India: Ramco Cements recorded revenues of US$674m during the first nine months of its 2023 financial year, up by 33% year-on-year from US$509m in the corresponding period of the 2022 financial year. Costs rose, including a 45% rise in the company’s raw material costs to US$110m from US$76m. This precipitated a 75% decline in the producer’s net profit, to US$23m from US$93.1m.

India: Amplus Solar has secured a contract with JK Lakshmi Cement for construction of a 56MW solar power plant at the producer’s 1.7Mt/yr Durg cement plant in Chhattisgarh. The producer expects to eliminate 73,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions as a result.

JK Lakshmi Cement’s president Arun Shukla said "We support the country's vision to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. We have taken multiple steps to reduce both direct and indirect carbon emissions. Last month, for the first time in India, we deployed liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks to transport raw material. Now, with the switch to solar energy at our Durg plant, nearly 80% of the plant’s energy requirements will be met renewably.”

Amplus Energy previously partnered with UltraTech Cement for a 50MW solar installation at one of its cement plants in 2019.

UK: Cambridge Electric Cement (CEC) has launched the two-year trial of its Cement 2 Zero project, aimed at scaling up production of its net zero-CO₂, demolition waste-based alternative cement. It aims to produce 20t of the material for use in a low-impact construction project. CEC’s method, developed at the University of Cambridge, is based on the conversion of demolition waste into a slag-forming material within a steel furnace.

Developer Julian Allwood said “By combining steel and cement recycling in a single process powered by renewable electricity, we could supplement the global supply of the basic construction materials to support the infrastructure of a zero emissions world and to enable economic development where it is most needed.”

Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement recorded sales of US$74.8m during the first nine months of the 2023 financial year, up by 25% year-on-year. Its cost of sales dropped by 2% to US$49.7m, while its profit for the period rose by 60% to US$2.35m.