Global Cement News

UK/Norway: UK-based marine carbon capture firm Seabound has launched an onboard carbon capture project in partnership with Hartmann Group, InterMaritime Group and Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe. The solution equips the UBC Cork, a 5700 gross tonne cement carrier, with Seabound’s calcium looping carbon capture system. This system captures up to 95% of CO₂ and 98% of sulphur emissions from the ship’s exhaust using calcium hydroxide to absorb the CO₂ and convert it into limestone that is stored onboard until returning to port. The captured carbon will be offloaded at the Port of Brevik for use at Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik cement plant, host of the first industrial-scale carbon capture facility in the cement sector.

The project is co-funded by the Eurostars partnership on Innovative SMEs, part of Horizon Europe through the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation. This funding supports collaborative research and development projects in a range of industries, including maritime transport.

CEO of Seabound Alisha Fredriksson said “We’re proud to partner with industry leaders like Heidelberg Materials and Hartmann to deliver scalable carbon capture solutions. We’re especially excited to be advancing this work in Brevik, a strategic location that’s rapidly establishing itself as a global hub for CCS with Heidelberg’s world-first facility and the Northern Lights pick up point. Together, we’re demonstrating how onboard carbon capture can accelerate emissions reductions in carbon-intensive sectors.”

Lars Erik Marcussen, Logistics project manager at Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe, said “Shipping cement is emissions-intensive, and Seabound’s system gives us a clear path to reduce those Scope 3 emissions while enhancing our circular use of captured CO₂. This project also brings us one step closer to decarbonising the logistics/transport part of our operations.”

UK: Material Evolution has partnered with CRH subsidiary Tarmac to launch a pilot project to test applications of its heat-free, 85% reduced-CO₂ cement, MevoCem. The partners aim to demonstrate the suitability of MevoCem cement for use in concrete production in line with the prospective BSI Flex 350 performance-based standard.

Material Evolution’s CEO Liz Gilligan welcomed Tarmac as an ‘early adopter’ of MevoCem cement. In a post to LinkedIn, she said “We have been quietly building something game-changing with CRH and their team at Tarmac. It is bold, it is industrial scale and it is all about cutting carbon where it counts. We are only just getting started.”

Material Evolution currently operates a 120,000t/yr Mevocem plant in Wrexham, Wales.

China: National cement production fell by 4% year-on-year to 815Mt in the first half of 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Output in June 2025 declined by 5% year-on-year to 155Mt. Production for the first half of 2024 stood at 850Mt, indicating a volume decrease of 35Mt. Looking forward to the third quarter of 2025, the industry expects that the cement market will continue to operate weakly, with sluggish demand ad low prices across the country.

India: Shree Cement has commissioned a 6MW solar power plant at its Roorkee unit in Uttarakhand, located next to its existing cement operations. This raises total solar capacity at the site to 7MW. The project cost US$1.8m, and brings the company’s total solar footprint to 294MW. It is expected to offset 6500t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

Mexico: Holcim has placed Mexico at the centre of its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy to ‘drive profitable expansion’ in Europe, Australia, North Africa and Latin America following the spin-off of its North American business. Mexico now plays a strategic role in scaling sustainable construction solutions across the region and will allow Holcim to respond to key global trends such as urbanisation, housing shortages, resilient infrastructure and environmental sustainability.

Holcim Mexico CEO Christian Dedeu said “Mexico is now a strategic market where we will scale innovative solutions for circular and low-carbon construction. Our goal is to triple the recycling of demolition materials, double the Disensa store network and expand our sustainable offering through ECOPact and ECOPlanet.”

Dedeu added “In a region facing major social and environmental challenges, Mexico and Latin America have the potential to lead a new era of sustainable construction. At Holcim, we are committed to scaling solutions that address the climate emergency while building progress for people and the planet.”