Global Cement News

Kenya: Mombasa Cement plans to build a 10MW captive power plant at its Vipingo plant in Kilifi County to reduce energy costs and reliance on the national grid. The US$6.5m project will use circulating fluidised bed combustion technology to generate power from a hybrid mix of bituminous coal, cashew nut shells, wood chips and briquets, according to local press.

According to regulatory filings, the power plant will be located within the company’s existing cement complex and supply electricity directly to its production lines to ensure stable energy supply.

On 2 October 2025, Equator Energy commissioned a 10MW solar power plant at the same facility.

Australia: Zeotech has executed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cement Australia to exchange information and conduct testing for the company’s AusPozz high-reactivity metakaolin product. The collaboration will assess AusPozz’s technical performance and value, alongside evaluating Cement Australia’s infrastructure and supply chain options, with the aim of advancing its commercialisation.

Cement Australia general manager sales, marketing and risk Phil Halpin said “Cement Australia is pleased to enter this arrangement with Zeotech. The company’s high-grade kaolin has strong potential as a viable feedstock for producing high-reactivity metakaolin. Our planned technical assessment of AusPozz will focus on validating its performance as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for low-carbon concrete applications. In parallel, Cement Australia will undertake a detailed evaluation of the infrastructure and end-to-end supply chain requirements.”

Zeotech executive director Shane Graham said “We are pleased to be partnering with one of Australia’s largest suppliers of building materials. The MoU provides a framework for ongoing collaboration aimed at accelerating the development of AusPozz and evaluating pathways toward commercial-scale production. This partnership represents an important step in supporting the decarbonisation of the built environment through the development of high-performance, low-carbon construction materials.”

India: Recycling equipment manufacturer Fornnax Technology has launched the R-MAX3300, its largest secondary shredder, at IFAT India 2025 in Mumbai on 14 October 2025. The machine is designed to process low-density waste streams such as municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, bulky waste, legacy waste, wood waste and construction and demolition waste. The R-MAX3300 produces refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF) with particle sizes between 30 and 50mm.

Director and CEO of Fornnax Technology Jignesh Kundaria said “With the rising challenges of waste management in India and globally, this machine is not just a product; it’s a powerful tool for change. We engineered it to handle the most difficult waste streams with unparalleled efficiency, turning what was once considered unusable waste into a valuable resource. It directly addresses the urgent demand for effective, large-scale shredding technology that can support cement kilns and waste-to-energy facilities in achieving the desired output.”

According to the company, India currently generates over 160,000t/day of municipal solid waste. Simultaneously, the global industrial shredder market is expected to grow at a 5-6% CAGR, driven by stricter recycling regulations and increasing waste generation.

Belgium: Etex and Heidelberg Materials have joined forces on CEMLOOP XL, an industrial-scale project co-funded by the EU’s LIFE Programme that aims to revolutionise fibre cement recycling through a fully closed-loop process integrating carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology. According to a press release by Etex, this will reduce CO₂ emissions in cement production by at least 20% and cut energy consumption in the process by 15%.

The project will combine the two companies' expertise to create a fully circular process where waste fibre cement is transformed into high-quality secondary raw material to produce low-carbon cement that will be reused in new fibre cement products. Etex, in collaboration with the Jacobs Group, is developing a recycled fibre cement paste (RFCP) process that converts waste from Etex’s production lines and the wider construction sector into reusable material and avoids landfilling. A new recycling facility in Hemiksem, near Antwerp, is under construction and scheduled for completion by mid-2026.

At Heidelberg Materials’ Lixhe cement plant in Liège, the company is implementing CCLIX, a carbonation process that treats RFCP with CO₂ captured from kiln exhaust gases. This produces carbonated RFCP (cRFCP), which regains cementitious properties and can partially replace clinker in low-carbon cement production. A dedicated carbonation reactor is set to be commissioned at Lixhe by the end of 2028.

Etex says that CEMLOOP XL will prevent 60,000t/yr of fibre cement waste, save 100,000t/yr  of raw limestone, and capture or avoid around 900kg of CO₂ for each tonne of RFCP produced. This process combines utilisation and storage in one step - the captured CO₂ becomes chemically bound within the new product, acting as a permanent CO₂ sink.

Eric Bertrand, chief innovation officer at Etex, said “By 2030, we aim for over 20% of our inputs to come from circular sources and to send zero waste to landfill. Fibre cement plays a central role in this transformation. For the first time, it will follow a fully circular journey - a milestone only made possible through strong partnerships like this with Heidelberg Materials.”

US: Çimsa has started production at its new grey cement grinding facility in Houston through its subsidiary Cimsa Americas Cement Manufacturing and Sales Corporation, according to Yatirimlar news. The plant has an annual capacity of 600,000t/yr and commanded an investment of US$82m, reportedly making Çimsa the first and only Turkish cement producer with grey cement production operations in the US.

The company, which already operates a 300,000t/yr white cement grinding plant in the country, said the new facility strengthens its position in the US market by adding grey cement production capacity.

CEO Umut Zenar said “Our goal in doing so was to transform Çimsa into a global building materials company with both geographical production diversity and a differentiated product range. During this process, we strengthened our existing operations while continuing our path with international acquisitions and new investments. With the acquisition of the Bunol factory in Valencia, Spain, which we completed in 2021, we became the world's second largest producer in the white cement market. Then, with the Mannok investment we completed in 2024, we strengthened our presence, especially in Ireland and the UK, and accelerated our transformation with the new products we added to our portfolio. Today, we are happy to launch our new investment in the USA. We have been present in the US market for a long time through exports. This new investment, which we have implemented within our US-based company, is a turning point for us. We are no longer a brand that only exports to the USA, but also a player with on-site production power. In this way, we gain logistical advantages and offer much more to our customers. We will be able to provide fast and efficient service. We also aim to increase our sales volume and strengthen our market position with our local manufacturing capabilities in the US. It will also contribute to increasing the share of our foreign currency-based revenues.”