Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW739 / 10 December 2025

Headlines


Asia Cement unveiled a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit at its Jecheon plant this week. The Korea Cement Association (KCA), government representatives and staff from other cement companies were present at a demonstration. The US$25m project has been supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It was originally announced in late 2023, has been running on a pilot basis for two months, and is expected to start full operation shortly. The cement sector in South Korea will be subject to tighter emissions controls in mid-2027 and further SCR installations are expected.

Earlier in 2025 the KCA estimated that installing SCR units on all 35 active clinker production lines in the country would cost around US$675m with an additional annual running costs. One point to note here is that one of the local sector’s commonly used alternative fuels (AF), waste synthetic resin, impedes the SCR process. Subsequently, it has to be run at higher temperature, which increases running costs.

The local cement industry has faced a mixed response to its uptake of AF in recent years. One strand of this has been a movement against so-called ‘trash cement.’ This culminated in the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment amending the Waste Management Act in November 2025 to make it mandatory for cement products to disclose on the packaging the means to check which ‘waste’ materials were used in their manufacture. This appears to include both supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) and AF. The government is now intending to make it possible for citizens to check the type of cement used in newly-constructed buildings. The KCA reported that the share of blended cements (i.e. those made with SCMs) was 15% in 2024. The rate had gradually decreased over the last decade from 19% in 2015. South Korean cement producers had a AF co-processing rate of 35% in 2021. The main fuels being used in this way were waste synthetic resin, waste tires and waste rubber, with the first being used the most.

Graph 1: Cement sales in South Korea, 2019 - 2025. Source: Korea Cement Association.  

Graph 1: Cement sales in South Korea, 2019 - 2025. Source: Korea Cement Association.

Meanwhile, cement producers in South Korea have turned to exports in 2025 in response to poor construction levels and growing input costs. The KCA revealed this week to local press that exports are expected to grow by 52% year-on-year to 4.5Mt in 2025 from 3Mt in 2024. Local shipments, however, are anticipated to fall by 16.5% to 36.5Mt from 42.9Mt. Producers have focused their export strategies towards South America and Africa in response to competition in the export market in South-East Asia from China and Vietnam, producers. For example, Halla Cement started targeting Cameroon and Guinea in 2025 following previous favourite destinations such as Peru and Chile. Exports are still lower than they were in the mid-2010s. In 2015, for example, the country exported 7.3Mt of cement and clinker. However, the share of the share of exports to total sales is at its highest level for at least a decade.

The necessity of running kilns at certain levels rather than simply idling them has also emerged in recent reporting. The reason given was to “...maintain a minimum allocation of carbon emission allowances.” The detail is lacking but this may sound familiar to readers familiar with the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Following the financial crash in 2008, for example, an over-allocation of carbon credits enabled some producers to make money despite falling demand for cement. This is not to say that the same thing is happening in South Korea. Merely, that any ETS can potentially face structural issues in a declining market.

The South Korean cement market is facing tough times, with the KCA further anticipating a decline of 1.3% in 2026. Environmental regulations such as the new emissions controls are further putting up costs. One peculiarity of the local market is the scrutiny that the easiest routes to decarbonisation, SCAs and AFs, are facing. Giving the public the tools to check this kind of information is admirable. Yet it creates extra hurdles for a sector trying to decarbonise at the same time as a construction market construction. Good luck!

The Global CemFuels Asia Conference will take place on 2 - 3 February 2026 in Bangkok


India: Shree Cement has appointed Shailesh Ambastha as its Chief Logistics Officer. He previously held the position of President - Sales for Shree Cement from late 2022. Before this Ambastha worked for ACC from 2014 to 2022 starting in a logistic role before moving to regional sales director jobs.


Uzbekistan: United Cement Group (USG) has appointed Lomanar Eduard-Alexandru as its Technical Director.

