India: Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, says that the cement industry has a capacity utilisation rate of 67%. In a written reply to the Indian Parliament, he said that the country had an installed production capacity for cement of around 510Mt/yr and that 337Mt was produced in the 2018 – 2019 financial year.

Belgium: WindEurope, the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and the European Composites Industry Association (EUCIA) have created a cross-sector platform to look into using glass fibres and fillers from old wind turbine blades as a raw material for cement production. Other methods, such as a mechanical recycling, solvolysis and pyrolysis, are being developed and considered.

In 2018 wind energy supplied 14% of the electricity in the European Union (EU), from 130,000 wind turbines. Wind turbines blades are made up of a composite material, which boosts the performance of wind energy by allowing lighter and longer blades. At present 2.5Mt of composite material are in use in the wind energy sector. In the next five years 12,000 wind turbines are expected to be decommissioned.

“Wind energy is an increasingly important part of Europe’s energy mix. The first generation of wind turbines are now starting to come to the end of their operational life and be replaced by modern turbines. Recycling the old blades is a top priority for us, and teaming up with the chemical and compositors industries will enable us to do it the most effective way,” said Giles Dickson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of WindEurope.

Pakistan: Power Cement says it has completed the procurement and installation of machinery on the new third production line at its Nooriabad plant. This includes a 2.46Mt/yr clinker line and a 2.72Mt/yr cement and dispatch line. The equipment was ordered from Denmark’s FLSmdith. The cement producer says the upgrade has made it the largest in southern Pakistan with a total clinker production capacity of 3.42Mt/yr and a cement capacity of 3.73Mt/yr.

Germany/Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has reportedly placed a bid for BASF Construction Chemicals, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. The cement producer has reached the second round of the bidding processing, along with companies including Bain Capital, Cinven and Standard Industries. The auction of the subsidiary of BASF that produces admixtures, mortars and grouts is expected to reach as much as Euro3bn. LafargeHolcim chief executive officer (CEO Jan Jenisch said in May 2019 that the company is considering at least 10 bolt-on assets purchases for 2019.