Global Cement News

Canada: Lehigh Cement and the International CCS Knowledge Centre are conducting a feasibility study looking at carbon capture and storage (CCS) at the Edmonton cement plant in Alberta. The project aims to find out whether capturing 90 – 95% of the CO₂ from the plant’s flue gas is viable. Completion of the study is scheduled for the autumn of 2021.

The Lehigh CCS Feasibility Study will consider an engineering design using carbon capture technology owned by Japan-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG), part of MHI Group. The KM CDR process, which is being deployed at 13 commercial plants globally, will be examined for integration with Lehigh’s plant and output specifications, such as a flue gas pretreatment system and the carbon capture and compression process.

The aims of the study are to: deliver a Class 4 cost estimate; to work with a capture technology provider (MHI Group) to perform engineering design tailored to the Lehigh plant; to manage the process and engage third parties, as necessary; to complete a detailed business case; and to develop the budget for Front End Engineering Study (FEED). The project has received US$1.4m in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) through its Partnership Intake Program.

India: Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement recorded a profit of US$506m in the nine-month period ending on 31 December 2020, up by 47% year-on-year from US$345m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 4% to US$4.16bn from US$4.33bn. Third-quarter sales rose by 17% to US$1.68bn from US$1.43bn and third-quarter profit rose by 122% to US$217m from US$97m. The company said that it ended the period having reached 84% production at its newly acquired cement plants of 15Mt/yr total capacity. In the third quarter the board approved capital expenditure investments of US$747m aimed to increase cement production capacity by a further 13Mt/yr.

The company said, “Recovery from the Covid-19-led disruption of the economy has been rapid. This has been fuelled by quicker demand stabilisation, supply side restoration and greater cost efficiencies.” It added, “While UltraTech continues to closely monitor the impact of Covid-19 on its operations, its capital and financial resources remain entirely protected and its liquidity position is adequately covered. With strong rural growth, revival in manufacturing sentiment, buoyancy in the goods and services tax and tax collections, UltraTech expects demand to grow on the back of the government’s push on infrastructure projects. Given its pan-India presence, UltraTech is well-positioned to support the rising demand for cement in the country. As always, UltraTech remains committed to all its business associates and stakeholders.

India: Birla Corporation recorded a net profit of US$52.2m in the nine-month period which ended on 31 December 2020, up by 23% year-on-year from US$42.6m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 10% to US$650m from US$724m, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2% to US$141m from US$144m.

Iceland: Sementsverksmidjan has commissioned engineering company Efla to investigate a dust spill which occurred in early January 2021. The cement importer says that Efla will review its processes, assess impacts and advise on any measures to prevent the recurrence of such an accident.

The company said, “Following the accident, information has also emerged that the incident lasted longer than previously thought. This information has not been confirmed and is new to the company, but could mean that more cement has been released into the atmosphere than had previously been estimated. The cement factory takes this information seriously and will continue to work with Efla and the insurance company to fully analyse the matter.”

France: Fives has selected Wallix’s Wallix Inside software to improve the online security of its subsidiary Fives Cortx’s industrial data products. The supplier says that this will give cement plant users secure access to energy bills, cost optimisation, site maintenance and production line analytics.

Fives CortX chief executive officer David Zak said, “Fives provides flexible and tailored solutions to optimise industrial sites’ production and maintenance by capitalising on field data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the core of our systems and cybersecurity at the forefront of our minds. Therefore, we ensure the security of flows and data by design. With the solution Wallix Inside, we incorporate the best technologies in our solutions to guarantee an increased level of security between connected machines and our Gateway Internet of Things (IOT), enabling our clients to fully enter Industry 4.0.”