Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) said that it is 'confident that Canada will lead in building clean technologies for a sustainable future' following the publication of the government's Budget 2023 on 29 March 2023. The budget includes US$26bn-worth of green tax credits. US$19.2bn-worth of this is allotted to renewable energy. It also includes a final design for Canada's Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). CAC president and CEO Adam Auer said that, when finalised, the budget will help to 'close the gap' between existing Canadian legislation and incentives offered under the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan.

Auer said “With close to 60% of our emissions resulting from the immutable chemistry of making cement, deep investment in innovative and expensive technologies, like CCUS, are both vital and unavoidable. With Budget 2023, the government clearly affirmed its understanding of the final role this technology plays in our industry’s efforts to reach net-zero." He continued “We were also pleased to see references to carbon contracts for difference (CCfD). Canada’s cement companies, like many industries in Canada, are part of large multinationals, and divisions must compete within their companies for projects. Investing in net-zero projects requires predictability. The certainty that CCfDs can provide is the difference between attracting investment, building projects and creating clean jobs - or conceding the opportunity to our competitors."

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has commenced production of its Fuerte Más reduced-CO2 cement at its cement plants in Macuspana and Tabasco at a combined rate of 60,000t/yr. The cement offers 50% reduced CO2 emissions and 10% higher physical performance than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The El Economista newspaper has reported that Holcim Mexico replaces some of the clinker in the cement with locally-sourced minerals from Southeast Mexico. Chemical compounds in the material colour the cement red.

The Centre for Technological Innovation for Construction (CITEC) Toluca verified the product as suitable for all applications. Holcim Mexico's industrial director Adrián Belli said that comparable green cements are currently only available in France and Italy.

Vietnam: The General Statistics Office recorded domestic cement production volumes of 27.4Mt throughout the first quarter of 2023. The figure corresponds to a drop of 9.9% year-on-year from first-quarter 2022 levels. Việt Nam News has reported that the country produced 116Mt of cement in 2022, up by 5.8% year-on-year.

China: China National Building Material's (CNBM) revenue fell by 16% year-on-year to US$33.4bn in 2022 from US$40.0bn in 2021. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 31% to US$5.18bn from US$7.50bn. Sales from its cement and concrete business segments fell by 18% to US$16.0bn and 29% to US$5.25bn respectively. Adjusted EBITDA fell by 42% to US$2.89bn and 7% to US$470m. Its sales volumes of cement and clinker decreased by 15% to 316Mt from 373Mt. Sales volumes of concrete decreased by 24% to 84.7Mm3 from 112Mm3.

The group said that, “In 2022, the triple pressure from shrinking demand, supply shock and weakening expectations persisted, and the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the development environment increased.” With regards to the building materials segment it blamed a declining real estate market, a poor economy and general poor demand in both the peak and off seasons. It added, “The downturn in demand has further aggravated the contradiction of overcapacity in the industry, with prices running low, coupled with a sharp rise in the cost of coal and other elements leading to escalating production costs, the production and operation situation was extremely critical.” In response the company is continuing to push for supply-side reform, promote precise staggered peak production, working on stablising the market and seeking out opportunities to supply large-scale infrastructure projects.

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