Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW647 / 21 February 2024

Headlines


Valentine’s Day last week included some ‘hot’ news for the cement sector with the announcement that Electrified Thermal Solutions is preparing to build the first commercial-scale pilot of its Joule Hive thermal battery (JHTB) in San Antonio, Texas. The company is working with the Southwest Research Institute on the project along with Buzzi Unicem USA, 3M and Amy’s Kitchen as industrial partners. Advisors include Imerys. The project update follows the award of a US$5m grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) in late January 2024.

The funding description from the DOE’s Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office reports that the end goal is to “turn intermittent renewable electricity into constant industrial grade heat” that can replace fossil fuel usage. Electrified Thermal Solutions aims to test its JHTB thermal energy storage system, which uses electrically conductive refractory bricks, to convert and store electricity as heat at temperatures higher than 1700°C. The JHTB power ranges between 1 - 200MW of thermal output, with duration up to tens of hours, enabling ‘very affordable’ high temperature energy storage and on-demand heat. Notably, it can charge and discharge simultaneously, allowing a continuous heat supply.

Electrified Thermal Solutions is not alone in targeting the cement sector. As Global Cement Weekly has covered previously energy storage is a growing topic of interest with a few large-scale electrical battery units running at cement plants in Pakistan and Taiwan. The other big name in thermal batteries for cement production is Rondo Energy. Both Electrified Thermal Solutions and Rondo Energy are using modular three-dimensional arrays of refractory bricks to store thermal energy and then release it, although they are likely to have key proprietary differences. However, Rondo Energy appears to be further along the industrial adoption process so far. Titan Cement and Siam Cement Group (SCG) invested in Rondo Energy in 2022. Then in July 2023 SCG and Rondo Energy said that they were planning to expand the production capacity of a heat battery storage unit at an SCG plant from 2.4 GWh/yr in mid-2023 to 90GWh/yr. For more information on Rondo Energy read the feature by CEO John O’Donnell in the January 2023 issue of Global Cement Magazine.

The reason that this matters, as partly explained above, is that fossil fuels contribute about one third of the CO2 emissions created by heating up the kiln in cement production to make clinker. This is dropping globally due to the uptake of alternative fuels, but burning alternative fuels emits gross CO2, however you account for the emissions. Mass adoption of thermal batteries by the sector could potentially cut out this double-accounting and reduce that third down to the carbon footprint of the refractory bricks used. This would then create knock-on issues concerning what to do with the waste streams instead but that is not a problem for the cement sector. These are worries for another day, as we first need to see how thermal batteries work at scale at a cement plant.

A recent feature in the Economist considered whether the mass adoption of electrical power from renewable sources might be an increasingly viable path to decarbonising industry. Geopolitics, faster-than-expected growth in renewables and new technology are all doing their bit to make this possible. As with so much of the carbon agenda it may alter the very concept of the traditional cement production line or at least the speed of change. Just imagine how a future cement plant might look, decked out with a electrical micro-grid, a heat battery, an oxy-fuel kiln, a carbon capture unit and either a chemical plant or gas pipeline junction. Will it happen? Who knows… but it is an exciting time for the cement sector.


Denmark: Aalborg Portland has appointed Ignacio Arroyo as its plant director.

Arroyo started his career working for Holcim in 1998 as a project manager at the Carboneras Plant in Spain. Other roles in Spain followed before he became the Operation Manager at the Yeles plant in 2012. He then worked as Technical Director and Plant Manager at Holcim’s National Cement Factory in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Subsequent roles included Plant Manager positions in Holcim Romania and Lafarge Canada.


US: Aumund Group has appointed Wes Allen appointed as Vice President Operations and Scott Martin as Head of the Global Conversion Team.

Allen has worked for Aumund since 2007 first as Director of After Sales and Service, North & Central America, then Information Technology Operations Manager and then Vice President Sales and Marketing. Prior to his experience with Aumund, Allen worked for environmental services company WM.

Martin previously worked in technical retrofit roles at Aumund since starting at the company in 2019. Prior to this he worked for KettenWulf as a Technical Account Manager and Project Engineer from 2016. Martin is a graduate in mechanical engineering from Kennesaw State University.


Germany: Sweden-based CheckProof has appointed Peter Erbel as its Country Manager, Germany. Erbel previously worked for FLSmidth and associated companies from 2007 to 2023 in sales, product and project management roles.

CheckProof is a software-as-a-service company supplying heavy industry markets including aggregate, asphalt, cement, ready mix concrete and heavy machinery. The company says it has seen strong, continual growth in Germany and appointing Erbel is planned to support existing clients and grow the business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. CheckProof has clients in 38 countries.


