Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW524 / 22 September 2021

Headlines


It’s been a good week for carbon capture in cement production with new projects announced in France and Poland.

The first one is a carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) collaboration between Vicat and Hynamics, a subsidiary of energy-provider Groupe EDF. The Hynovi project will see an integrated unit for capturing CO2 and producing methanol installed at Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant in 2025. It aims to capture 40% of the CO2 from the kiln exhaust stack at the plant by using an oxy-fuel method and installing a 330MW electrolyser to split water into oxygen and hydrogen for different parts of the process. The CO2 will then be combined with hydrogen to produce methanol with potential markets in transport, chemicals and construction. The setup is planning to manufacture over 0.2Mt/yr of methanol or about a quarter of France’s national requirement. The project was put forward under a call for proposals by the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) program. Pre-notification of its participation in the program has been received from the French government and it is currently being evaluated by the European Commission. Vicat’s decision to choose its Montalieu-Vercieu plant for this project is also interesting since it started using a CO2ntainer system supplied by UK-based Carbon8 Systems there on an industrial scale in November 2020. This system uses captured CO2 from the plant’s flue gas emissions to carbonate cement-plant dust and produce aggregate.

The second new project is a pilot carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot by HeidelbergCement at its Górażdże cement plant in Poland. This project is part of the wider Project ACCSESS, a consortium led by Sintef Energi in Norway that aims to cut carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) costs and to link CO2-emitters from mainland Europe to storage fields in the North Sea. The cement plant part in Poland will test an enzyme-based capture method using waste heat at the plant. Another part of the project will look at how the captured CO2 can then be transported to the Northern Lights storage facility in Norway including the regulatory aspects of cross-border CO2 transport. ACCSESS started in May 2021 and is scheduled to end in April 2025. It has a budget of around Euro18m with Euro15m contributed by the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 fund.

HeidelbergCement also says that the second stage of its LEILAC (Low Emissions Intensity Lime And Cement) project at the Hannover cement plant is part of ACCSESS, with both testing of the larger-scale Calix technology to capture CO2 and the connected transport logistics and bureaucracy to actually get it to below the North Sea. That last point about Calix is timely given that US-based Carbon Direct purchased a 7% stake in Calix in mid-September 2021 for around US$18m. Whilst on the topic of carbon capture and HeidelbergCement don’t forget that the group’s first full-scale carbon capture unit at Norcem’s Brevik cement plant, using Aker Solution’s amine solvent capture technology, is scheduled for commissioning in September 2024. Another carbon capture unit is planned for Cementa’s Slite plant in 2030 but the proposed capture method has not been announced.

Other recent developments in carbon capture at cement plants include Aalborg Portland Cement’s plan to capture and store CO2 as part of the Project Greensand consortium. The overall plan here is to explore the technical and commercial feasibility of sequestering CO2 in depleted oil and gas reservoirs in the Danish North Sea, starting with the Nini West Field. The project is still securing funding though, with an Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program application to the Danish government pending. However, the Danish Parliament decided in December 2021 to set aside a special funding pool to support a CO2 storage pilot project so this initiative seems to be making progress. If the application is successful, the consortium wants to start work by the end 2021 and then proceed with an offshore injection pilot from late 2022. How and when Aalborg Portland Cement fits in is mostly unknown but a 0.45Mt/yr capture unit at its Rørdal cement plant is tentatively planned for 2027. There’s also no information on the capture method although Aker Carbon Capture is also part of the Project Greensand consortium. Finally, also in September 2021, Chart Industries subsidiary Sustainable Energy Solutions announced that it had selected FLSmidth to help adapt and commercialise its Cryogenic Carbon Capture carbon capture and storage (CCS) system for the global cement industry.

All of this tells the cynics in the audience that a large international climate change meeting is coming up very soon. Most cement companies will likely want some good news to show off when the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) dominates the media agenda in November 2021. Other observations to point out include that none of the projects above are full-scale industrial carbon capture installations, most of them are consortiums of one sort of another and that they are all subsidised or want to be. While hydrogen and CO2 networks get built this seems inevitable. Yet, we’re not at the stage where cement companies just order carbon capture units from a supplier, like they might a new clinker cooler or silo, without the need for long lists of partners. When this changes then carbon capture looks set to flourish.

