Displaying items by tag: efficiency

Colombia: Cementos Argos will invest US$45m to strengthen its operations in Colombia, according to a press release on 22 April 2025. The investment will reportedly fund infrastructure modernisation, implementation of new technologies and ‘operational excellence’, with the goal of increasing efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability nationwide.

The president of parent company Grupo Argos previously revealed that around US$3bn would be invested in fixed-income securities in the US following its sale of a 31% stake in Summit Materials in February 2025. In the longer term, the company would evaluate investments in heavy building materials, logistics companies and aggregates in the US.

Türkiye: Cimpor Global has launched an initiative in partnership with Fizix to enhance operational efficiency and reduce energy losses in cement plants. The system will use 10,500 sensors for global machine health monitoring, enabling early detection of potential failures before they occur.

The initiative will be implemented across 25 facilities in 10 countries, including Türkiye and Portugal. The optimisation phase will begin in 2025, with initial deployment in six countries, followed by expansion to Cimpor’s operations in China and Taiwan by 2026.

Portugal: CBMI has signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with SECIL Cement Group for the renovation of the 1800t/day clinker line at the Maceira plant.

The project includes the installation of a new firing system and a series of upgrades to improve energy and heat efficiency. The upgrade encompasses five decarbonisation measures, including a 100% alternative fuel design rate, with the aim to decrease CO₂ emissions by 30% compared to 2019 levels. This would reportedly reduce CO₂ emissions to 550kg/t of clinker.

North Macedonia: Titan Usje will invest €20m over the next three years to modernise its operations, focusing on digitalisation and new technologies. Since 2019, the company has invested over €6m in digitisation and artificial intelligence solutions. The system is being rolled out across all Titan plants and is designed to maximise production efficiency, reduce energy use by over 10% and improve product quality, while cutting CO₂ emissions.

Oman: Raysut Cement Company has launched a programme to recycle industrial byproducts for use as alternative fuel in cement production and electricity generation, to align with Oman's goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Hilal bin Saif Al-Dhamri, Acting CEO of Raysut Cement, said "We use secondary industrial materials resulting from production processes across various industries. These are recycled in cement manufacturing and are categorised into two types: one that can be reused as an alternative fuel in plants, the other is used as a partial replacement to the main raw materials leveraged for cement production.” He added "We implemented a project to reuse exhaust heat and convert it to electrical energy at the Raysut Cement plant in Salalah. This innovative approach permits the plant to generate approximately 30% of its electrical energy, by reducing around 50,000t/yr of CO₂. As a result, the Salalah Raysut Cement plant stands out as environmentally friendly, distinguished by its capability to provide clean energy for cement production."

Al-Dhamri also noted that the company was able to enhance the efficiency of its Salalah plant through this programme, by reducing the clinker content while improving the performance of cement in concrete. This has reportedly contributed to a CO₂ emissions reduction of around 18% compared to ordinary cement.

Türkiye: IFC has provided a US$70m 'green' loan to Çimsa to support its decarbonisation efforts, according to a press release from the IFC. The investment will fund energy efficiency projects, modernisation and the installation of solar photovoltaic panels. Expected outcomes include a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy usage to 20% by 2025. IFC's Cement Decarbonisation Tool Advisory Service will also assist Çimsa in identifying operational enhancements and further investments for achieving its sustainability goals.

North Korea: State-owned Sunchon Cement has completed an upgrade to its cement plant in Sunch'ŏn-shi, P’yŏngan-namdo Province, Korea News has reported. The upgrade included the installation of real-time monitoring equipment in the plant’s raw materials conveying system. The company says that this will help to increase the plant’s efficiency. It also fitted new crushers and vibrating feeders.

Saudi Arabia: China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary Sinoma CDI has won a US$6m contract to upgrade cement and raw materials conveyors at Riyadh Cement Company’s Riyadh cement plant. The producer has opted for elevator conveyors for mechanical transportation, in place of its existing pneumatic conveyors. It expects this to increase energy efficiency and reduce necessary maintenance. The project is due for delivery in early 2025.

Riyadh Cement Company CEO Shoeil Al-Ayed said that the project aligns with the producer’s strategic energy reduction initiatives.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans to invest US$1bn in expanding its Brazilian operations in the period up to the end of 2028. US$304m-worth of the investments are already underway at the start of 2024. Reuters has reported that the investments include cement plant projects to raise Votorantim Cimentos’ Brazilian cement production capacity by 8.8% to 37Mt/yr. These include a US$162m investment in a 20% capacity expansion to its Votorantim cement plant and a US$60.8m, 1Mt/yr expansion to its Salto de Pirapora plant. Further aims are to ensure structural competitiveness, raise energy efficiency and digitise operations, including applying artificial intelligence (AI) to freight. The producer expects its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to eventually rise by US$263/yr between 2023 and 2028 as a result.

Philippines: Filinvest-ENGIE Renewable Energy Enterprise (FREE) has won a contract with Cemex Philippines for the construction of a 10.1MW solar power plant. The Business Mirror newspaper has reported that the plant is comprised of a ground-mounted array of solar panels at Cemex Philippines’ Apo cement plant in Cebu. The solar power plant will eliminate 10,000t/yr of CO₂ from the Cebu cement plant’s emissions. Additionally, the producer has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with FREE for future collaborations on renewable energy and efficiency-increasing projects around the nearby city of Naga.

Cemex Philippines president and CEO Luis Franco said “This solar energy partnership is another milestone under Cemex’s Future in Action programme, as we progress closer to our goal of reducing Scope 2 CO₂ emissions to less than 24kg/t of cementitious product by 2030.” He added “We are proud to partner with FREE, a company that shares our vision to address climate change through sustainable projects. This is a win not only for Cemex, but also for the planet as we take concrete steps in making renewable energy the future of the industry.”