US: Vulcan Materials raised its sales by 6.4% year-on-year in 2023, from US$7.32bn to US$7.78bn. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 24% to US$2bn, while its profit grew by 25% to US$1.95bn. Vulcan Materials’ full-year concrete volumes dropped, during which time it also divested some concrete operations. Altogether, the producer plans to invest US$625 – 675m in maintenance and growth projects in 2024.

Chair and CEO Tom Hill said "We carry momentum into 2024, and our focus is the same - compounding unit margins through all parts of the cycle and creating value for our shareholders through improving returns on capital."


UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched the 3rd Innovandi Open Challenge 2024, with a focus on the deployment of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) for the decarbonisation of cement and concrete. Possible fields of study include process-integrated and end-of-pipe capture. The 1st Innovandi Open Challenge 2024 previously focused on CCUS, and has now produced two projects at pilot stage.

Cement, innovation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) director Claude Loréa said "Our industry is committed to achieving net zero and the development of carbon capture technology is a key part of that work. Our world-leading Innovandi Open Challenge programme has already seen remarkable progress in just two years, with start-ups and our member companies working together. We're looking forward to seeing what this year's applicants can bring, to build on the extensive work that is already underway across the world."


India: Germany-based ThyssenKrupp has agreed to sell its 55% stake in ThyssenKrupp Industries India to local joint venture partners. VCCircle News has reported that the move is part of on-going strategic cost-saving measures. The supplier expects to complete the sale in mid-late 2024. As a result, its total global employees will drop by over 2300. Protos Engineering and Paharpur Cooling Towers will reportedly acquire the stake. The companies hold existing stakes of 16% and 11% respectively.


Czech Republic: The Czech Cement Association (SVC ČR) says that it is “firmly” committed to decarbonise the cement industry and has agreed a clear roadmap explaining how to reach net zero by 2050. It added that it was also backing the strategy outlined in the European Commission’s (EC) industrial deal. In a statement the association said, “The position of SVC ČR regarding the proposal of the decarbonising targets by 2040 is that the Czech government has to prepare in cooperation with the individual industries a deep analysis of the opportunities and the risks arising from the new proposal and prepare a long-term strategy to support the competitiveness of Czech energy-intensive industries.”

SVC ČR distanced itself from comments published in ČTK Business News reporting that a group of energy-intensive industry associations in the country had challenged the EC's proposal to aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% by 2040. The associations argue that the target will harm the competitiveness of Czech industries. They say that it is based on unrealistic assumptions and overlooks the absence of necessary conditions for major investment in the EU’s green industry transformation.

This story was updated on 29 February 2024 with comments from SVC ČR


France: Calderys Group says that it has successfully implemented technology sharing between US-based HWI and Calderys, following their integration in February 2023. In the past 12 months, the group has transferred select Calderys products to HWI in the Americas and introduced HWI products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific. The refractories supplier says that the collaboration offers customers an enhanced product range.

Calderys Group president and CEO Michel Cornelissen said "The past 12 months have been exciting, demanding and very productive for our newly-formed group. The combination brought together two dynamic businesses with complimentary product ranges and created the opportunity for technology sharing and cooperation for the benefit of the world's high temperature manufacturing sectors. I am delighted that we are already seeing great results. Throughout 2024, we will continue to add to, and update, our product portfolios.”


India: Ambuja Cements is planning to build a 4Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Motia Village, Godda District in Jharkhand. The project has a budget of US$120m. The proposed plant will use fly ash supplied from the nearby Andani Power Godda thermal power plant.

Ajay Kapur, CEO – Cement Business at Adani Group, said “We believe that Jharkhand holds immense potential in terms of resources, infrastructure and skilled manpower, making it an ideal location for this project.”

Ambuja Cements operates two cement plant in Jharkhand with a combined production capacity of 6Mt/yr.


Nigeria: The Federal Government has warned cement producers that it is considering allowing cement imports into the country in response to high local prices. Arc Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, made the comment at an emergency meeting held with cement and building materials manufacturers in Abuja following a doubling of the price of bags of cement, according to the Vanguard newspaper. Manufacturers have blamed the price rises on the increasing cost of gas, the cost of mining equipment, negative currency exchange rate effects and the poor state of the country’s roads. However, Dangiwa noted that many of the raw materials they use - including limestone, clay, silica sand and gypsum - are sourced locally.

