Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW615 / 05 July 2023

Headlines


It’s been a good week for graphene usage in the cement and concrete industries, with a trial set to take place at Breedon Group’s Hope cement plant and the inclusion of four graphene projects in the Global Cement & Concrete Association’s (GCCA) shortlist for its second second Innovandi Open Challenge.

The trial at the Hope cement plant was scheduled to take place on 28 June 2023, alongside First Graphene, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester. The plan was to use 1.2t of First Graphene’s PureGraph product by testing different dispersion methods and dosage rates. The graphene was going to be prepared as a grinding aid and then added to cement grinding mill feed. Dispersion into the cement production line was planned to occur over a 24-hour period using traditional grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal operational or mechanical change required to the existing plant.

The cement produced was then going to be validated by Breedon’s quality control team to assess its performance enhancement. Overall the trial was going to produce around 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement during the trial. This cement will then be passed to Morgan Sindall Construction for real-world construction demonstrations. First Graphene reckoned that the trial was going to produce the largest volume of graphene-enhanced cement manufactured to date.

First Graphene and the other partners haven’t released any information yet on how the trial went. However, the results will be used to build on data obtained from smaller scale trials previously conducted at a concrete processing laboratory in the UK.

Elsewhere, the 15 projects shortlisted by the GCCA, as part of the Innovandi Open Challenge, were set to pitch their ideas for access to the scheme. The benefits of inclusion on the scheme include access to industry plants, laboratories, networks and the expertise and infrastructure of the manufacturer members of the association. 70 applications were made for the second Innovandi round. The first round in 2021 was focused on carbon capture and utilisation and two projects eventually made it to the pilot stage. This time the emphasis is on low-carbon concrete.

The graphene-related contenders for Innovandi in the current round include Nano Crete, Nanospan India, SeaMix and Versarien Graphene. All four companies are promoting concrete admixtures that use graphene. Given the brief for this Innovandi round, these projects are focused on concrete production as opposed to the trial at the Hope cement plant, mentioned above, which is testing graphene addition during cement grinding.

Nanospan India, for example, is promoting its Spanocrete product. It says that its admixture acts as a superplasticizer and accelerator, allowing for reduced cement and water consumption, a shorter curing cycle and an increase in compressive strength. US-based SeaMix (part of MEP Group), meanwhile, has developed its own concrete admixture that uses chopped basalt fibres and graphene. It too offers greater compressive strength and reduced cement consumption for the resulting concrete. However, it also allows for the use of any non-potable water source, a compelling selling point for construction companies trying to minimise the use of drinking water.

It is early days yet for the application of graphene in the cement and concrete sectors. Graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004. Just under 20 years later and various products are emerging with test projects slowly gathering pace and even commercial applications, such as SeaMix and others, building up their portfolios. Various challenges such as reduced workability, the high cost of graphene or even concerns about simply handling graphene get raised in discussions about the wider adoption of graphene-based admixtures but so far these do not seem insurmountable. We await the outcomes of the trial at Hope and the selections of the second round of Innovandi.

For more on Seamix read the interview with Rey Rubio, the Vice President of MEP Consulting Engineers, in the July - August 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine


Australia: Adbri has appointed Jared Gashel as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He succeeds Dianne Mong, who has held the position of Acting CFO since March 2023. Mong will resume her role as the company’s General Manager Finance.

Gashel holds over 20 years of financial experience in multiple industries. Prior to joining Adbri, he was Acting CFO at Boral from 2022 to March 2023. His previous post at Boral was as Executive General Manager Group Finance and Property. Before joining Boral, he held multiple senior finance executive roles in Australia and Switzerland, and spent more than a decade working for KPMG, where he specialised in advisory and capital markets.


Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has appointed Chinedu Richard as its acting Chief Financial Officer.

Richard has worked for Lafarge Africa for over 10 years in a variety of financial roles. Most recently he held the position of Head of Finance Planning & Analysis. Prior to working for Lafarge Africa he was a Financial Analyst for Dangote Cement. He has also worked for Oando.

Richard is a graduate of pharmacy from the University of Lagos and holds a masters degree in business administration (MBA) from Lagos Business School. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).


