Global Cement News

Turkey: Medcem has appointed Ruhi Bilge as the director of its integrated Mersin cement plant. He has worked in the cement sector for over 20 years, most recently holding the position of production director for Kümaş Refractories. Prior to this he worked for cement companies including Bursa Çimento, Vicat’s subsidiary Baştaş Çimento and Norm Cement.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement’s revenue grew by 33.8% year-on-year to US$3.33bn in 2021 from US$2.49bn in 2020. Its sales volumes rose by 13.8% to 29.3Mt from 25.7Mt driven by a strong domestic market, although international volume growth was strong. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 43.2% to US$1.65bn from US$1.15bn.

“Over the last two years, we have finalised the deployment of 6Mt new capacity in Nigeria. Looking ahead, we are now focused on a less capital-intensive expansion cycle, which includes building grinding plants across West and Central Africa to leverage and strengthen Dangote Cement’s regional integration. We are on track to deploy grinding capacity in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. In addition, our Alternative Fuel Project is at an advanced stage which aims to leverage waste management solutions, reduce CO₂ emissions, and source material locally. This year, we co-processed 89,000t of waste representing a 60% increase over 2020,” said chief executive officer Michel Puchercos.

The group noted that Cement demand in Nigeria was sustained by increasing housing infrastructure, commercial construction, and government projects including major highways, roads, and railways. In May 2021 it re-started exporting clinker from its Onne and Apapa terminals and delivered seven clinker shipments with a total volume of 197,000t in 2021. It also exported 706,000t in 2021 by road to Togo and Niger. Internationally, the group said that it performed well but it also faced challenges in Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone, where freight costs had increased substantially, causing volatility in the landing cost of cement and clinker.

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has blamed falling earnings in 2021 on increased competition, production overcapacity and mounting coal prices. Its revenue fell slightly to US$2.43bn. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 9.3% year-on-year to US$572m in 2021 from US$630m in 2020. Its sales volumes were driven by international sales, with domestic sales remaining stable at 32.2Mt. Foreign sales grew by 7.7% to 8.3Mt. Overall sales volumes increased by 1.6% to 40.5Mt from 39.8Mt.

In order to tackle its fuel costs the company says it has increased its use of alternative fuels, both biomass and non-biomass, and is optimising its coal consumption index by maintaining stable coal quality. It has also integrated coal procurement into the group to help better secure competitive pricing, supply and quality.

Turkey: Çimsa Çimento revenue grew by 80% year-on-year to Euro240m in 2021 from Euro133m in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 46% to Euro41.4m from Euro28.5m. The subsidiary of Sabancı Holding says that 54% of its sales in 2021 came from foreign sales. However, it noted that its production energy costs increased by 94%. It also reported that its alternative fuels substitution rate hit 15%.

“In July 2021 we took over the Buñol Factory in Valencia, Spain with Cimsa Sabancı Cement. With the addition of the Buñol Factory to our production and distribution network, we have strengthened our export network and expanded our sphere of influence in Europe, North Africa and South America,” said chief executive officer Umut Zenar. With the acquisition of the white cement plant in Spain, Çimsa Çimento says it has become one of the largest white cement producers in the world.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has told the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) that federal policy and support is vital to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can decarbonise the local industrial sector. In its comments to the office, the PCA said that it shares the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 through its own Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, which lays out a pathway to achieve this across the cement-concrete-construction value chain by 2050. However, it warned that without strong federal support the AMO’s timeline to reach carbon neutrality across industry was unrealistic due to the “significant technical, legal and economic challenges regarding technologies like carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), and others including hydrogen fuel and kiln electrification.”

“Federal policy must accelerate the significant technology, funding, and market innovation needed for rapid decarbonisation while preserving economic growth and international competitiveness,” said Sean O’Neill, senior vice president of government affairs at the PCA. “The adoption of CCUS is key to achieving deep decarbonisation in the cement industry.”

The PCA added that with the right federal and state policies, CCUS could become scalable within 10 years but infrastructure, policy, permitting and funding challenges remain. It suggested that tax incentive reforms and the use of Department of Energy loan programmes could accelerate early investment and adoption of CCUS.

The use of hydrogen fuels and kiln electrification was mentioned but these technologies are seen as being at least 15 – 20 years away. The association said that hydrogen remained very expensive and there was little current infrastructure for the transport and storage of hydrogen. More research and development is required to start evaluating the efficacy of kiln electrification.