Brazil: Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) has reportedly received binding offers for its cement business, CSN Cimentos, from three bidders. Sources ‘familiar with the talks’ told Valor International News that the bidders are China-based Huaxin Cement, building materials group Polimix and a Brazilian-Italian consortium of Votorantim Cimentos and Cementir Holding. The source characterised Huaxin Cement’s purported bid as the ‘most aggressive’ of the three reportedly submitted.

CSN announced its receipt of unspecified offers on 10 August 2026. The group said that it will analyse the offers, and provided no further details.

Israel: Alternative cement developer Starstone has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with building materials producer Ashtrom Industries for an applied evaluation of its biogenic cement. Starstone produces cement using bacterial fermentation inside bioreactors, removing the need for heating or quarried minerals and facilitating an 80% reduction in energy consumption. Following a successful evaluation, the partners will consider possibilities for commercial integration.

Germany: Thomas Zement has broken ground on the construction of a new cement grinding mill at its 1.4Mt/yr Karsdorf cement plant in Saxony-Anhalt. The mill will use thermal energy derived from waste heat from the plant's clinker cooler. It is intended to reduce the Karsdorf plant’s CO₂ emissions and clinker and power consumption.

Costa Rica: Holcim Costa Rica has published its second Sustainability Report, covering 2025. During the year, the producer more than doubled its sales of ECOPact 30% reduced-CO₂ concrete year-on-year. It added two new concrete plants, increasing its concrete capacity by a factor of 10, and sold 682,000t of cement. A link to the report is available on Holcim Costa Rica’s website.