Austria/Germany: Rohrdorfer Group and gas network company Bayernets have published a feasibility study for a proposed CO2 transport network in Bavaria in Upper Austria. The first stage of the CO2peline plan will be to create an ‘island’ network between the Rohrdorfer cement plant in Upper Bavaria and the so-called ‘Bavarian chemical triangle.’ An additional connection to the industrial and chemical region of Linz in Austria would add additional CO₂ sources, places of use and temporary storage sites to the grid. Further expansion plans could see the network expanded to cover the whole of Bavaria. A future connection to a Germany-based national network and international routes could further link the network to other locations where CO2 is both produced and used, as well as creating routes to sequestration sites.

No dates have been released for the proposed CO2 pipeline network. However, the project notes that Germany is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045 and Bavaria and Austria by 2040.


Belgium: The European cement association, Cembureau, has asked the Europen Union (EU) to provide a regulatory framework to support the work of the European cement industry in co-processing waste composite materials as alternative raw materials. The materials in question consist of glass, carbon or other fibres and polymer matrices. The association called on the EU to recognise co-processing as ‘recycling’ under the EU Waste Framework Directive, to establish waste composite materials collection schemes and phase out landfilling, and to introduce dedicated waste codes for the materials. Cembureau said that the last of these proposals would help to increase visibility and attract investments.

Cembureau set out its proposals in a joint statement with resins associations Cefic UP/VE and Cefic Epoxy Europe, boating association EBI, composite materials association EuCIA, glass fibre association Glass Fibre Europe and wind energy association WindEurope.


Austria: Rohrdorfer has bought 20 new railcars equipped with ÖBB Rail Cargo’s RockTainer SAND containers. The cars will transport limestone between the producer’s Ebensee quarry and its Gmunden cement plant. Each railcar consists of two RockTainer SAND containers mounted on an InnoWaggon carriage, with a maximum load of 134t. The new cars will increase the volume of despatches from the Ebensee quarry by 28% to 804t of limestone per train from 630t/train, enabling Rohrdorfer to transport 450,000t of limestone per operating season.


Tunisia: Carthage Cement has secured a contract to supply 1Mt of cement to a customer in the US. Emerging Market Watch News has reported that the contract will be effective from September 2023 until March 2025.


Pakistan: Cement producers despatched 44.6Mt of cement during the 2023 financial year, down by 16% year-on-year from 52.9Mt in the previous financial year. Exports dropped by 13% to 4.57Mt from 5.26Mt. The Dawn newspaper has reported that cement plants in Northern Pakistan accounted for 33.9Mt (76%) of despatches, while those in Southern Pakistan accounted for 10.7Mt (24%).

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association urged the government to support export-orientated industries. It said “Boosting exports will play a pivotal role in the revival of our economy. Signing of standby agreement with IMF is only an interim solution and we must use our own resources in order to build a stronger Pakistan.”


India: The government of Assam has laid the foundation stone for its upcoming Bogibeel Inland Waterways Transport Terminal, a cargo and passenger port on the River Brahmaputra in Assam. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the state will invest US$5.67m in the port, which is scheduled to open in February 2024. Cement is among the commodities expected to travel through the port.

Assam’s Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, suggested that a new local cement industry might arise to take advantage of the improved transport situation, alongside other industries.


Ethiopia/India: Sinoma International Engineering and its subsidiaries have signed contracts to upgrade cement plants for Ethiopia-based Derba MIDROC Cement and India-based Ambuja Cement.

Sinoma International Engineering has signed a contract worth US$290m with Derba MIDROC Cement to build a 5000t/day clinker production line at the cement producer’s plant at Deba in Oromia. The project includes supplying a full line from raw material crushing to cement packaging. Once payment conditions are confirmed the project should take around 30 months.

Ambuja Cement has signed a contract with Sinoma subsidiary Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute (Sinoma TCDRI) to supply upgrades to its integrated Bhatapara plant in Chhattisgarh and its Farakka and Sankrail grinding plants in West Bengal. The clinker plant’s production capacity will be expanded to 4Mt/yr and both grinding plants will be increased to 2Mt/yr respectively. The value of the contract is around US$285m. Schedules for the proposed work will be agreed subject to further negotiation.


Nigeria: Lafarge Africa's Roadcem product has been approved by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. The product is a cement additive that is used for soil stabilisation in road construction projects. It was developed to improve the characteristics of soils before they are used for the base, sub-base or sub-grade construction in roads.

Osita Ezedozie, the Director of Highways (Materials, Geotechnics & Quality Control), of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, said “Following the improved performance observed from the tests, pilot study and evaluation of Roadcem over ordinary Portland cement in soil stabilisation, approval has been granted for the introduction and use of Roadcem for stabilisation of soil in highway pavement sub-base course construction. At 5% Roadcem content, the stabilised sharp sand complies with all the specification requirements for a sub-base course and also achieves higher stability at a lower cost than stabilisation with ordinary Portland cement.”


