Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has granted Carbon Clean Euro701,000 under its Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 programme. Carbon Clean says that it will partner with energy engineering company Doosan Babcock and Newcastle University to develop carbon capture systems which apply non-aqueous solvent (NAS) and rotating packed bed (RPB) technology together for the first time. The partners seek to overcome the challenges of scale and cost in order to advance the widespread deployment of CCUS systems.

The CCUS Innovation 2.0 programme is part of the UK government’s Euro1.17bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio scheme.

UK: Hanson plans to install a C-Capture solvent-based carbon capture system at its Ketton cement plant in Rutland. The producer says that the technology reduces energy requirements per tonne of CO₂ by 40% compared to other capture systems.

Chief executive officer Simon Wills said “Carbon capture is a critical part of our strategy to decarbonise cement production, and essential if we are to reach net zero carbon by 2050. If successful, the C-Capture process has the potential to be rolled-out across other sites across the HeidelbergCement Group.”

Ireland/UK: An Irish high court has granted Mannok an injunction to prevent former Quinn Industrial Holdings CEO Seán Quinn from trespassing on the site of its Derrylin cement plant and quarry in Cavan and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, UK. The Irish Examiner newspaper has reported that the company cited safety concerns over Quinn's presence near industrial equipment and a sheer quarry drop. His media statement in 2021 that he would 'do anything' to remove its directors compounded Mannok's 'sense of unease.'

More mergers and acquisition news emerged this week in the shape of potential buyers for Sika’s US admixtures business. Reporting from Bloomberg revealed that Holcim, HeidelbergCement and Turkey-based Sabancı Holding had all made it, amongst other unnamed companies, to a second round of bidding for the assets. Sika then confirmed this to the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper and added that the sale would also relate to Canadian assets as well. The intention here is to bypass the risk of a lengthy competition investigation in the US.

Switzerland-based Sika announced in November 2021 that it had signed a deal to buy MBCC Group from Lone Star Funds, a global private equity firm, for Euro5.2bn. At the time of the announcement Sika said that the transaction was subject to regulatory approval but it added that it was ‘confident’ that all required clearances would be obtained with closure planned for the second half of 2022. Known competition probes are now pending in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. A previous piece from Bloomberg suggested that internal analysis by Sika found that the company might need to divest operations with annual sales of around US$160m with a value of US$400m. However, the latest update suggests a value of up to US$1bn. The US represented US$1.71bn or 18% of Sika’s total group sales in 2021. Sika’s information to shareholders to let them know about the MBCC acquisition in November 2021, showed that MBCC had sales of around US$966m in the Americas in 2021 with 36 production plants. Overall, not just in the US, the deal is expected to change Sika’s technology mix from 40% concrete and cement systems to 49%, with most of the additions coming from concrete applications.

Divestments were always likely in an acquisition this large between competitors with shared geographies. What is interesting here to the cement sector is that the three named interested parties are all cement producers. Holcim is perhaps the least surprising given its size, pivot towards light building materials and the fact that its current head, Jan Jenisch, used to run Sika. If anyone knows how much an admixture company is worth, it’s the guy who ran one five years ago! HeidelbergCement does not have such a large light building materials business footprint but it is demonstrably interested in making heavy building material production more sustainable. Also, as the world’s second largest western multinational cement producer it is likely to be interested in an input market for some of its end products. Sabancı Holding is the outlier in this grouping with a more regional grey cement business based in Turkey, an international white cement business and a diverse set of business interests including finance and energy. Although, even as the smallest of the bunch, it still reported sales revenue of over US$9bn in 2021. One notable absence from the potential contenders list for Sika USA is Cemex. Its Urbanisation Solutions division, which produces admixtures among other products, reported sales of US$1.9bn in 2021 or 13% of the group’s total revenue. US$558m of this was made in the US.

The wider context in the North American admixture market is that the announcement of Sika’s deal with MBCC in November 2021 was followed about a month later when Saint-Gobain said it had entered into a deal to buy GCP Applied Technologies. This followed Saint-Gobain’s acquisition of Chryso in October 2021. However, Saint-Gobain said that the GCP deal would strengthen its position more in North America. Readers can find out more about Saint-Gobain’s ambitions here.