The government is preparing to set up a committee - comprising representatives of each cement company, the Cement Manufactures of Nigeria Association and the relevant ministries, to find ways of tackling the high price of cement.


UK: Aggregate Industries is preparing to build a new cement storage unit for deep sea shipping lines at the Port of Southampton. As part of a 20-year agreement, Aggregate Industries will be working with port owner Associated British Ports and industry-leading cargo handler Solent Stevedores, which will operate the new cement import unit. The site is intended to help the business maintain a continuous supply of lower CO2 cementitious products in the south and south west of England.

Matt Owen, Head of Supply Chain at Aggregate Industries Cement Division said “This is a significant project for us. It constitutes the first stage in a wider programme of planned investments over the short to medium term in deep sea imports designed to enable us to serve growing demand.” He continued, “The southern construction market remains buoyant with lots of major projects in the pipeline this year and beyond. Constituting one of the few deep-sea vessel facilities of its kind in the region, this facility will enable us to remain primed and ready to meet our customers rising demand for lower carbon solutions.”


Greece: Titan Cement International has published its preliminary results for 2023. The results indicate a 13% year-on-year rise in sales, to Euro2.54bn from Euro2.25bn in 2022. The unaudited figures show group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 61% to Euro535m from Euro331m. As a result, it expects to more than double its net profit to Euro265m. The company's net debt ended the year at Euro660m, down by 17% from Euro797m a year earlier.


South Korea: Sungshin Cement's sales rose by 8% to US$832m in 2023, from US$771m in 2022. The producer reported a surge in its operating profit to US$54.9m from US$1.37m.


Malaysia: Borneo Cement Sabah expects to commission its US$417m integrated Nabawan cement plant later in 2024. The project additionally involves the construction of energy, road and water infrastructure. Malay Mail Online News has reported that Borneo Cement Sabah is a joint venture of Setia Alam and state-owned Sabah Economic Development Corporation, with investment from China National Building Material subsidiary Sinoma.

General manager Michael Kinsuan said that Borneo Cement Sabah will hire 1000 workers for the plant.


UAE: Emirates Steel Arkan has concluded a partnership for the deployment of Finland-based Magsort’s technology in steel slag processing at its Al Ain cement plant. ZAWYA News has reported that the partners expect the technology to help reduce the plant’s limestone and fuel consumption. This will reduce its CO2 emissions by 15%.

Emirates Steel Arkan CEO Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi said "Green solutions such as this will help decarbonise the sector's value chain."


India: Dalmia Cement has launched new branding identifying itself as a Roof Column Foundation Expert. The identity is accompanied by the slogan ‘Roof, column, foundation strong, home strong.’ The company says that the branding will help it to position its cement as first choice in business-to-consumer (B2C) building materials retailing. The campaign especially targets towns of 20,000 – 100,000 people, outside of India’s metropolitan centres. The producer aims to raise its B2C sales from 65% to 70% in the 2025 financial year. It now operates a 45,000-strong retail network. In order to support further growth in the segment, the company plans to deploy 600 technical staff and 150 vans across India.

Chief operating officer Sameer Nagpal said “We believe that the brand must play a vital role in consumer’s lives so that they can make informed choices. Dalmia Cement has over the years developed proprietary know-how of optimising cement recipes that makes it most suitable for roof, column and foundation.”

Managing director and CEO Shri Puneet Dalmia said “Our new brand campaign manifests not just an eminent legacy, but also a commitment to consumer centricity – it conveys a core message that building a home with due care means building it for generations to come.”


Australia: Seven Group Holdings has offered US$1.24bn to acquire all outstanding shares of Boral. The conglomerate already holds 72% of shares in the building materials producer. Reuters has reported that this would correspond to a total valuation of US$4.35bn for the company.

Boral has undertaken restructuring since 2022, with a focus on Australian building and industrial products to capitalise on increased public sector investments, while divesting several international assets.


India: JSW Group’s new upcoming cement plant in Odisha will have a capacity of 10Mt/yr, the Hindu Business Line newspaper has reported. The plant will be situated in an upcoming steel complex, complete with a 900MW power plant and a 52Mt/yr port.

JSW Group’s cement subsidiary JSW Cement operates 19Mt/yr in installed capacity across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal. The producer plans to invest US$2.17bn to more than triple its capacity to 60Mt/yr by 2028. It has reportedly entered talks with financial institutions to raise US$723m through an initial public offering (IPO). JSW Group has invested US$3.61bn in Odisha to date, and is committed to investing
US$7.83bn there.