Eduard-Alexandru previously worked for Holcim from 2012 to 2025. He started as a Process Technician in 2012 in Slovakia before becoming a Process Engineer. He later held the roles of Process Performance Manager in Russia and Production Manager in Tanzania. He is a graduate in engineering from the University of Oradea in Romania.


Greece: Titan Group has appointed Kostis Dragasakis as its Group Head of Quarries for Raw Materials & ACMs. Before this he was the Group Quarries & Raw Materials Technology Manager from 2014.


India: JK Cement has ordered the country’s largest raw material mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for its upcoming greenfield plant in Jaisalmer. The MVR 6000 R-6 vertical roller mill will have a drive power of 7400kW and a capacity of 1200t/hr. Fitted with an SLS 6300 VR high-performance classifier, the mill will deliver a product fineness of 1.5% residue on a 212µm screen. The compact layout enabled by the mill’s high power density will reduce space requirements for the planned grinding plant. The project is being executed jointly by Gebr. Pfeiffer (India) and Gebr. Pfeiffer (Germany), with completion expected by the end of 2026.


Europe: Vattenfall has signed a commercial agreement with Cemvision to supply near-zero-CO₂ cement for its onshore wind infrastructure projects across Europe from 2028. Cemvision’s Re-ment Massive product will be prioritised by subcontractors and has the potential to cut emissions by up to 95%, according to the company. Deliveries will come from Cemvision’s first industrial-scale plant and follow a 2024 letter of intent signed by the two companies.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hallen said “This long-term agreement for the supply of our near-zero cement is a foundational step in transforming the cement market, and we are proud to take the partnership with Vattenfall to the next level. Our cement is one of the most cost-efficient ways to decarbonise construction. Moving from pilot to commercial action is how the transition becomes real.”

Vattenfall aims for 10% of its cement and concrete purchases to be near-zero by 2030, with the deal making it possible to reach 20% by 2028 and supporting a 50% supply chain emissions reduction by 2030.


UAE: Holcim and 44.01 have launched a pilot project in Fujairah to mineralise CO₂ captured from cement production, which they say marks the first global initiative to combine carbon capture from a cement plant with in-situ mineralisation. The project aims to directly capture and permanently store 5t/day of CO₂ underground. The pilot is supported by the Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation (FNRC) and delivered in collaboration with NT Energies, deploying Shell CANSOLV™ carbon capture technology through the alliance between Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies.

44.01 CEO Talal Hasan said “Working with Holcim, FNRC and NT Energies, we are demonstrating a practical and scalable path to decarbonisation that can be replicated worldwide.”Top of Form


Syria: The General Company for Cement and Building Materials (Omran) has launched a new product, Pozzolanic Cement 42.5 – CEM II, at its plant in the Sheikh Saeed district of Aleppo.

Director general Mahmoud Fadila said the product is the first industrial product to enter the Syrian market since the area’s liberation, calling it a ‘significant step’ toward restoring production capacity and industrial independence. The new cement product is expected to reduce reliance on lower-quality imports.


UK: Worley has secured the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at Heidelberg Materials’ Padeswood cement plant in North Wales. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will provide the carbon capture technology. The project will enable commercial-scale production of evoZero, Heidelberg Materials’ near-zero CO₂ cement, by capturing around 0.8Mt/yr of CO₂, representing nearly all of the plant’s emissions. Construction is expected to begin before 2026, with commissioning planned for 2029. Worley will lead the EPCM delivery of the project and provide support to infrastructure development, technology integration, and commissioning. The contract follows Worley’s successful completion of the project’s FEED study with MHI.


Sweden/India: Cemvision has received a grant from the Swedish Energy Agency to conduct a joint feasibility study with Tata Steel to convert basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF) slags into feedstock for near-zero-CO₂ cement. The 10-12-month study will assess the technical and economic viability of a scalable slag valorisation model, ahead of a planned demonstration facility at Tata Steel’s site.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hållén said “Being able to, at scale, turn environmental liabilities into valuable resources is exactly the kind of climate innovation heavy industry needs. In partnership with Tata Steel, we hope to show how steel slag can become a cornerstone in near-zero CO₂ cement, while metals are recovered and returned to steel production.”

