Russia: Cemros has started a US$3m upgrade project on cement mill five at its integrated Katavsky plant near Chelyabinsk. The work will see the introduction of a new closed-loop system with a separator. Following its installation, the mill will have a cement output of 114,000t/yr. The upgrade should also deliver an energy saving of up to 30%. Just under half the funding for the project was supplied in the form of a loan from the government. The upgraded mill is expected to be operational in September 2023.

India: JSW One Platforms, JSW Group’s online business-to-business sales platform, has raised US$25m through an investment from Japan-based Mitsui Bussan. The business will use the funds to strengthen its market presence and further enhance technology capabilities. It also plans to expand its operations in Northern India, and to invest in credit, logistics and new technologies to improve customer experience. The platform stocks JSW Group subsidiary JSW Cement’s range of cement products. The Times of India newspaper has reported that Mitsui Bussan valued JSW One Platforms at US$336m.

JSW One Platforms CEO Gaurav Sachdeva said “There is a lot of distrust in the space and it’s highly fragmented. We want to be a one-stop shop for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with defined service level agreements and deliverables. We will be the fastest in the space to touch US$1bn in gross merchandise value.” Sachdeva added that he expects the platform’s sales to more than double to US$91.6m in the current, 2024, financial year, from US$36.6m in the 2023 financial year.

India: JSW Cement was among 20 companies from various industries in attendance at a roundtable discussion on the subject of leveraging clean energy to journey towards net zero on 13 April 2023. The discussion covered a broad range of ways to end the use of fossil fuels, including energy storage and the use of electric vehicles. Press Trust of India News has reported that advanced batteries developer Log9 Materials hosted the event in partnership with networking platform Blue Circle – not to be confused with the former cement producer of the same name. Executive director and chief risk officer Arvind Bodhankar represented Dalmia Bharat, while chief sustainability and innovation officer Manoj Rustagi represented JSW Cement.

Germany: Heidelberg Materials has appointed industrial gases and engineering company Linde to install a carbon capture and liquefaction plant at its 1Mt/yr Lengfurt, Bavaria, cement plant. The project is scheduled for delivery in 2025. When commissioned, the system will capture and liquefy 70,000t/yr of CO₂. Heidelberg Materials plans to use a small part of the liquefied CO₂ in its development of recarbonation technologies for cement and concrete, with the remainder to be marketed by Linde to industries, including chemicals and food. The German government granted Euro15m in funding for the project under its Decarbonisation of Industry programme.

Heidelberg Materials’ chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said "We are pleased to be able to implement the world's first carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) project in the cement industry on an industrial scale.”

Linde’s executive vice president Jürgen Nowicki said “With this joint venture, two companies that are world leaders in their field are combining their skills with the aim of finding a solution that is as sustainable as it is economical. After successful pilot applications, this large-scale plant paves the way for sustainable cement production.”

Image credit: Cement plant Lengfurt, Germany. Copyright: Heidelberg Materials. Photographer: Steffen Fuchs.