UAE: Sharjah Cement’s sales were US$172m in 2023, down by 0.2% from US$173m in 2022. Mubasher has reported that the company successfully turned a profit of US$308m, compared to a US$10.8m loss in 2022.


Mexico: Cemex will issue US$322m-worth of long-term sustainability-linked bonds on 20 February 2024. Noticias Financieras News has reported that the issuance will take place in two series: one of US$117.3m, with a 2.6-year floating rate, and one of US$205.3m, with a 6.6-year floating rate. HSBC will act as the intermediary.

Cemex said “The net proceeds from the reopening of the issues will be used to repay debt, seeking to accelerate the path to an investment grade credit rating."


Canada: Lafarge Canada has transitioned its St-Constant, Quebec, cement plant to the production of OneCem Portland limestone cement (PLC). The producer expects the transition to reduce the St-Constant cement plant’s CO2 emissions by 60,000t in 2024 alone.

Lafarge Canada (East) president and CEO David Redfern said "We are excited to take another crucial step in our sustainability journey. The transition to OneCem production at our St-Constant plant indicates Lafarge Canada's nonstop commitment to driving positive change within our construction industry. Our teams have been engaged in reducing our products’ environmental impact by embracing greener practices and materials."


US: Summit Materials has published its financial results for 2023, its last full year prior to its merger with Argos North America on 15 January 2024. The building materials producer’s sales rose by 10% year-on-year to US$2.4bn, while its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 18% to US$578m. Cement contributed 16% of sales revenue, at US$383m, up by 7%. This was despite a 7% decline in sales volumes.

President and chief executive officer Anne Noonan said "Summit is at an exciting and pivotal point in our company’s history. Our team has effectively capitalised on dynamic yet constructive market conditions to drive record revenue and profitability.” She continued “We're building on our record-setting performance by swiftly and safely advancing our Argos integration – a move that we expect will only strengthen our materials-led business. For 2024, with an improved footprint and increased scale, we anticipate delivering another year of strong growth and returns. Our positive outlook is supported by robust commercial conditions, an improving demand backdrop and a full set of growth opportunities that are unique to Summit Materials. Crucially, our high-quality execution, financial performance and strategic focus has afforded us the balance sheet flexibility to continue our pursuit of value-accretive capital allocation priorities. Today and moving forward, we firmly believe Summit is very well-positioned to generate superior value creation for our shareholders."


India: JSW Group plans to build a US$7.83bn steel complex in Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha. The complex will include a cement grinding plant. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that JSW Group's expansion plans in Odisha also include an electric vehicle and battery plant, at a cost of US$4.82bn. The group said that the investments reflect its commitment to diversifying its capabilities and contributing to the economic growth of Odisha.


Canada: Heidelberg Materials North America has awarded Technip Energies a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for its carbon capture project at the Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The project will deploy Shell’s Cansolv CO2 capture system to remove 1Mt/yr from the plant’s flue gases. Carbon capture will commence in late 2026, subject to funding finalisation.

Heidelberg Materials North America’s Northwest regional vice president, cement operations, Joerg Nixdorf said “We are excited to take this latest step in our journey to produce the world’s first net-zero cement.” Nixdorf added “With each milestone we come closer to realising our vision of leading the decarbonisation of the cement industry.”

Technip Energies’ senior vice president of decarbonization solutions Christophe Malaurie said “We are pleased to have been selected by Heidelberg Materials North America to provide the FEED of this groundbreaking project in Canada. Leveraging our carbon capture solution powered by the Shell Cansolv CO2 capture system, we are committed to supporting the decarbonisation of the cement industry and Heidelberg towards the production of net-zero cement.”


US: Buzzi Unicem USA is among industrial partners collaborating with Electrified Thermal Solutions in the development of its Joule Hive Thermal Battery for industrial heat decarbonisation. The partners plan to launch a commercial-scale pilot of the battery in San Antonio, Texas, in association with the Southwest Research Institute. The project is supported by US$171m in funding from the US Department of Energy. The battery delivers heat of up to 1800°C from energy from renewable sources.

Buzzi Unicem USA president and chief executive officer Massimo Toso said “Cement production is known as a hard to abate industrial sector in large part because of the high temperatures required. Electrified Thermal Solutions’ Joule Hive Thermal Battery is the first industrial heat decarbonisation solution we have identified that could potentially enable us to cost-effectively and completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels in our heating processes and achieve our corporate decarbonisation goals.”

