Switzerland: Reduced-CO₂ cement catalyst developer Nanogence has secured an undisclosed sum from a consortium of investors led by investment fund CirCap. Nanogence’s catalyst reduces the CO₂ emissions of cement production by 40%, without changing production processes. Tech EU News has reported that the catalyst is capable of increasing cement’s strength and durability compared with that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) produced without it. Prior to the latest financial development, the company had raised US$2.7m-worth of funding.

CEO Abhishek Kumar said “We are excited to receive the support from incoming renowned investors in this essential journey to accelerate the transition towards a low carbon built world. With growing demand worldwide, we need to align with like-minded strong backers for our growth phase.”

Indonesia: Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Indocement has bought the 1.8Mt/yr integrated Grobogan cement plant in Central Java from Semen Grobogan. The plant commands sufficient limestone reserves for the next 50 years and has 700,000t/yr of additional cement grinding capacity.

Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “As part of our ongoing portfolio optimisation, we are making an exciting step in the growth market of Indonesia. Heidelberg Materials has been active in Indonesia for more than 20 years. With this investment, we are now strengthening our presence in one of the most populated regions in Indonesia, where we expect further market growth driven by the growing retail market, developing industrial areas and major infrastructure projects. As frontrunners of decarbonisation in emerging markets, we continue to drive our ambitious CO₂ reduction targets at all our sites in Indonesia, including the new cement plant.”

Pakistan: The deputy general manager and a plant engineer of a cement plant in Iskandarabad died after being shot by a colleague on 18 October 2023. The shooter was a chemical engineer at the plant, who shot the men after ‘flaring up’ in a meeting. Emergency services took a third victim, an engineer, to hospital for treatment. The Dawn newspaper has reported that police are investigating the tragedy, including the matter of how the shooter managed to enter the plant armed.

Bulgaria: Heidelberg Materials subsidiary Devnya Cement has commenced construction of the ANRAV.beta carbon capture pilot unit at its Devnya cement plant near Varna. Construction will take ‘a few months,’ followed by a pilot trial lasting 12 – 24 months. The ANRAV system will rely on OxyCal oxygen-enriched burner technology to eventually capture 800,000t/yr of CO₂ from 3Mt/yr of plant flue emissions. The project has Euro190m in grants from the EU Innovation Fund and is scheduled for delivery in 2028.

Heidelberg Materials’ Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia regional director Ernest Jelito said “The OxyCal technology we will be trialling in Devnya is a crucial addition to our portfolio of capture technologies. Obtaining solid operational data from industrial pilots like this is essential to ensure the successful implementation of projects under our comprehensive CCUS investment programme. At the same time, we can demonstrate an economically feasible way to decarbonise carbon-intensive industries in Eastern Europe.”