Spain: Cementos Tudela Veguín plans to spend more than Euro62.5m on sustainability-enhancing upgrades to its three cement plants in Asturias and one in León. The plans consist of upgrades to fuelling systems that will enable the plants to use biofuels and hydrogen, as well as efficiency upgrades. The La Nueva España newspaper has reported that the producer is seeking to secure European Union (EU) funding for the project. The region of Asturias is eligible for Euro263m-worth of regional decarbonisation funding under the EU's Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation.

A planned second phase of upgrades will consist of the installation of carbon capture systems at the plants. They emitted 1.67Mt CO2 in 2022. 1.12Mt (67%) arose from the decarbonisation of limestone and 0.55Mt (33%) came from the combustion of fuel.


India: Shiva Cement says that a proposed 1Mt/yr grinding unit as part of its new Sundergarh plant is on hold while it evaluates the site location. The cement producer confirmed that the 1.36Mt/yr clinker unit at the site in Odisha has been commissioned as well as a 9MW waste heat recovery (WHR) unit. It added that it has already obtained clearance to operate (CTO) from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) for 0.66Mt/yr of clinker production and 9MW WHR at the site. It is currently awaiting clearance for the remaining clinker production capacity. Work on alternative fuel systems, a 12km rail siding and a 10km overland belt conveyor at the site are reportedly progressing on schedule.


Thailand: US-based Rondo Energy and Siam Cement Group (SCG) plan to expand the production capacity of a heat battery storage unit at a SCG plant to 90GWh/yr. Once complete the site will reportedly have a production capacity larger than any current heat battery-supported manufacturing facility worldwide and will save up to 12Mt/yr of CO2. The SCG site already has a capacity of 2.4GWh/yr.

SCG’s executive vice president Thammasak Sethaudom said “Rondo offers an innovative solution to reduce the carbon emissions from industrial process heat used in factories worldwide. SCG can use Rondo’s technology to lower our own carbon emissions and SCG Cleanergy can partner with Rondo to help our customers cut emissions.” He added “We also realised that we can leverage our 70 years of technical expertise in the refractory business and supply chain.”

Rondo heat batteries consist of refractory bricks capable of storing renewable energy as heat. The heat energy can then be returned to an industrial process as hot air or steam. SCG invested in Rondo Energy in 2022.

This story was amended on 4 July 2023, after a previous version erroneously stated the location of the plant as Ukraine. Global Cement apologises for this error.


India: ICRA says that all-Indian cement production capacity will rise by 6% year-on-year to 610Mt/yr during the 2024 financial year. The ratings agency forecasts that the Indian cement industry will invest US$14.6bn over the four years up to the end of the 2027 financial year to expand its capacity by 26% to 725Mt/yr. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that costs of cement production fell in the second half of the 2023 financial year, which ended on 31 March 2023. The trend is expected to continue throughout the 2024 financial year. Meanwhile, ICRA has forecast domestic demand growth of 7 - 8% year-on-year in the 2024 financial year.


US: Cemex USA has commissioned a new 225t cement unloader for handling dry bulk materials from ships at the Port of Palm Beach in Florida. The port says that the producer invested US$7m in the equipment. It is decorated with a mural of a manatee cow and calf, dedicated to local conservation charity Friends of Manatee Lagoon.

Images here.


Oman: Huaxin Cement informed the Muscat Stock Exchange of its intent to buy a further 5.1% stake in Oman Cement on 3 July 2023. Zawya News has reported that this would increase the China-based group's stake in Oman Cement to 64.7%. It acquired its existing 59.6% in the producer for US$193m earlier in 2023, but subsequently revised the price to US$200m.


India: UltraTech Cement increased its cement sales volumes by 20% to 30Mt in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year. Press Trust of India News has reported that the producer sold 950,000t of cement outside of India, up by 13% from 840,000t a year earlier.

During the year, UltraTech Cement recorded a capacity utilisation rate of 90% across its 136Mt/yr capacity.


Philippines: Holcim Philippines and Sungshin Cement have signed a memorandum of understanding whereby Holcim Philippines will be priority supplier of cement for use in Sungshin Cement's ready-mix concrete operations in the Philippines, InPR News has reported. South Korea-based Sungshin is anticipating growing demand from infrastructure projects, partly due to a US$3bn development loan agreement between the government of the Philippines and South Korea.