Electrified Thermal Solutions chief executive officer Daniel Stack said “We believe the breadth and depth of involvement from our industrial partners like Buzzi Unicem USA was critical to demonstrate to the Department of Energy just how valuable the Joule Hive Thermal Battery will be for industrial decarbonisation, and we are grateful for their partnership.” Stack added “Southwest Research Institute’s engineering support and world-class industrial demonstration facilities signalled to the Department of Energy that our technology will be developed, built, operated, tested and evaluated to the highest standards.”


EU: The World Cement Association (WCA) has lent its voice to cross-industry support for the roll-out of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The mechanism taxes carbon-intensive imports, including cement, in order to prevent carbon leakage under the Emissions Trading Scheme. It first entered force on 1 October 2023, and will conclude its transitional period on 31 December 2025. Through its involvement, the WCA aims to inform and facilitate understanding of CBAM's reporting requirements, emission calculation methodologies and the workings of the CBAM Transitional Registry. WCA members and other stakeholders can access up-to-date CBAM information via a dedicated page on the association’s website.

WCA chief executive officer Ian Riley said "I'm pleased to announce our commitment to supporting our members in addressing the challenges and opportunities of this crucial initiative. The WCA is committed to supporting solutions that promote environmental responsibility and sustainability within the cement industry. We aim to work closely with our members and other stakeholders to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the CBAM regulation, ultimately contributing to a greener and more resilient global economy."


Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo recorded an 8% year-on-year drop in its full-year sales in 2023. Group sales volumes of cement and concrete fell by 14%. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also dropped, by 2% to US$125m, influenced by a US$9.47m impairment due to the replacement of its former vertical kilns with a new kiln. The producer further attributed the decline to low construction activity in the private and public sectors, as well the effects of Cyclone Yaku in early 2023.


France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies recorded a turnover of Euro6m in 2023, more than double the figure for 2022. The company sold 21,378t of its clinker-free alternative cement, up by 78% year-on-year, but under its target of 24,000t. It strengthened its order book by 8% to 260,000t.

The company confirmed its existing financial objectives, namely: to achieve positive earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2024; an operating profit in 2025; and a turnover of Euro130m by 2026.


Norway: Aker Solutions has won a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to develop Hafslund Oslo Celsio’s Port of Oslo CO2 terminal. The unit will facilitate the transport of CO2 to the Øygarden Northern Lights site under the Longship carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative. The initiative involves Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe’s Brevik cement plant.

Aker Solutions’ executive vice president, new energies, Henrik Inadomi said “At Aker Solutions, we have a growing track record in supporting our customers across the entire CCS value chain. From capture and transportation to permanent storage, we provide innovative solutions and work with leading partners to support CCS developments across the globe. We are committed to building on this expertise and further strengthening our relationship with Celsio. We are proud to have engineered a cost efficient and effective layout which enabled Celsio to proceed with the next phase of this landmark development.”

The upcoming Global CemCCUS conference on carbon capture, utilisation and storage in Oslo, Norway, will include a visit to the Brevik cement plant on 16 May 2024.


Mexico/Germany: Cemex and waste heat recovery (WHR) systems developer Orcan Energy plan to scale up WHR technologies supplied by Orcan Energy at multiple Cemex sites globally. This new multi-site portfolio approach extends an existing partnership, through which the companies trialled Orcan’s systems for electricity generation at Cemex Deutschland’s Rüdersdorf cement plant in Germany.

Cemex’s Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia regional president Sergio Menéndez said “We already have an initial collaboration with Orcan. Based on the modularity of their solution, Orcan offers the flexibility of both installation and contracts. Thanks to this crucial flexibility, we can adapt to any upcoming changes in our plants. The approach enables us to reduce carbon emissions right now without limiting ourselves in implementing any future technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage. This partnership will help us achieve our sustainability targets and contribute to our aim to use all available heat.”

Orcan Energy’s chief executive officer Andreas Sichert said “We are looking forward to entering this large-scale decarbonisation partnership with Cemex after our initial cooperation in Germany. This step is a testament to Cemex’s forward-looking strategy and the company’s commitment to achieving net zero. For Orcan Energy, this is another milestone in scaling the business internationally with global enterprises. We are proud to be the partner of choice for the cement industry. Our large footprint across the industry shows the economic capability and the technical excellence of our modular and flexible solution, especially in view of uncertain future economic and regulative developments.”


Uruguay: Uruguay produced 27% less cement in 2023 than in 2022. Prensa Latina News has reported that state-owned Ancap, which operates two of the country’s four cement plants, reported a year-on-year drop in production of 29%, to 21,700t, in December 2023. The company’s least productive month in terms of volumes was June 2023, when it recorded 8570t.