement production process. We are proud to provide one of our cement plants in Spain as the location for the HYIELD trial and excited to see the outcomes from this research and development project.”
Holcim Argentina achieves 75% renewable energy use
25 December 2023Argentina: Throughout the second half of 2023, Holcim Argentina estimates that it will use 75% renewable energy. The milestone is the outcome of an agreement signed with 360 Energy in April 2023, under which the renewable power provider contributes to the energy mix at all of Holcim Argentina’s cement production facilities. Holcim Argentina says that the deal will help to eliminate 68,600t/yr of CO2 from its operations. The producer said that it also invested in upgrades to help reduce its water consumption by 6% throughout 2023.
Holcim Argentina has invested US$1m in on-going and planned upgrades to its facilities, and plans to invest a further US$4.9m.
UltraTech Cement to acquire 26% stake in Clean Max Terra
22 December 2023India: UltraTech Cement has signed a deal to acquire a 26% stake in renewables company Clean Max Terra. The Free Press Journal has reported that the cement producer expects Clean Max Terra help it to meet its renewable energy needs, optimise its energy costs and comply with regulatory requirements for captive power consumption.
Cemex Ventures raises stake in HiiROC
20 December 2023UK: Cemex’s corporate venture capital and open innovation unit Cemex Ventures has increased its stake in green hydrogen production technology developer HiiROC. Cemex Ventures described hydrogen as a ‘breakthrough approach’ to CO2 reduction in the cement sector.
Head of Cemex Ventures Gonzalo Galindo said "This news comes at a critical moment, when COP28 has brought the world together to address and refocus the climate agenda and buckle down on the responsibility of governments and private corporations to deliver on their decarbonisation objectives ahead of 2030. With our increased investment in HiiROC, we are especially proud to be number one in the use of hydrogen in the cement sector and are committed to keep scouting new ways to deploy hydrogen at a grand scale at Cemex’s 60 cement and grinding plants.”
Greece: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded a Euro234m grant to Titan Group for its IFESTOS carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Titan Group said that the project, the largest initiative of its kind in Europe, marks a ‘monumental leap forward’ in its decarbonisation journey. The company hopes that the project will help to promote the deployment of carbon capture technology in Greece and beyond.
IFESTOS director and project leader Aris Tsikouras said “This agreement solidifies our group’s role as leaders in driving transformative change in industrial decarbonisation across Europe. IFESTOS encapsulates our commitment to sustainability and innovation, forging a path toward a cleaner, greener and more resilient future for the industry, in line with EU climate policy.”