On a final note, the UK is currently experiencing a shortage of commercially-used CO2. The reasons for this have nothing to do with the cement industry. Yet consider the constant doom-and-gloom about record global CO2 emissions and the sheer amount of effort going into reducing this by the projects mentioned above and others. Life has a sense of humour at times.

For a view on the CO2 sequestration permitting process in the US look out for the an article by Ralph E Davis Associates, in the forthcoming October 2021 issue of Global Cement Magazine


China: Anhui Conch has appointed Li Qunfeng as its general manager. He succeeds Wu Bin who has resigned from the post but who intends to remain working as the company’s executive director. Li Qunfeng is a trained engineer who has worked for the company since 1994. Notably, he first worked for subsidiary Anhui Tongling Conch Cement in a number of production roles before attaining more senior postings within the group.


Nigeria: Dangote Cement has appointed Philip Mathew as its deputy group managing director and chief executive officer with effect from 15 September 2021.

Following his training at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, Matthew has worked for cement companies since the mid-1980s when he started out as a process engineer for ACC. He later worked for Lafarge in a number of roles and countries, eventually becoming its Director - Performance and Progress for Asia based in Kuala Lumpur in the early 2010s. He held the post of Chief Manufacturing Officer for ACC in India from 2016 to 2019 before becoming LafargeHolcim’s Head of Cement Excellence Manufacturing for the Asia-Pacific region subsequently.


Poland: Lafarge Poland has laid the foundation stone for the Euro100m new kiln line at its Małogoszcz cement plant. The replacement of the three existing kilns and installation of an alternative fuel (AF) line aims to reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 20% and its energy consumption by 33%. The company, a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim, aims to make the cement plant into one of the European Union’s most modern. China National Building Material (CNBM) subsidiary Nanjing Kisen International Engineering will carry out the work, which is scheduled for completion in early 2023.

Project director Krzysztof Byczyński said “One of the three kilns has already been demolished and in its place a new kiln will be built with the necessary installations. Preparatory works for the construction of a new kiln are currently underway.”


Nigeria: Finland-based Wärtsilä has secured a contract to supply a 70MW dual-fuel power plant for the upcoming 3Mt/yr Line 4 of its Sokoto cement plant. The power plant is scheduled for commissioning alongside the line before 2023. BUA Cement previously ordered a dual fuel plant for the Sokoto cement plant’s Line 3, which is also scheduled for commissioning alongside that line, in November 2021.

Chair Abdul Samad Rabiu said “BUA Cement is happy and pleased with the progress that Wartsila made with the construction of the power plant we initially purchased for our BUA Cement Sokoto Line 3. We believe Wärtsilä will bring the same level of efficiency, technical expertise and professionalism to bear in ensuring that this new power plant for the 3Mt/yr BUA Cement Sokoto Line 4 will be completed on schedule by the end of 2022 as we look towards bringing BUA’s total capacity in its Sokoto plant to 8Mt/yr by early 2023 and across all its plants to 17Mt/yr by the same time.”


Togo: Germany-based Intercem Engineering says that CimMetal Group’s upcoming 2.5Mt/yr Lomé grinding plant is on track for commissioning ‘at short notice’ in late 2021. The supplier has delivered a 1000tph truck unloading station, a 25,000tph storage facility for additives, a 1000tph truck loading station, two 50,000t clinker silos, four Rotopackers, eight truck loading stations, ten truck scales and laboratory equipment, alongside steel construction, sheet metal fabrication, subsystems, electrical equipment and complete engineering services.It is also supervising the erection and commissioning of the plant. It said that all material conveyor belts are mounted in a closed gallery to ensure dust-free transport. The belt system is also designed for fully automatic ship unloading.

The plant is the third delivered for CimMetal Group by InterCem Engineering and partners InterCem Installation and Switzerland-based InterCem Cement, after one in Burkino Faso and one in Ivory Coast.


