France: The SOLPART (Solar-Heated Reactors for Industrials Production of Reactive Particulates) project plans to test a pilot-scale version of its solar reactor from February 2019. The 50kW solar reactor will test a fluidised bed system at its PROMES (PROcédés, Materials and Solar Energy) testing site in Odeillo. The ultimate goal of the project is to test using a rotary kiln and a fluidised bed system to produce cement, lime, gypsum and other non-metallic products using only solar energy. The pilot scale reactor will test calcining limestone at a rate of 50kg/hr. Industrial partners involved with the project include Cemex.

US/Europe: US refractory manufacturer Plibrico has entered into a distribution partnership with the Pli Group Europe, a refractory distributor contractor based in Vienna, Austria. Under the new alliance, Pli Group Europe will provide full-service distribution of Plibrico’s Plico brand refractories in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, with immediate effect.

“Adding Pli Group Europe to our ranks of Pli Partners allows Plibrico to reinforce its expertise, enhance its service offering and strengthen the value chain offered to customers throughout Europe,” said Brad Taylor, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Plibrico.

Russia: Italy’s Sibilia has supplied vacuum units to Eurocement’s Voronezh and Peterburgcement plants. In connection to the order workers at the plants also underwent three days of associated training. The cement producer also plans to use equipment from Sibilia at different plants in the country.

Netherlands: LafargeHolcim has been awarded a contract for the renovation of the Afsluitdijk, a sea defence infrastructure projects. The building materials company will use its Holcim Basalton Quattroblock concrete product to cover around 700,000m² of the 32km long dam. In addition, LafargeHolcim has developed a logistics plan where materials are delivered by sea to avoid additional traffic on the dam. The total construction costs for the project is around Euro550m.

To support the project, LafargeHolcim is also investing in the expansion of its Dutch concrete products plant that is part of its Solutions & Products segment. When completed later in 2019, the expanded plant will be able to produce 1000t/day of concrete Quattroblocks for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

The Afsluitdijk upgrade is intended to enable the dyke to withstand a one in 10,000 year storm as well as provide protection against rising sea water levels. The project is led by the Levvel consortium comprising BAM, Van Oord and Rebel. Construction started at the end of 2018 and it is scheduled for completion in 2023.