Displaying items by tag: Switzerland

Switzerland: Holcim plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based software at 100 production plants by 2028. The company will use the technology for predictive maintenance, in order to increase operational efficiency and resilience. It has installed the system at 45 plants to date. C3 AI is providing its predictive software products, and the group is also piloting generative AI techniques.

Holcim CEO Miljan Gutovic said "AI is a transformative technology that will revolutionise our industry. Already widely embedded across Holcim, AI catalyses operational efficiency and enhances customer service.”

Switzerland: Holcim has acquired recycling, ready-mix concrete and aggregates company Cand-Landi Group. The company employs 250 people across its operations in Western Switzerland. Holcim plans for Cand-Landi Group to supply alternative raw materials and fuels for use at its Eclépens plant. It says that the acquisition will increase its recycling capacity of construction and demolition materials by 100,000t/yr.

Holcim CEO Miljan Gutovic said "The acquisition of the Cand-Landi Group will advance decarbonisation and circularity in Switzerland, a lighthouse market for innovation at Holcim. I look forward to welcoming all 250 employees of the Cand-Landi Group and investing in our next chapter of growth together."

Switzerland: Neustark has raised US$69m in a growth equity round to scale up its carbon dioxide removal technology. The funding, led by Decarbonisation Partners—a collaboration between BlackRock and Temasek—will support Neustark's aim to permanently remove 1Mt of CO₂ by 2030. Climate tech growth investor Blume Equity also joined the round, alongside existing backers Holcim, Siemens Financial Services, Verve Ventures and ACE Ventures.

Neustark has developed a technology that captures biogenic CO₂ at its source and utilises it in building materials through an accelerated mineralisation process. This method is currently applied at 19 carbon capture and storage plants in Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Germany, with 40 more under construction across Europe.

Johannes Tiefenthaler, co-CEO and founder at Neustark, said “We turn the world’s largest waste stream, demolition concrete, into a carbon sink. In the past year, we have already deployed our unique solution at 19 sites. This growth investment will take us into the next exciting phase of our mission, helping us to further scale our impact across Europe, enter new markets in North America and Asia Pacific, and develop new solutions to store even more CO₂ in mineral waste streams.”

Switzerland: Holcim has appointed Marco Maccarelli as its Director of Central and Eastern Europe. He will succeed Simon Kronenberg in the post in June 2024, according to the 24 Heures newspaper. The position includes the responsibility of head of Holcim Schweiz.

Maccarelli is currently working as the CEO of Holcim Colombia. Prior to this, he worked for Holcim Mexico first as Director Innovation and Commercial Development and later as Director Cement Sales & Retail. He has worked for Holcim for over 15 years and holds more than 20 years’ experience in the construction sector.

Switzerland: Holcim recorded net sales of €5.71bn in the first quarter of 2024, down by 2% year-on-year from €5.85bn in the first quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) grew by 8% to €543m from €503m. The group noted continuing profitable growth. Its Solutions & Products unit raised roofing sales by 67% in local currencies, including 38% organic growth. The unit also acquired Germany-based advanced green roofing systems producer ZinCo and Argentina-based precast and pre-stressed concrete construction systems producer Tensolite. Additionally, Holcim closed three separate acquisitions in the ready-mix concrete, aggregates and construction-demolition materials segments.

In North America, Holcim grew its recurring EBIT by 3.9% in local currency, and anticipates continuing growth in 2024. In its Latin America region, the group noted a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects and increased nearshoring in Mexico. Europe yielded double-digit recurring EBIT growth, while Asia, Middle East & Africa remained profitable in local currency terms.

Switzerland: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) is holding its Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Research Network (GCCRN) Spring Week at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus on 22 – 26 April 2024. 450 delegates from over 40 academic institutions will attend the event, featuring workshops, idea exchanges and progress reviews focused on the decarbonisation of cement and concrete by 2050. Topics include the use of AI, alternative materials and processes, concrete recycling, renewables, kiln electrification and carbon capture.

GCCRN industrial chair and Cemex global research development vice president and Davide Zampini said “If we are to reach our goal of net zero concrete by 2050, then we cannot do so alone. We need to explore as well as harness solutions and collaboration well beyond our industry. That’s why Spring Week is so important.”

GCCRN scientific chair Karen Scrivener said “Everyone here at EPFL is proud to be hosting this year’s Spring Week, anticipated as our largest gathering yet, marking a significant milestone in our journey toward net zero research.”

Switzerland: Cement production fell to 786,000t in the first quarter of 2024, representing a year-on-year decrease in volume of 8%. Cemsuisse attributes this decrease to ongoing challenges in planning construction projects amidst uncertainties in interest rates, energy prices and supply chain stability.

Switzerland: Holcim has appointed Jelena Stamenkovski as Lead of Clinker Decarbonisation.

Stamenkovski has worked for Holcim Group since 2008. She originally held senior production roles at Holcim’s subsidiary in Serbia. In 2015 she took up group process roles based in Switzerland, becoming the company’s Cement Industrial Operating System Manager from 2017 to 2021. She later became the Group Process Expert - Plants of Tomorrow – Decarbonisation in 2023. Prior to working for Holcim she worked at Titan Cement’s Skopje plant in North Macedonia.

Stamenkovski holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in process engineering from Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.

Switzerland: ABB and Captimise have enhanced their collaboration, focusing on advancing cost-effective carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies in the cement industry. Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, the partnership will develop various studies, including screening, feasibility, and FEED, aiding cement producers to identify efficient carbon capture solutions across their operations. The joint effort is expected to bolster the cement industry's efforts to meet its climate and net-zero targets.

CEO of Captimise, Mattias Jones, said “We draw on a track-record of more than 25 live case studies with CO₂ emitters across Europe and the US and know we’ll be able to support operations of all sizes in cement through combined CCUS, automation and electrification technologies.”

Global Business Unit Manager at ABB Process Industries, Max Tschurtschenthaler, said “Reducing the CO₂ emissions from cement manufacturing is a major challenge and a top priority for this industry. We are on a mission to make it more cost-effective. By combining our world-class automation, electrification and digital technologies with the know-how of partners like Captimise, we can further support the cement industry in achieving their climate and net zero targets.”

Switzerland: The decision of the Swiss government in June 2023 against the implementation of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been strongly criticised by the Swiss cement association, Cemsuisse. The association warns of a potential relocation of the Swiss cement industry without such a mechanism, referencing a report by Polynomics. This report concludes that a Swiss CBAM is necessary to level the playing field with EU and non-EU cement suppliers. The EU initiated a CBAM test phase in October 2023, aiming to mitigate production relocation risks to countries with less stringent environmental regulations.

The federal government concluded that a CBAM in Switzerland would benefit few emission-intensive industries at the expense of the wider economy, while also facing regulatory and trade policy risks. It plans to reassess the need for a CBAM in mid-2026, in line with the EU's interim CBAM report.

Cemsuisse, referencing the Polynomics report, states that waiting to potentially introduce a CBAM in Switzerland is not an option. Investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS) are deemed essential for Switzerland's net-zero climate goal and without a CBAM, there is a risk of these investments being unviable due to uncertainty over cost recovery.

The report also points to the risk of increased clinker imports from third countries into the EU, which would be processed and then exported to Switzerland without CBAM levies. As an example, Cemsuisse mentions a planned milling station in Ottmarsheim, Alsace. It says that without a CBAM, the production site in Switzerland faces serious threats.

Cemsuisse said “Without CBAM, this certainty is lacking. And without CCUS, long-term production in Switzerland won't be viable. The population has accepted the climate protection law last summer, where the net-zero goal is legally anchored."