Italy: The Italian cement association Federbeton has launched its comprehensive plan for cement industry decarbonisation in line with the EU’s European Green Deal target of a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. The strategy entails Euro4.2bn of total new investments andEuro1.4m/yr of extra operating costs across the industry. This will cover the adoption of transition technologies and the large-scale application of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The association says that while some such actions, such as alternative fuel (AF) substitution,are immediately available, others require further development. The sector’s primary fuel is petcoke, mainly imported from the Gulf of Mexico. As such, Federbeton has identified the 100% replacement of all fossil fuels with ‘low-carbon impact’ alternatives as a means of reducing the industry’s carbon footprint by 12% achievable in the short term. Renewable green hydrogen use can cut a further 3% of CO2 emissions, an energy transition to renewable sources can cut 5%, clinker factor reduction can cut 10%, alternative raw materials in clinker can cut 6%, CCS can cut 43%, supply chain and logistics changes can cut 16% and the optimisation of construction can cut the remaining 5%.

President Roberto Callieri said “The cement and concrete supply chain wants to be one of the protagonists of the ecological transition.” He added “Only with adequate and immediate support tools will it be possible to prevent the impoverishment of the industrial fabric, preserve the competitiveness of the supply chain and prevent relocation. Last but not least, a new environmental culture must be shared, based on dialogue and no longer on the preconceived opposition to any choice of industry.”


Italy: Colacem plans to stop grinding cement at its Maddaloni Plant in Campania from the start of October 2021. The unit will be converted into a sales and logistics site, according to the Il Mattino newspaper. The cement producer purchased the Maddaloni plant from Italcementi in mid-2018 as part of the measures required by the Italian Competition Authority when Italcementi acquired Cementir. The kiln at the plant was later shut down in early 2019.


UK: Hanson has delivered 171,000t of cement to the site of the upcoming Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset. It has also delivered 1Mm3 of ready-mix concrete via the customer’s on-site batching plants, 5Mt of aggregates and 443,000t of sand. Its Port Talbot site in Neath Port Talbot has supplied 230,000t of Regen ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) for use in concrete production, reducing the product’s carbon footprint by a total of 200,000t compared with concrete produced using ordinary Portland cement (OPC) only.


Iraq: The Cement Producers Association in Iraq (CPAI) has complained about a government decision to reduce subsidises on fuel for the industry. It has warned that the cut could risk plants closing and cement prices rising, according to the Agence France Presse. The Ministry of Oil raised the price of fuel sold to cement manufactures to US$0.17/l in September 2021 from US$0.10/l litre previously. This followed a rise earlier in 2021. CPAI has warned of ‘enormous losses’ in the sector and has lobbied the government to reverse the decision. It added that producers would have to decide whether to stop production and lay off workers or raises cement prices by at least US$10/t. The subsidised fuel price for cement manufacturers was originally approved in exchange for an agreement to cap the price of cement.


Libya: Ahmed Abuhisa, the Minister of Industry and Minerals, has met with a delegation of officials from Chinese companies working in the mining and cement industry. The Chinese delegates reportedly expressed their desire to build cement plants in several regions within the country, according to the Libya Herald newspaper. General investment work was also discussed. The minister has referred the companies to the National Mining Corporation to determine investment priorities and follow up on the meeting.


US: Lehigh Hanson has launched a new bag design for its EcoCemPLC product, a Portland Limestone Cement. Features of the refreshed packaging design for EcoCemPLC include the ‘reduced carbon footprint’ icon, featured prominently in the new bag design to emphasise EcoCemPLC’s carbon-reduction benefit. The newly designed bag will be released to retail and dealers in October 2021.

“The new bag design and transition to EcoCemPLC is about more than aesthetics - it’s about clearly communicating the proven benefits of EcoCemPLC to sustainably minded customers,” said Alex Car, president of Lehigh Hanson’s Northeast Region.


Pakistan: The state government of Punjab has instructed cement producers that they risk losing their No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for planned cement plants if they fail to begin building the plants within six months of receiving the certification. The News International newspaper has reported that for the latest raft of cement plant plans given NOCs, this period will elapse in March 2022. The government has asked the producers to submit timelines for the execution of the projects by 28 September 2021.


Panama: Panamanian cement producers reused cooling water used in cement grinding at a rate of 88 – 100% nationally in 2020. The development is part of a concerted water conservation effort first launched by Argos Panamá. The La Estrella newspaper has reported that Cementos Panamá’s Quebrancha grinding plant reduced its water consumption by 88% in five years, to 59,600m3 from 477,000m3 in 2015. The plant’s cement now has a water consumption of 100l/t, compared to 537l/t in 2015.


