Global Cement News

Europe: The European Commission has approved the IPCEI Hy2Use plan for the construction of an international hydrogen electrolysis, transport and storage network. IPCEI Hy2Use consists of multiple projects planned for completion by 2026, with the commissioning of all infrastructure scheduled for 2036. 13 EU member states and Norway will contribute Euro5.2bn in funding, with a view to attracting private investments worth Euro7bn.

Algeria: Lafarge Algeria has launched Chamil cement, a 40% reduced-CO₂ cement, which contains locally sourced clay and ferrous materials. The producer developed Chamil cement based on technology from the Rouiba Construction Development Laboratory.

Lafarge Algeria aims to achieve export volumes of 3Mt across its product range in 2022.

Spain: Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Cementos Rezola has made a donation of 1t-worth of food to the Gipuzkoa Food Bank, which delivers food to households across Gipuzkoa Province. Europa Press News has reported that the cement producer despatched the donation from its Añorga cement plant in San Sebastián.

Cementos Rezola thanked the Gipuzkoa Food Bank for its work in support of 'Gipuzkoan families that are going through difficult times in a context marked by the cost of living and the increase in costs of energy.'

HeidelbergCement’s latest sustainability target has been to reduce the ‘cement’ footprint from its own name. From this week it has become Heildelberg Materials. Of the top ten global cement producers in Global Cement Magazine’s roundup in the December 2021 issue only three now have the word ‘cement’ in their names.

In Heildelberg Materials’ own words, the “new brand identity underlines the company's pioneering role on the path to carbon neutrality and digitalisation in the building materials industry.” Chair Dominik von Achten then goes on to explain that the company is proud of its cement business but its range of services goes far beyond cement. This is certainly true but in 2021 the cement business generated 44% of the group’s revenue. 19% came from aggregates, 25% from ready-mixed concrete plus asphalt and the remaining 12% from services and other lines.

Yet, Heidelberg Materials is also a leader in driving innovation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for the cement sector with a full production line capture unit planned for commissioning in 2024 at the Brevik plant in Norway. When it opens it will be the only full scale CCUS unit at a cement plant anywhere in the world. The group further plans to reduce the CO₂ footprint of its cementitious products to below 500kg/t CO₂ by 2030 and aims to generate half of its revenue from low-carbon products. These are not small achievements or ambitions.

Meanwhile, Holcim completed the divestment of its Indian business to Adani Group this week for US$6.4bn. For Holcim the move marks a milestone in the reshaping of its business away from developing markets and the diversification on its product lines into light (and more sustainable) building materials. So why would a company like Adani Group move into the cement sector when multinationals are getting out?

Money is the obvious answer and the one group owner Gautam Adani raised at a speech marking his latest mega-acquisition. He said, “Our entry into this business is happening at a time when India is on the cusp of one of the greatest economic surges seen in the modern world.” He expects his new cement arm to become the most profitable cement producer in the country although his competitors may have other ideas. As well as operational efficiency, Adani also plans to inject US$2.5bn into the business as part of plans to increase its production capacity to 140Mt/yr in the next five years, from around 70Mt/yr at present. However, the financial press in India and elsewhere has wondered how much debt Adani Group can cope with and whether it will consolidate its latest acquisitions or simply use them to buy into even more sectors. Time will tell.

Lastly, it should be noted that Adani Group’s new rival UltraTech Cement has targeted a production capacity of 154Mt/yr by 2025. Any growth in the Indian market will clearly be contested. It is also worth noting that the latter company has retained ‘cement’ in its name. For now at least.

India: Ambuja Cements has appointed Gautam Adani as its chair and his son Karan Adani as a director. ACC has appointed Karan Adani as its chair. The changes in board personnel follow the completion of the acquisition of Holcim’s subsidiaries in India by Adani Group. Karan Adani is expected to manage both cement companies, according to the Press Trust of India.

Other initial personnel changes following the takeover include the appointment of Ajay Kapur as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ambuja Cements. Vinod Bahety has been appointed as the chief financial officer. The company’s former chair, NS Sekhsari, has been appointment as chairman emeritus in recognition of his “outstanding and invaluable contributions.” At ACC, Sridhar Balakrishnan remains as CEO.

Gautam Adani, the chair and founder of Adani Group, holds over 30 years of business experience. Under his leadership, Adani Group has emerged as an integrated infrastructure conglomerate with interests in resources, logistics and energy sectors.

Karan Adani is the CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ). He is currently leading the transformation at APSEZ to form an integrated logistics company. This has included growth at the company from two ports to 10 ports and terminals. He is an economics graduate from Purdue University in the US.

Ajay Kapur holds over 25 years of experience in the cement and construction, power and heavy metals sector. He joined Ambuja Cement in 1993 as an executive assistant to the then managing director (MD). He held various strategic positions over the last two decades, and from 2014 to 2019, he served as the CEO and managing director of the company. Prior to joining Adani Group in June 2022, Kapur was CEO - Aluminium and Power and MD - Commercial at Vedanta. Most recently he served as CEO of Special Projects at Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. Kapur is an economics graduate from St Xavier's University in Mumbai and holds a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management. He has also attended the Advanced Management Programme at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Vinod Bahety previously worked as the Group Head - Merger & Acquisition & Corporate Finance for Adani Group. He has worked on some of the major merger and acquisition activities for the group. Previously he worked in the banking sector. He is a chartered accountant by qualification.