France: France-based Saint-Gobain has acquired Chryso from financier Cinven for Euro1.02bn. The Le Moniteur newspaper has reported that the group will operationally integrate Chryso into its high performance solutions division. It said that it intends to develop Chryso in markets already served by Saint-Gobain, and to accelerate cross-selling between Weber and Chryso.

CEO Benoit Bazin said "Chryso strengthens us significantly in the growing construction chemicals market, in which we have made 10 acquisitions and opened 16 plants in 18 countries over the past three years to now exceed more than Euro3bn in turnover in 66 countries.”

Brazil: CSN Cimentos is reviewing alternative options to raise funds to pay for its acquisition of LafargeHolcim Brasil’s cement assets after cancelling its planned initial public offering (IPO). The O Estado de São Paulo newspaper has reported that the producer abandoned the planned IPO of US$500m – US$1bn-worth of shares due to stock market turbulence. The value of the deal was US$4bn.

Benelux: Belgium-based building supplies chain EcoBati has signed a distribution agreement with France-based Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies. The producer will supply its H-Iona clinker-free cement for EcoBati to sell online and in its shops in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies owners Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmann said "Signing a distribution agreement with an international specialist in ecological materials shows the competitive edge and relevance of our H-Iona cement within the context of the fight against global warming. We are therefore delighted with the signing of this partnership that allows us to benefit from the EcoBati network’s strategic retail outlets and provide a response to the exponential demand for sustainable cement. We intend to sign more such partnerships in the future in order to spread our responsible vision of the construction sector and contribute to the environmental transition."

India: Udaipur Cement Work plans to increase its reliance on renewable power with the installation of a new 4.15MW solar power plant at its cement plant in Udaipur, Rajasthan. When operational, the installation will increase the Udaipur plant’s solar power capacity by 42% to 14.3MW. The producer says that its entire solar power apparatus will facilitate a reduction in CO2 emissions of 14,000t/yr. In the 2020 and 2021 financial years, the producer consumed 13,000MWh of solar power, reducing CO2 emissions by 10,000t.

Vietnam: Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA) members sold 77.5Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 3.5% year-on-year. Vietnamese cement exports rose by 19% over the same period, to 31.9Mt. This corresponds to 41% of total sales. State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) exported 14.5Mt of cement, 45% of national cement exports. Viet Nam News has reported that the country ended the nine-month period with 3.6Mt of cement and clinker in inventory.

Spain: Consumption of cement in the first eight months of 2021 was 9.58Mt nationally, up by 13% year-on-year from 8.48Mt in the first eight months of 2020. The Spanish Cement Industry Association (Oficemen) says that consumption remains 2% below pre-Covid-19 outbreak levels in the corresponding period of 2019. The El Economista newspaper has reported that the association has forecast full-year cement consumption of 14.6Mt in 2020, slightly below the full-year 2019 figure of 14.7Mt.

President José Cascajero said "These levels put us on the path to have a growth in future years that is hopeful. The recovery of infrastructure, which has returned to being the primary source of demand, and residential building, has allowed both consumption and expectations to be substantially improved since April 2021.”

In 2022, he forecast year-on-year demand growth of 3 - 5%, due in part to the positive impacts of the EU post-Covid-19 outbreak recovery fund. Cascajero warned of the increasing burden of rising electricity prices and CO2 emissions fees and called for ‘structural reforms’ to mitigate their drag on growth.

France: Ciments Calcia says that it will move into its new headquarters in La Défense, Hauts-de-Seine department, in early 2022. The Les Echos newspaper has reported that the Covid-19 pandemic previously delayed the move, which the company announced in late 2019. It will leave ‘part of its services’ at its existing Guerville, Yvelines department. Some staff will work at the new headquarters ‘two or three days a week’ due to the benefits of remote working.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has received approval for the issuance and offering of debentures up to US$2.97bn in its subsidiary SCG Chemicals. Reuters News has reported that the group is offering the shares under a medium-term note programme.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has announced the successful completion of a trial of cement production using a net-zero fuel mix consisting of hydrogen and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) at Hanson’s Ribblesdale, Lancashire, cement plant. The RDF in the mix consists of meat and bone meal (MBM) from the food industry and glycerol from biodiesel production.

Increased alternative fuel (AF) substitution is one of seven key levers in the MPA’s Roadmap Beyond Net Zero emissions reduction strategy. The association says that the fuel will eliminate 180,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions from the Ribblesdale plant’s operations when fully implemented. The project received Euro3.71m in government funding.

Hanson’s environmental sustainability manager Iain Walpole said “We are delighted to be involved with this world-leading project, which is a further example of our commitment to cutting CO₂ emissions.” He added “It will also contribute to our ambition of supplying net zero carbon concrete by 2050.”

India: JK Cement has successfully completed an upgrade of Line 3 of its Nimbahera, Rajasthan, cement plant. The upgraded line has a 30% expanded capacity of 6500t/day, compared to 5000t/day previously.

The plant produces some cement for export to countries including Bahrain, the UAE, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.