The project is part of the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP), announced during Cop30 in Belém, Brazil. Tata Steel also received a grant from India’s Department of Science and Technology, with additional partners including IIT ISM Dhanbad and JK Cement.


South Korea: Cement exports are expected to reach 4.5Mt in 2025, up by 52% year-on-year, according to the Korea Cement Association, as producers seek to offset weak domestic demand and rising raw material costs. Domestic shipments are projected to fall by 16.5% to 36.5Mt, the lowest level in 34 years.

Despite high transport costs and limited profitability, producers including Ssangyong C&E, Halla Cement and SAMPYO Cement are increasing exports to cover fixed costs and maintain kiln operations to retain carbon emission allowances.

A cement industry official said “The domestic economy is as bad as during the global financial crisis, but we cannot stop the plants, so we are sending the cement piling up overseas. On top of that, we need to keep the plant kilns running to maintain a minimum allocation of carbon emission allowances, so the goal is also to secure at least fixed costs.”

Another official said “Ssangyong C&E, Halla Cement and SAMPYO Cement have plants on the coast, so their transportation expenses are lower than those of corporations located inland. For inland companies, transportation costs double when you add ocean freight to land shipping, so it is difficult even to choose exports as a stopgap measure.”

Halla Cement increased exports by 63% year-on-year, expanding sales beyond Latin America into African markets including Cameroon and Guinea. SAMPYO Cement also signed new export contracts with South America in the second quarter of 2025. The Korea Cement Association forecasts 2026 demand will fall further to 36Mt, down by 1.3% from 2025, citing continued stagnation in the domestic construction sector.


India: Heidelberg Cement India has signed a contract to establish a cement plant at the Sant Singaji thermal power plant in Dogalia, Madhya Pradesh. The company will receive around 7ha of land for the project. The plant will produce between 150,000-200,000t/yr of cement using sludge generated from coal-fired power production, previously stored in dams. Construction is set to begin by the end of 2025 and is expected to complete in around 18 months.


Malawi: Huaxin Building Materials Group and its subsidiary Portland Cement Malawi have commissioned a US$100m integrated cement plant in Balaka, 215km south of the capital Lilongwe. The factory is expected to produce 800,000t/yr of cement and reduce Malawi’s dependence on imported clinker and cement. Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha, who attended the inauguration ceremony, said the project aligns with the Malawi 2063 Agenda by supporting infrastructure and economic resilience.

Chinese Ambassador to Malawi Lu Xu said “The plant helps to address the current challenges by saving US$50m in foreign exchange expenditure annually, and generate US$15m in foreign exchange income.” She added that it is the largest manufacturing investment by a Chinese firm in Malawi and will create jobs, boost economic output and strengthen local industrial chains.


Democratic Republic of Congo: Cimenterie Kongo (CIMKO) plans to invest over US$300m to expand its cement production capacity from 1.4Mt/yr to 3Mt/yr by 2027. The joint venture between the Rawji Group and Lucky Cement has operated a plant in Songololo, Kongo-Central province since 2018. The investment responds to growing demand from public and private construction and aims to reduce imports and stabilise prices. According to the Central Bank of the Congo, cement consumption reached 2.55Mt in 2023, while local production totalled 2.3Mt, with the shortfall covered by imports.

Other producers are also expanding. China-based WIH Cement plans to raise its capacity to 2.2Mt/yr by 2027, while the Chinese consortium Avic-Conch has partnered with the Congolese government to restart the National Cement plant in Kimpese, Kongo-Central.

The government banned grey cement and clinker imports in the southeast and southwest in July 2024 to support the domestic industry. However, in October 2025, Foreign Trade Minister Julien Paluku ordered an investigation into illegal imports from Nigeria’s Dangote Cement that were reportedly still entering the country due to rising prices of local cement.


