Sweden: SaltX Technology and SMA Mineral have agreed a joint roadmap until 2028 to work on developing and building electrified lime plants. The agreement means that mineral producer SMA Mineral plans to build several units where SaltX's electric arc calciner (EAC) technology will be installed. The companies have worked together since mid-2022.

Carl-Johan Linér, the chief executive officer at SaltX, said "We have now signed a long-term cooperation agreement in which the respective parties' roles and responsibilities are regulated, which is an important step for both parties."

SaltX Technology is intended to allow SMA Mineral to halve its CO₂ emissions by 2027. The agreement allows SMA Mineral to use the EAC technology to produce quicklime in the Nordic region. The forecast is that SaltX will receive orders for 7 - 9 EAC units from SMA Mineral during the contract period. SaltX intends to market and sell the EAC technology to lime manufacturers outside the Nordic region and other stakeholders, such as cement manufacturers, worldwide. SaltX and SMA Mineral are accelerating work on SMA Mineral’s first electric lime plant at Mo i Rana.

Paraguay: Andrés Wardle, the head of Yguazú Cementos, has warned that the government does not need to allow the current levels of cement imports. He said that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was issuing “unnecessary” licences for imports because local demand levels were too low, according to the ABC Color newspaper. He added that local cement producers were able to meet domestic demand for cement as they had idle production capacity. The government has authorised import licences for 80,000t of cement and licences for another 60,000t have been authorised but are pending entry.

Dominican Republic: Cemex is considering selling its subsidiary Cemex Dominicana according to Bloomberg. The Mexico-based group is reportedly working with JPMorgan Chase & Co on a potential divestment worth over US$1bn. Proceedings are at an early stage, with Cemex starting to talk to interested parties to assess potential interest.

Cemex has been operating in the Dominican Republic since 1995 when it acquired Cementos Nacionales. It runs the integrated 2.4Mt/yr San Pedro de Macorís cement plant. It also has ten concrete plants, three sea terminals, two aggregate quarries and a gypsum mine. It employs 1500 people directly. Cemex sold its subsidiaries in Costa Rica and El Salvador to Cementos Progreso for US$329m in 2022.

Egypt: Lafarge Egypt has confirmed that it is aiming to reduce its CO₂ emissions in excess of 20% by 2030. Its key steps to achieve this include increasing its use of alternative fuels and lowering its clinker factor, according to the Daily News Egypt newspaper. Chief executive officer Jimmy Khan added that the company is also working on developing digital methods to reduce emissions by improving transport logistics. The cement producer launched its Shatbna Masonry Cement product in 2022, part of parent company Holcim’s ECOPlanet range.

Holcim has set a worldwide target to reduce its gross Scope 1 CO₂ emissions from cement production of 22% by 2030 from a baseline of 590kg/t in 2018. It reported a 5% reduction to 562kg/t in its 2022 sustainability report. Ultimately the group is targeting net zero emissions from its activities by 2050.