Global Cement News

Australia: Boral plans to run a pilot scale carbon capture and storage unit at its integrated Berrima Cement plant in New South Wales. The project follows an allocation of a US$1.7m grant from the Australian Government’s carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS) Development Fund in June 2021. The pilot intends to develop and test a re-carbonation strategy for CO₂ storage. Captured CO₂ will be stored in recycled concrete, masonry and steel slag aggregates. In its 2021 sustainability report, the buildings materials company said that, “The relatively low capital and operation costs, abundance of selected waste materials and the financial return potential due to the increased value of processed aggregates are key drivers for adoption of this technology.”

Argentina: Members of the Argentinian Portland Cement Producers’ Association (AFCP) dispatched 8.79Mt of cement in the first nine months of 2021, up by 32% year-on-year from 6.66Mt in the first nine months of 2020. Domestic consumption also rose by 32% to 8.7Mt from 6.6Mt. In 2020, full-year cement sales totaled 9.8Mt.

Australia: AdBri and Barro Group have signed an agreement to acquire Metro Quarry Group’s sand operations. The business consists oftwo quarries, the Lang Lang quarry and the Nyora quarry, in Victoria. The quarries command a total of 50Mt of sand reserves. AdBri will pay US$21.6m to the companies’ joint venture for the purpose of the acquisition and to supplement the business’ working capital. The partners expect to conclude the deal in November 2021.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies has renewed its strategic partnership with research and testing organization Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB). CSTB has provided Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies with certification for its clinker-free cements since 2017.It evaluates the products' performance, durability and safety.

The producer said "Hoffmann Green Cement's research and development strategy is to continually invest in the development of new low-carbon technologies. The signing of this partnership agreement will allow the company to benefit over time from optimised deadlines in the processing of its files for the evaluation of its current and future technologies."

Spain: Hanson Spain has agreed to sell its Madrid quarry and three ready-mix concrete plants in the Balearics to Cemex España. The buyer said that the investments promise a high return and are part of the strategic global strengthening of its vertically integrated positions near high-growth urban centres. It expects the deal to close in early 2022.

Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia regional president Sergio Menéndez said “This acquisition will allow us to better serve our clients by integrating and complementing our portfolio to provide a comprehensive and sustainable offering in Cemex’s high-growth regions of Madrid and the Balearic Islands.” He added “This is another example of the efforts we make to optimise our portfolio and drive earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth through high-yield complementary investments."

Hanson has also sold its aggregates and ready-mix concrete assets in Asturias, Catalonia and Madrid to different buyers. Parent company HeidelbergCement had announced a review of its Spanish assets on 22 February 2021. Their total value was Euro300m.