The final word at this stage should go on Lone Star Funds, the current owner of MBCC. Lone Star Funds bought the construction chemicals business from BASF for Euro3.17bn in September 2020. At the time the acquisition closed Saori Dubourg, a member of the board of executive directors of BASF, said “Lone Star has been a professional partner in this transaction and is committed to the future success of the business.” If the reporting is correct, Lone Star Funds is now selling the same business for over Euro5bn. There are two takeaways to consider at this point. One is that the perceived value of products that make cement and concrete more sustainable are growing. The other is that Lone Star Funds timed its acquisition of MBCC from BASF very well.

UK: The South Downs National Park Authority has published its Area Action Plan for the site of the former Shoreham cement plant in West Sussex. The plan will guide the development of the site into a new mixed-use development. The Sussex Express newspaper has reported that the authority will hold a public consultation from 7 June 2022 to 2 August 2022, at which it will set out detailed policies for planning applications. Their scope will include biodiversity and ecology, landscape and design, recreation and tourism, the economy and jobs, new homes, cultural heritage, transport and climate change.

UK: A team of researchers from six UK universities has filed a patent for a clinkerless cement product called Cambridge Electric Cement. Local press has reported that the project, called UK Fires, saw researchers successfully produce the cement using renewable power from recycled cement powder and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Following its successes, UK Fires has obtained a further Euro2m in funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to continue its work into the range of concrete wastes suitable for use in Cambridge Electric Cement production.

UK: Mannok recorded sales of Euro270m in 2021, up by 16% year-on-year from Euro233m in 2020. The company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 17% to Euro25.8m from Euro31.1m. The group attributed this to substantial cost absorption beginning in mid-2021. Energy prices rose by 66% year-on-year, while the cost of carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) credits more than doubled to Euro80/t at the end of the year.

Mannok said that demand for its products remains resilient, supported by stronger cost recovery. It added that a levelling out in energy prices has driven stronger profitability in the first quarter and April of 2022.

UK: Hanson has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell to work together to explore opportunities that help the construction industry’s transition to net zero emissions.

Under the agreement the companies plan to explore: using hydrogen for transport and industrial processes; using capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) in cement production; looking at lower carbon fuels and electric vehicles; digital innovations in energy production, consumption and efficiency; improving bitumen and asphalt technology; and renewable energy sources such as solar installations and batteries to replace diesel generators. In addition, the companies say they will consider the possibility of collaborating in future business opportunities or new business models, which will create value and scope for further decarbonisation.

Hanson’s chief executive officer Simon Willis said, “We are already working together on several initiatives to decarbonise asphalt with bitumen materials and innovations which promote long life, increased use of recycled materials, low carbon products and the circular economy.” He added that “Hanson and Shell have a long-established working relationship and are committed to sharing knowledge and resources to jointly work on projects that will facilitate our transition to net zero emissions.”

UK: Carbon capture systems developer Carbon Clean has raised US$150m in its largest funding round to date. US-based energy company Chevron Corporation led the round, with participation from Cemex venture capital subsidiary Cemex Ventures, Marubeni Corporation, WAVE Equity Partners, AXA IM Alts, Samsung Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures and TC Energy.

As a result of the new funding, Carbon Clean says that it will now scale the production of its CycloneCC fully modular carbon capture technology, increase investment in research and development grow its team to meet ‘exponential’ demand growth for its products.

Sweden: UK-based Samson Materials Handling is supplying an Eco Hopper product for installation at the Port of Slite in Gotland. The hopper will be designed to receive clinker, limestone, coal and refuse-derived (RDF) fuel pellets. These materials will be unloaded at the quay area via crane grabs. The hopper will then discharge direct to trucks via a telescopic chute.

The Eco Hopper installation under normal operating conditions and based on the client’s grab sizes and cycle time, will achieve peak discharging rates of: 353t/hr - based on clinker with a bulk density of 1.4 t/m³; 454t/hr - based on limestone with a bulk material density range of 1.8 t/m³; and 420t/hr - based on RDF Pellets with a bulk material density of 0.6 t/m³.

The Eco Hopper product design concept comprises of a specialised reception hopper unit incorporating Integral filter arrangement with a reverse jet filter media cleaning system which returns all material back in to the material stream. In addition, the inlet system of the hopper is based on the Samson Flex-Flap design which reduces the volume of air necessary to control dust both from the opening grab and displaced air from material falling into the inner hopper below. This contributes to the reduction of airflow reducing filter and power requirements of the equipment.

Commissioning and operator training will be provided by Aumund Group Field Services.