India: The Ambuja Cement Foundation has announced the formation of a partnership with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The bank is funding phase two of the foundation’s Employability through Skill initiative. The initiative supports the development of off-farm economic activity in rural areas.

India: The South Indian Cement Manufacturers’ Association has supplied 200 oxygen concentrators to the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) to help in the fight against the Covid-19 outbreak in Andhra Pradesh. United News of India has reported the value of the donated items as US$273,000.

US: SRM Concrete has completed its acquisition of 24 former Argos USA ready-mix concrete plants in Dallas, Texas. No issues were reported by the regulators, according to Agencia CMA. The purchase, valued at US$180m, was announced in May 2021.

India: Ratings agency ICRA has forecast a 25% year-on-year decline in cement sales during the first quarter of the 2022 financial year to 30 June 2021. Domestic cement demand fell by 4% year-on-year and by 35% month-on-month in April 2021, according to the Press Trust of India. The agency said that this was due to the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak to rural areas and the imposition of numerous regional lockdowns. Pent-up demand is expected to drive a gradual recovery in the second quarter from July 2021. Costs for cement companies increased by 5% nationally year-on-year in April 2021. Increased fuel, power and transport costs all contributed to the rise.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Market Intelligence Group has released its Spring 2021 Regional Forecasts for the Northeast, Central, West, and Southeast regions. Residential construction has been identified as the main driver of consumption growth in most regions.

The Pacific sub-region of the West is forecast to grow by 1.1% year-on-year in 2021, while the Mountain sub-region will drop by 0.7% following strong growth in 2020.

The West South Central sub-region is expected to rise by 2.3% and the West North Central by 1.2%. In the former this will be supported by residential demand and a recovery in the oil well cement market. The PCA added that he sub-region maintains very strong construction fundamentals given demand from strong in-migration and an expanding tax base.

The PCA noted that the Northeast had been hit ‘hard’ by the coronavirus pandemic but that cement consumption still grew by 0.6% in 2020. In 2021 the association has forecast growth of 0.1%. Although residential construction is expected to drive demand the association said that the region is expected to lag behind national trends in public cement consumption given, “state fiscal conditions and the characteristics of the region.”

Finally, the PCA forecasts that cement consumption in the South Atlantic sub-region will be ‘strong’ with growth of 6.8% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022. Demand in the East South Central sub-region is also expected to be positive with consumption growth of 7.6% in 2021 and 1.9% in 2022.

Germany: Data from HeidelbergCement’s Sustainability Report 2020 reveals that it reduced its specific net CO₂ emissions by 2% year-on-year to 576kg/t of cementious material in 2020 from 589 kg/t in 2019. This represents a 23% reduction since 1990. The company has a target of 30% by 2025. It has a number of carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCU/S) projects in various stages of development to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Other data shows that its alternative fuels substitution rate rose to 25.7% from 24% and its clinker ratio fell slightly to 74.3%.

During the reporting year, the group joined the climate lobbying group Foundation 2° and achieving a CDP climate protection rating of A. For water security it secured the second-highest rating of A-. The group’s specific water consumption for cement rose by 5% in 2020 to 271.9l/t of cement from 260l/t in 2019. However the company says it is continuing to improve water consumption reporting at its sites until 2025.

Morocco: LafargeHolcim’s Settat plant has been ranked as the second most efficient integrated cement plant in LafargeHolcim Group. The classification is based on industrial performance criteria in terms of efficiency, cost and sustainable development covering 129 of the group’s integrated plants around the world. Five of the six plants operated by LafargeHolcim Morocco are also reported to be in the Top 20 of this list. The 1.7Mt/yr Settat plant has also become a pilot in the group’s ‘plant of tomorrow" initiative whereby automation technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence and predictive maintenance will be used to improve its production efficiency further still.

Egypt: Saudi Arabian-based Mohammed Hassan Al Naqool Sons has started pilot production at its Cement Industries subsidiary based in El Alamein. The project has an investment of around US$5m. It will manufacture cement-based products, including blocks and concrete. Commercial production at the site is expected to start in the third quarter of 2021.

Mexico/UK: Cemex has promoted its Vertua admixtures in the UK, with the launch of next generation products in the range. The producer says that Vertua admixtures used in conjunction with its grinding aids, cement enhancers, super plasticisers and accelerators further reduce the carbon footprints of these products. It called green admixtures a ‘fundamental enabler of key innovations’ which will accelerate sustainable urbanisation.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional urbanisation solutions vice president Marcelo Catalá said, “Cemex’s Vertua range of next generation admixtures, together with our broader array of low carbon, resource-efficient urbanisation solutions, will contribute considerably to building alongside our customers a better and more sustainable future for the cities in which we live.”

Germany: Opterra’s Wössingen integrated cement plant was awarded gold certification status from the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC) in late May 2021. It follows the Karsdorf plant achieving the same certification in late 2020.