India: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) India have signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate sustainable development of cement and concrete sectors. Under the agreement, TERI will provide its domain expertise and knowledge to support GCCA India's work to achieve sustainability in the Indian cement and concrete sector, according to the Press Trust of India. The collaboration will see TERI's involvement in GCCA India work programs while GCCA India and its members will support TERI's projects on technology innovation, energy efficiency enhancement, and resource efficiency implementation.

"The demand for cement and concrete will only increase in the decades to come due to population growth and urbanisation. Therefore, reducing CO₂ emissions in the cement and concrete industry is critically important,” said Mahendra Singhi, chairman of GCCA India. He added that working with stakeholders across sectors and with civil society would be essential to reaching the association’s sustainability goals.

Spain: An anonymous source informed the Regional Government of Andalusia about the discovery of a cave with interesting geological features at a quarry run by FYM near its Malaga integrated cement plant. Photographs of the cave subsequently circulated on social media raising local awareness, according to El Español. The local government has commissioned a study to assess whether the site has any archaeological interest that might protect it however the condition of the site is reportedly poor. FYM, a subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement, has confirmed that activity in that part of the quarry has been ‘paralysed’ while it waits for the study to be completed.

Denmark: 29 consortium members, including Aalborg Portland Cement, Aker Carbon Capture and INEOS, have signed up to phase two of the Greensand carbon capture and storage pilot project. Proof of concept planning is now underway with a potential start date of around late 2021 subject to securing funding from the government’s Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program. If successful an offshore injection pilot is scheduled for late 2022.

A majority of the Danish Parliament decided in December 2020 to set aside a special funding pool to support a CO2 storage pilot project, aiming to investigate the reservoir-CO₂ interaction in the Danish North Sea. This pilot project, if designed correctly, could form the basis for a decision, to enable CO₂ storage by 2025.

Mads Weng Gade, Head of Country, Denmark and Commercial Director INEOS Energy said, “We are taking this step by step. We now have the consortium in place, and if we are successful in receiving ongoing support from the Danish Government and advisory board, Greensand will be able to take another important step forward in supporting the Danish Climate Strategy.”

Uzbekistan: The Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade (MIFT) says that an unnamed Singapore-based company is considering building an integrated cement plant in the country. The Uzbekistan National News Agency reports that investors from Singapore attended a meeting with Aziz Voitov, the First Deputy Minister of MIFT, and Adham Ikramov, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.