Italy: Cementeria Costantinopoli has placed an order with Vestas for a 10MW wind project to supply renewable energy directly to its cement plant in Basilicata. The on-site wind farm will cover around one third of the plant’s electricity needs. The project includes three V117-3.45MW turbines and a 10-year Active Output Management 4000 service agreement. Turbine delivery and commissioning are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Vestas Italy general manager Francesco Amati said “This project marks a milestone for Vestas in Italy as it is the first of its kind in the country to exclusively power an energy-intensive cement plant with clean wind energy. We are proud to deliver the technology solution that will reduce the plant’s environmental footprint and reliance on external power.”


Syria: The country is relying on Iraq and nearby countries for fuel and clinker imports to operate its cement plants amid an ongoing fuel oil shortage, according to General Company for Cement and Building Materials head Mahmoud Fadila.

Fadila told state media that plants have shifted to coal temporarily and are importing clinker from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye to maintain local supply. Syria currently produces 10,000t/day of cement, or 3.6Mt/yr, far short of the 8-9Mt/yr needed for reconstruction.

In October 2025, Damascus approved a major investment from Iraq’s Vertex Group to rehabilitate and expand the third line at the Hama Cement Plant. The project will raise its capacity from 3300t/day to 11,000t/day with the addition of a new 6000t/day line.


Türkiye: Medcem has shipped its first 20,000t of CEM I 52.5 N cement to its new terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, with discharge scheduled for 8 December 2025, according to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. A second shipment of 5000t to the company’s new terminal in Trieste, Italy, will discharge during the week of 15 December 2025. Business development and investment director Enver Celikbas said that the company has three terminals in the UK, and that it plans to send its first vessel to Glasgow at the beginning of 2026. Medcem plans to export 70,000-100,000t of cement to Antwerp and 60,000-80,000t to Trieste in 2026.

Celikbas said “We are looking to become a more vertically-integrated company, which helps us manage our costs, operations, and supply. It's like a hedging strategy that we initiated after commissioning our new 9000t/day kiln.”

He added that an upgrade to Medcem’s clinker kilns will be completed by the end of 2026 and that the company is seeking new sources of supplementary cementitious materials to boost supply. All supply will continue to come from Medcem’s plant in Türkiye unless otherwise required.

Celikbas added “We are continuously searching and negotiating various projects and hope to sign for our third terminal in Europe very soon.”


Europe: PyroGenesis has signed a €815,000 contract with an undisclosed European cement industry customer to supply a plasma torch system for the electrification of a calciner. The torch will be powered using captured CO₂ in a closed-loop system, redirecting emissions from other processes to heat the kiln. The client will conduct a nine-month test as part of a multi-year initiative aimed at replacing fossil fuel combustion with electric heating in cement production, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2026. The project marks a step up from earlier low-kilowatt trials to megawatt-scale testing, with the eventual goal of building a plasma-driven rotary kiln for industrial-scale calcination.


Iraq: Saman Cement has awarded a contract for the supply of a MVR 5000 R-4 vertical roller mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for the second production line at its plant in Al Mothanna Province. The mill will grind 450t/hr of cement raw material, drying feed with 6.7% moisture to below 1%. It features a 4000kW drive and an SLS 4000 VR classifier. This follows nearly a decade of operation by a Gebr. Pfeiffer MPS 5000 B mill on the plant’s first line. Sinoma International Engineering is acting as general contractor. Commissioning is scheduled for the first half of 2027.


Morocco: Cement deliveries reached 13.7Mt in the 11 months to the end of November 2025, an 11% increase compared to 12.4Mt in the same period in 2024, according to the Ministry of National Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy. The growth reflects the performance of Professional Association of Cement Manufacturers (APC) members: Asment Temara, Ciments de l'Atlas, Ciments du Maroc, LafargeHolcim Maroc and Novacim. APC members delivered 1.34Mt in November 2025, up by 5% from 1.27Mt in November 2024.