US: The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has fined Dragon Products for failure to comply with mine safety rules. The Maine Monitor newspaper has reported that inspectors issued 33 citations following an inspection of its quarry in May 2023.

Thomaston cement plant manager Jennifer Small said that the citations primarily relate to 'housekeeping,' and that the company has 'promptly addressed these citations and worked closely with the MSHA to improve plant safety.'

Dragon Products, a subsidiary of Giant Cement, paid mine safety fines worth US$150,000 in 2022, US$76,700 in 2021 and US$134,000 in 2020.


Philippines: Holderfin, an existing 18% shareholder in Holcim Philippines, has acquired an additional 9.2% stake in the company from Japan-based Sumitomo Osaka Cement. This raises its control over Holcim Philippines to more than 27%. As a result of the deal, the proportion of publicly held shares in the cement producer fell to 5%. PhilStar News has reported that Holcim Philippines is now possibly seeking to delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The producer said “Holderfin informed the company that if the company will be unable to issue additional shares to the public sufficient to raise its public float to the required level, Holderfin is prepared to make a tender offer for all outstanding common shares of the company held by the public with the aim of subsequently conducting a voluntary delisting of the company’s common shares from the Main Board of the PSE.”


World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has named the 15 anticipated deliverers of low-CO2 cement and concrete production shortlisted for participation in its second Innovandi Open Challenge. The association chose the start-ups based on their potential to deliver CO2 emissions reduction in the global cement and concrete sector in line with its Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. The applicants are presenting their pitches to GCCA members on 30 June 2023. All those accepted will gain access to members' plants, labs, networks and expertise. The following start-ups made the Innovandi Open Challenge 2023 shortlist:

Arrakis Materials

US

Carbon negative materials for concrete

Chement

US

Room temperature cement production

EcoAdmix Global

UK

Nanotechnology ('HDT') for concrete

EcoLocked

Germany

Biocarbon-based admixtures

EnviCore

Canada

Low temperature supplementary cementitious material production

Enzymatic

US

Carbon negative enzymatic concrete corrosion inhibition and recycling

Louis Structures

US

Municipal solid waste-based lightweight aggregates

MEP - SeaMix

US

Basalt fibre and graphene-based admixture

Nano Crete

US

Graphene-enhanced CO2 sequestration

Nanospan India

India

Graphene-based admixture

NeoCrete

New Zealand

Nano-activator for natural pozzolans

Queens Carbon

US

~500°C cementitious materials production

The Cool Corporation

UK

Carbon negative carbon nanotube-based additive for concrete

Ultra High Materials

US

Clinkerless cement

Versarien Graphene

UK

Graphene-based admixture ('Cementene')

GCCA cement director and innovation lead Claude Loréa said “We received more than 70 quality applications, so drawing up a shortlist was challenging." Loréa continued "Our essential industry needs something easily scalable and affordable. Those start-ups on the list demonstrated the most potential, and we look forward to hearing more about their ideas. But we’ll also be keeping in touch with other start-ups who didn’t make this year’s shortlist, with future projects in mind.”


India: Shree Cement has entered trial cement production at its new 3Mt/yr Purulia grinding plant in West Bengal. The site is the company’s first manufacturing plant in the state, according to the Times of India newspaper. Reuters has reported that the Purulia plant will raise Shree Cement's total installed capacity by 6.4% to 49.9Mt/yr. The producer invested US$67m in the facility, and raised the funds for it through internal accruals.

Managing director Neeraj Akhoury said "The plant has also allowed us to bring more jobs to Bengal, as well as showcase our advanced production systems which meet stringent environment norms." Akhoury indicated that the producer aims to raise its installed capacity by 60% to 80Mt/yr by the end of the 2028 financial year.


UK: Breedon Cement commenced a 24-hour trial of graphene-enhanced cement production at its Hope Cement plant in Derbyshire on 28 June 2023. The trial advances the work of a consortium led by Australia-based First Graphene. It is using existing grinding aid dosage lines, with minimal adjustment required. Breedon Cement and its partners aim to produce 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement, using 1.2t of PureGRAPH 50. Graphene-Info News has reported that Breedon Cement will supply concrete produced under the trial to Morgan Sindall Construction for use in its building projects. The University of Manchester is also participating in the consortium.

