Belgium: Air Liquide and Holcim have signed an agreement to develop a carbon capture solution for Holcim’s near-zero Obourg cement plant. Under the agreement, Air Liquide will supply oxygen for Holcim’s oxyfuel-ready clinker production line and provide its Cryocap OXY technology to capture CO₂ emissions. The captured CO₂ will then be transported via pipeline to a CO₂ export hub, such as Antwerp@C, for subsequent shipment to permanent offshore storage in the North Sea.

The project aims to capture 1.1Mt/yr of CO₂ as part of Holcim’s GO4ZERO investment programme which targets carbon neutrality in Belgium by the end of the decade and supports the EU’s 2050 net zero objective.

The companies said the Final Investment Decision remains subject to further partnerships across the value chain and public sector support.

Mexico: A judge has ordered the conditional suspension of proceedings for 24 of the 33 people arrested on 12 February 2026 during an operation carried out by the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office at the La Cruz Azul cement plant in Hidalgo, according to Noticias Financieras news.

Those released are under strict conditions: they are prohibited from visiting any company premises, including the Cruz Azul plant in Hidalgo, sites in Lagunas, Oaxaca and Puebla, facilities in Aguascalientes and the company’s corporate offices in Mexico City. They must also complete three hours of community service per week for the Municipal Presidency of Tula, remain under supervision by the Precautionary Measures Unit and report to sign in every 15 days, and are prohibited from leaving the state of Hidalgo.

The conditional suspension is an alternative to trial requiring the defendants to meet set conditions and repair damage within two years for the criminal action to be extinguished. Failure to comply would result in the resumption of criminal proceedings. The ruling reportedly does not amount to an acquittal.

The arrests followed an operation to restore control of the company to the group headed by Víctor Velázquez amid an ongoing dispute over the company’s assets with the faction linked to Guillermo Álvarez. A confrontation between cooperative members and security forces during the operation resulted in the detention of 33 people.

UK: Breedon Cement has applied to the Peak District National Park Authority to extend quarrying at its Hope Works site and extract 13Mt of limestone. The active quarry covers a site area of approximately 162 hectares, with the extraction areas currently covering approximately 70 hectares. If approved, it could reportedly secure more than 230 jobs. The proposal also includes a small solar farm, according to local press.

The company said that the plant supplied 16% of the UK’s cement in 2022 and warned that, without new reserves, operations could cease by the mid 2030s, risking the loss of 223 jobs and £25.5m in gross value added to the local economy. If approved, the extension would prolong quarrying by 7.5 years to February 2042.

While more than 80% of consultation respondents supported the site’s role in providing jobs, some raised concerns about heavy goods vehicle traffic. The company stated that traffic levels would not increase above usual levels as a result of the expansion.

Planning documents also outline a proposed shift to lower-carbon CEM II production by 2035 and a target of net zero by 2050, alongside plans to expand nearby wildlife habitats to offset the impact of the development.

The proposal is out for consultation until 30 March 2026, with a decision expected to be made by 9 April 2026.

India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued a notice to Kalaburagi Cement in Chatrasala village, after an inspection reportedly identified several deviations from environmental regulations.

The integrated plant has a capacity of 3.6Mt/yr of cement and 2.75Mt/yr of clinker. It also has a 30MW captive power plant and 8.4MW waste heat recovery system. The CPCB said that, although continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) had been installed in five stacks, monitoring equipment for particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) had not been installed in the 130t/hr capacity boiler stack.

Manual observations also found PM concentrations exceeding the prescribed limit of 30mg/m³ in three stacks, recording levels of 38.1mg/m³, 63.3mg/m³ and 357mg/m³ in the reverse air bag house, cement mill 1 and clinker cooler stacks, respectively.

The CPCB noted a ‘significant deviation’ between CEMS readings, which showed PM levels below 30mg/m³, and the manual monitoring results. The board has directed the plant to take corrective action.