Global Cement News

Nepal: Cement and clinker exports to India totalled 1.04Mt throughout the 2023 financial year, which ended on 15 July 2023. The República newspaper has reported that three separate cement companies exported their products during the year. Palpa Cement Industry began exports in July 2022, followed by Arghakhachi Cement in October 2022 and Balaji Cement in June 2023.

Total Nepalese export volumes to India were 607,000t of cement, worth US$2.74m, and 397,000t of clinker, worth US$3.21m.

India: Police are investigating an incident in which a construction worker died and two others were injured at My Home Industries’ Huzurnagar cement plant in the Suryapet District of Telangana. Workers were laying concrete for a new medium-rise building on the site on 25 July 2023, when a pipe conveying concrete became congested. Three workers succeeded in clearing the blockage, however this caused a powerful burst of concrete, knocking them into a lift, which fell to the ground floor. The Indian Express newspaper has reported that 32 year-old Arvind Singh died, while his colleague Raja Singh is receiving treatment for a head injury in Hyderabad. The third worker, Hassan Jamal, has since been discharged from hospital.

Police have reportedly filed charges of negligence against the contractor responsible for the site.

Germany: The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has approved funding for Holcim Deutschland's Höver cement plant carbon capture project. The test phase of the project is scheduled to commence in early 2024. Holcim Deutschland, together with project partners Cool Planet Technologies and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, carried out preliminary testing in 2022. They reported 'positive' results in May 2022.

Plant manager Stephan Hinrichs said "The funding commitment from the federal government is great news for Holcim and our partners. We are doing real pioneering work for the entire cement industry, and look forward to the next step on our way to becoming a climate-neutral company."

France: Vicat and Materrup plan to build their first reduced-CO₂ MCC1 raw clay cement plant at Carbonne in Occitanie. The plant will have a capacity of 60,000t/yr. Vicat and Materrup plan for their joint venture to subsequently build three further units across France.

Vicat's chair and chief executive officer Guy Sidos said "This new structure will enable Vicat to provide complementary very low-carbon solutions and meet the different needs of players in the construction sector. Development prospects are promising."

Peru: Grupo Gloria subsidiary Cemento Yura plans to transition its Yura cement plant from using coal to alternative fuels (AF) in its cement production. Additionally, the producer will build a 30MW solar power plant at the site. The Gestión newspaper has reported the total value of the upgrades as US$50m. Both projects are scheduled for commissioning in mid-2025.

In the 2023 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2023, Peruvian cement despatches fell by 8% to 12.6Mt.