Breedon Cement managing director Jude Lagan said “The role graphene can play in helping to decarbonise the cement industry could be significant, and we are keen to contribute to this process by facilitating what is set to be one of the largest global trials of this kind.”


UK: Material Evolution raised US$19m in a Series A funding round to scale production of its 85% reduced-CO2 cement. Material Evolution produces cement at ambient temperature using its own ambient fusion process. Its inputs consist of industrial wastes and feedstocks. Tech Crunch News has reported that venture capital firm Kompas VC led the funding, with participation from fellow venture capital firms Norrsken VC and Circle Rock Capital, as well as quarried materials producer SigmaRoc.

Material Evolution's CEO Elizabeth Gilligan said “Fusion technology has been hailed as the way to meet humanity’s energy needs for millions of years, whilst emitting no CO2 or other greenhouse gases."


Philippines: Metal and ores producer Global Ferronickel Holdings (FNI) plans to invest in clinker production operations. The company has indicated that it will also begin producing limestone to supply any clinker plants that it builds. The Manila Bulletin newspaper has reported that FNI's plans also include new ventures into value-added processing, including through the establishment of a ferronickel processing plant and nickel matte processing facility.


India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a 3000t/day integrated cement line at its Ramamasamy Raja Nagar cement plant in Tamil Nadu. Projects Today News has reported that the plant runs on renewable energy from a captive wind farm, and recycles 90% of water used in production.

Ramco Cements produces Ramco 53 Infra Super cement at the Ramamasamy Raja Nagar plant. The product allows for lower cement and admixture content to be used in the production of concrete structures.


India: Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC have transitioned to reporting their results in line with the (April - March) Indian financial year. As such, they have published 15-month results for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. During the period, Ambuja Cements reported sales of US$4.75bn, up by 34% year-on-year from US$3.53bn. Its cement volumes rose by 28% to 68Mt, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to US$714m. Meanwhile, ACC recorded sales of US$2.71bn, up by 38% from US$1.97bn in 2021. Its cement volumes rose by 31% to 37.9Mt, while its EBITDA fell by 30% to US$275m.

ACC announced its goal to become India's 'most profitable cement company.' To realise this, the company will implement a three-pronged strategy of capacity expansion, efficiency improvements and development of its distributor and dealer network. Under the capacity expansion heading, the producer will double its production capacity through the construction of new cement plants and the expansion of existing ones. In this, it will lay special emphasis on securing supplies of renewable energy and supplementary cementitious materials, including fly ash from its own power plant segment. The company noted that it recently secured access to 1Bnt-worth of new limestone reserves in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka and Rajasthan. It will also seek to increase its coal production to avoid the rising cost of imports.

In the 2024 financial year, the government of India plans to invest US$11.4bn in the construction of new housing, roads and sanitation infrastructure nationally. Ambuja Cements has forecast an increase in domestic cement consumption of 6 - 8% to over 390Mt/yr. It expects Indian cement production to rise by 8 - 10% year-on-year to 390Mt in the 2024 financial year.


India: Birla Corporation says that it expects to sell 18.1Mt of cement during the 2024 financial year (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024), up by 15% year-on-year from 15.7Mt in the 2023 financial year. That financial year, sales grew by 11% year-on-year. Looking ahead, the producer expects its new 3.9Mt/yr Mukutban cement plant in Maharashtra increase its sales. It said that it may also carry out future expansions at its Chanderia cement plant in Rajasthan.

The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that managing director and CEO Sandip Ghose said "Our strategy is based on prices not going up significantly. Volumes are going to move in a healthy manner unless there are any major dislocations, disruptions or hiccups going forward. I am very bullish on the India growth story." Regarding the company's Gujarat market in Western India, he said "Gujarat had gone through exponential growth in the past year, which boosted certain companies' profitability because of the bullet train, the expressway and other developments." Ghose forecast similar demand growth in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.


India: Sanghi Cement has resumed cement production at Sanghipuram cement plant in Gujarat. The producer had suspended operations at the plant since 13 June 2023 amid the deadly landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy. The producer noted that there has been 'some damage' to the plant, and that repairs are on-going.


Vietnam: Vietnamese cement producers manufactured 61.4Mt of cement in the first half of 2023. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 2.7% from levels reported by Global Cement one year ago of 59.8Mt during the first half of 2022. Việt Nam News has reported that full-year production was 116Mt in 2022, up by 5.8% year-on-year from full-year 2021 levels.