India: SCG International Corporation has agreed to provide marketing services for BigBloc Construction’s autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) panels and other building products. United News of India has reported that BigBloc Construction expects to benefit from the partnership through the creation of a business development foundation for its AAC panels. SCG International Corporation is a subsidiary of Thailand-based cement producer Siam Cement Group (SCG).

Chair Narayan Saboo said "We are absolutely elated to announce our inaugural joint collaboration with SCG with the purpose of entering newer markets and expanding ourselves with our diversified product lines. We are the leading manufacturer of AAC blocks in India, and AAC panels are a new age building material which will further enhance speed and quality of construction.” He added “We are fully capable to cater to more demand and hence we look forward to scaling up by further promoting our product basket. SCG is without a doubt the best partner for the purpose since it is one of the largest cement and building material companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia. We look forward to the success of this wonderful opportunity which is mutually beneficial for both of our businesses."


Vietnam: SCG Packaging plans to invest US$354m to establish a new 370,000t/yr packaging plant in Vinh Phuc province. The Tuoi Tre newspaper has reported that operations at the plant will commence in early 2024. The product will be Vina Kraft Paper brand bags. The Siam Cement Group (SCG) subsidiary will finance the expansion through cash and debt.


UK: Bunting has opened the Bunting-Redditch Customer Experience Centre at its Bunting-Redditch facility in Redditch, Worcestershire. The centre is equipped with high-intensity magnetic separators, eddy current separators and a revolutionary electrostatic separator. Bunting said that it will enable its engineers to work in partnership both remotely and at site.

General manager Adrian Coleman said “Having the ability to test and prove the separation capabilities of a specific machine is priceless. There is a constant flow of materials arriving to be tested and being returned. We are fortunate enough to have unique laboratory-scale technology that enables separations that are simply not possible in other test houses. Investing in our new Customer Experience Centre has already generated orders that previously we would not have secured.”


Pakistan: The government of Punjab has granted no-objection certificates (NOCs) for 22 new cement plants. Pakistan Press International News has reported that 10 plants are currently under construction in the state.


France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies recorded sales of Euro540,000 in the first half of 2020, more than five times the Euro96,000 recorded in the first half of 2020. Its cement sales were 1880t, more than double its first-half cement sales in 2020. During the period, its orders increased by 29% to 200,000t from 155,000t at 31 December 2020. The company recorded negative earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro2.56m, up by 22% from Euro2.10m in the first half of 2020. It loss declined by 39% to Euro2.68m from Euro4.14m.


Australia: Boral has sold its roofing and masonry business to private equity firm Lutum. Quarry Magazine has reported that Boral will retain ownership of its Emu Plains, New South Wales, concrete roofing plant and other ‘relevant infrastructure’ to support its on-going building materials operations.


Australia: Researchers from Murdoch University in Western Australia have developed a cement-free concrete called Colliecrete. ABC News has reported that the concrete comprises of 80 – 90% fly ash. Other ingredients are bauxite residue and recycled aggregates. Developer Ramon Skane said that customers can make Colliecrete ‘anywhere, at room temperature.’


Turkey: Aşkale Cimento has launched new branding including an updated logo. The company said that the rebrand signifies its transition from a local to a global cement company.

CEO Fatih Yücelik said “We took a big step to be an international player with innovator and sustainable solutions, on our new journey to build the future.” He added “We are determined to do our part to build a better future for both our country and the world. Our new corporate identity is our first step, showing that we are fully committed to our goal of being the pioneer of change and transformation in the industry.”


Algeria: Saoura Ciment has begun sulphate-resistant cement production at its Saoura cement plant near Béchar. The Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) subsidiary made the move as part of efforts to diversify its production. It plans to supply the product to public works projects in the region, where its resistance to high soil salinity will prove useful. The cement will be available from all four of the plant’s commercial outlets in and around Bechér.

In August 2021, Saoura Ciment produced 180,000t of cement. It exported 25,000t to Mali, Mauritania and Niger during the month.


China: Tianrui Group Zhengzhou has repaid its previously outstanding loan facility. Reuters News has reported that parent company China Tianrui Group says the company has withdrawn a new US$15.5m loan.


Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement subsidiary Hachinohe Cement has announced that it will be receiving heavy oil and woodchips from cargo washed ashore from the wreck of a ship at Hachinohe port on 11 August 2021. The company plans to use the waste as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for cement production at its cement Hachinohe cement plant. The company said that the oil spill from the incident has had a great impact on the region. It added “In the future, we would like to actively promote the acceptance of wreckage with heavy oil attached and cooperate in the early resolution of the situation.”


Germany: Cemex Zement has launched Insularis cement-free concretes, a product range suitable for use in building insulating components. The range includes lightweight concretes Insularis Supra and Insularis Infra. Due to its low bulk density, Insularis Infra currently requires special case-by-case or project-related approval for use in Germany. The company said that it produces Insularis concretes from a mix of recycled and natural raw materials. It added that Insularis is itself 100% recyclable.


Cameroon: A delegation of LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique representatives has met Minister of Commerce Luc-Magloire Mbarga Atangana to ask him to raise the legally enacted price of cement. The company says that its subsidiary Cimencam’s costs have risen by US$3.58 – 5.37m due to increased clinker prices. This has reportedly resulted in increased costs per bag of US$2.15.

Mbarga Atanga told the World Trade Organisation that clinker prices doubled and gypsum prices rose by 60%year-on-year in the first half of 2021. The Ministry of Commerce previously raised cement prices in 2011.


France: Vicat’s Montalieu-Vercieu cement plant will host a carbon capture and storage (CCS) installation and methanol plant under a joint project by Vicat and Groupe EDF subsidiary Hynamics known as Hynovi. The project aims to achieve 40% carbon capture at the plant. A 330MW electrolyser will convert captured CO2 to methanol through oxycombustion. Commisioning of the entire system is scheduled for 2025. The partners said that Hynovi may subsequently be taken up by cement plants globally.


Guatemala: Cemex Latam Holdings plans to invest US$25m in installing a new mill at its 500,000t/yr Guatemala City grinding plant. The company says that the mill will increase the plant’s capacity by 80% to 900,000t/yr.

Cemex South America, Central America and Caribbean president Jesus Gonzalez said "This investment reinforces Cemex's commitment to Guatemala's development and reflects our confidence in the favourable outlook of the economy in the country and the region." Gonzalez added “We are excited about expanding our offer of products and solutions to the market which contribute to sustainable construction, like Vertua, our family of net-zero and low carbon products."


Vietnam: Member of the Vietnam Cement Association produced 70.7Mt of cement and clinker in the first eight months of 2021, up by 4% year-on-year from 27.2Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Its exports rose by 12% to 27.2Mt. Viet Nam News has reported that the main importers of Vietnamese cement and clinker were China, the Philippines and Bangladesh. During the period, domestic demand fell by 5% to 43.5Mt.


France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has launched H-Iona clinkerless cement, its first cement to be made available to retail customers in bagged form. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that H-Iona cement production’s CO2 emissions are 150kg/t, according to the producer. It claims that this is just 17% that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies produces H-Iona, primarily from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and gypsum, heat-free at its fully automated Bournezeau plant.

Co-founder Julien Blanchard and David Hoffmannsaid "By launching H-Iona, the lowest carbon cement on the European market, Hoffmann Green Cement is following its continuous innovation approach.” They added “This is the first low-carbon cement to have received CE marking. Thanks to this ground breaking technology, we are democratising access to low-carbon cement.”


India: Shree Cement has given details of its US$67.8m solar power plant project plans. Projects Tiger News has reported that the producer intends to install 106MW-worth of solar power capacity across several Indian cement plants before October 2022. The company expressed its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and fossil fuel dependence.


India: Cement companies produced 82Mt of cement in the three-month period ending on 30 June 2021, the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, corresponding to growth of 54% year-on-year. Production in the quarter declined by 12% quarter-on-quarter, due to the proliferation of new state Covid-19 lockdowns from April 2021 onwards. The Hitavada newspaper has reported that ratings agency ICRA forecast that full-year production will rise by 12% in the 2022 financial year, on account of pent-up demand, growing rural housing demand and a pick-up in infrastructure activity. It nonetheless estimated that production will remain 2% below pre-Covid-19 outbreak 2020 financial year levels, with continuing high costs due to rising fuel prices. In the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, coal prices more than doubled and petcoke prices rose by 98% year-on-year.