Kyrgyzstan: The government has proposed introducing molecular marking of cement to combat the black market and improve transparency in production, imports and sales, according to Akchabar news. Under the proposal, cement classified under HS code 2523 would be subject to mandatory molecular marking from 1 June 2026, with a ban on the circulation of unmarked cement from 1 December 2026. The system would allow authorities to track cement from production or import through to final sale. The molecular marker would be added to cement without affecting its physical or chemical properties and verified using specialised equipment.

The country’s cement production capacity is estimated at 8.40Mt/yr, although actual output is reportedly significantly lower, and authorities believe some production and sales may be underreported. Cement imports reached 1.10Mt in 2025. The Cabinet of Ministers expects that the new marking system could double the size of the legal cement market within three years and generate up to US$34m per year in tax revenue from manufacturers, with additional revenue expected from concrete and other construction companies.

Sweden: SaltX Technology has signed a joint development agreement with Holcim to develop a fully electrified clinker production process, with the goal of building Europe’s first fully electric cement plant by 2028. The collaboration builds on an earlier partnership established in June 2025, and focuses on electrifying cement production through SaltX’s technology platform, combining electrified calcination and electrified sintering to enable fossil-free clinker production. The companies have established a joint technical and commercial roadmap, beginning with pilot-scale testing before moving to industrial-scale deployment.

Two technical development tracks are being pursued: The first focuses on electrified calcination using plasma burners in SaltX’s electric arc calciner to heat raw meal and produce calcined material. Large-scale testing is planned at the electric calcination research centre in Hofors during 2026. The second track focuses on combining electrified calcination with electric sintering to produce clinker without fossil fuels.

Lina Jorheden said “The strengthened partnership with Holcim confirms the potential of our technology and marks a key step in developing electrified clinker production. By combining our technology with Holcim’s industrial expertise, we can jointly further develop and industrialise solutions for large-scale electrified cement manufacturing.”

Spain: Cement consumption fell by 0.1% year-on-year in February 2026 to 1.28Mt, according to data from Oficemen. In the first two months of 2026, consumption declined by 0.2% year-on-year to 2.38Mt. The association attributed the slowdown largely to heavy rainfall, noting that January and February were the wettest months in 47 years, with February rainfall reaching 2.5 times the monthly average. Despite the weak start to the year, rolling 12-month cement consumption from March 2025 to February 2026 reached 16.7Mt, representing growth of 11%.

Exports declined by 7% year-on-year in February 2026 to 265,000t, while exports for the first two months of 2026 fell by 10% to 543000t. Over the rolling 12-month period, exports totalled 4.39Mt, down by 11% compared to the previous period.

Belgium: TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a 31MW floating solar power plant in Obourg, located on a former chalk quarry site rehabilitated into a lake. The plant is expected to generate approximately 30GWh/yr of electricity, which will be self-consumed by Holcim’s facilities. TotalEnergies said that the installation is the largest floating solar power plant in Europe dedicated to industrial self-consumption. The project included more than 700m of horizontal directional drilling to connect the floating panels to the electrical substation.

Olivier Greiner, managing director of retail power & gas Belgium at TotalEnergies, said “We are delighted to inaugurate this floating solar power plant, which demonstrates TotalEnergies’ teams’ ability to innovate to meet the needs of our partner Holcim, whom we support along with other industrial customers in their efforts to decarbonise their operations.”