Displaying items by tag: Germany
Low carbon cements go global
28 July 2021Holcim has started to unify its low carbon cement product range this week with the launch of its ECOPlanet label globally. The products are already available in Germany, Romania, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, France and Italy. The plan is to extend this to 15 countries by the end of 2021 and then to double its ‘market presence’ by the end of 2022.
The headline news is that the range will include what Holcim says is the world’s first cement product with 20% recycled construction and demolition waste. This appears to be an improvement on the group’s Susteno cement products that use fine fractions from concrete and demolition waste. This product is currently sold in Switzerland where it is advertised as saving 10% of CO2 emissions compared to a standard cement product. Both Holcim and HeidelbergCement already sell concrete products that use the coarse waste from building demolition. Other than this, Holcim says that the range will also include cements that contain calcined clay. In June 2021 subsidiary Lafarge France announced that it would produce a cement product under the ECOPlanet banner using kaolin clay with its proprietary ProximA Tech process at its integrated La Malle cement plant in Bouc-Bel-Air.
We will have to wait and see how far Holcim goes in standardisng the range between different countries. Yet, judging from what the countries that are already selling ECOPlanet are doing, it looks like it will be a variety of blended cements. At present, for example, Holcim Germany offers four products in the ECOPlanet range. These are all slag cements, with three having effective CO2 reductions of up to 70% and the fourth, ECOPlanet Zero, reaching 100% through a carbon offsetting scheme in conjunction with MoorFutures. Holcim Italy also launched a product in the range called ECOPlanet Prime using calcined clay in June 2021.
Incidentally, LafargeHolcim US announced a research project this week with the US Army about using demolition waste. It’s going to start working with the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center and Geocycle to look at how construction and demolition materials from military installations can be used for energy recovery and mineral recycling. Group resources at Geocycle’s Holly Hill Research Center in South Carolina, US and Holcim’s Global Innovation Center in Lyon, France will be used in the scheme.
Other low carbon cement products are available of course. Holcim is far from alone in launching low CO2 cement and concrete products. Yet the use of worldwide brand names is different. Cemex is doing something similar with the global rollout of its Vertua concrete products. It first launched Vertua in France in 2018 before going global in 2020. Holcim started to launch ECOPact Concrete in 2019. Now, Holcim has gone further by doing the same thing with cement. Given how localised cement and concrete products are, it will be instructive to see how global branding for low carbon cementitious products helps these companies. For instance, who is the target audience? It could be eco-minded self-build customers or project specifiers or government departments or industry lobbyists. Or perhaps it is simply another marketing channel to reinforce the sector’s sustainable offerings.
The other point worth considering is when will the multinational cement producers start selling sustainable cements and concretes in less rich parts of the world? While Holcim was playing with blended cements and marketing this week, Dangote Cement said that it was ready to start commissioning its new 6Mt/yr integrated plant at Okpella, Edo State in Nigeria. Another 5Mt/yr plant is also on the way in the country from Madugu Cement. It has just signed a contract for China-based Sinoma International Engineering Company to build it. When Holcim and the other cement companies start selling low carbon cements in places like Nigeria then the rise of these products will be complete.
Germany: Bosch Rexroth has appointed Holger von Hebel as its chief financial officer (CFO) and the Director of Industrial Relations with effect from 1 October 2021. He will retain his position as head of the Mobile Hydraulics business unit. Von Hebel succeeds Markus Forschner, who will join the board of management of Robert Bosch as CFO and chief performance officer in 2022.
Von Hebel studied industrial engineering in Berlin and Karlsruhe. He joined the Bosch Group in 1990 as a trainee. After serving in a range of management positions in Germany and other countries, he became the commercial director of Switzerland-based Bosch subsidiary SIG Pack International in 2004. In 2005, von Hebel was given additional responsibility for finances, controlling and IT at the former Packaging Technology division of Bosch. Afterward, he became chairman of the divisional board of management of Bosch Solar Energy. Von Hebel has worked in a variety of areas at Bosch Rexroth since 2013 when he became the commercial director of the former Industrial Applications business unit. He has been the managing director of the Mobile Hydraulics division since 2017.
Bosch Rexroth supplies drive and control technologies to a variety of industries including the cement sector.
Flexco Europe launches T-Type secondary belt cleaner
28 July 2021Germany: Flexco Europe has launched the T-Type secondary belt cleaner. The supplier says that the cleaner is able to remove moist, sticky, dry or abrasive residues from belts, even without a precleaner. It is equipped with tungsten carbide blades which rotate by up to 15°, to provide ‘perfect’ adaptation to the belt surface. Cleaning blades with C-Tips are provided for mechanical connectors. Segmented polyurethane (PUR) vibration dampers ensure even wear, while thin carbide blades achieve very good performance in combination with the robust tensioning system. The blades also have an offset for streak-free cleaning. The new secondary cleaner is available for belt widths of 400mm - 1600 mm and for belt speed of op to 4m/s. Little space is required for installation, so it can fit neatly into almost all conveyor belt structures.
Germany: HeidelbergCement has signed the Science-Based Targets Initiative’s (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C commitment and joined the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change Race to Zero campaign. The former entails a commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Race to Zero membership entails a positive commitment to beginning the transition to a decarbonised economy before the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in November 2021.
Chair Dominik von Achten said “As one of the world's leading building materials producers, we are continuously increasing our efforts in the global fight against climate change. We are working on all levels to reach climate neutrality – within our operations as well as through associations and initiatives such as the Race To Zero campaign. Every effort brings us closer to our goal.”
Germany: Beumer Group has appointed Jörn Fontius as the managing director of its Germany-based subsidiary Beumer Maschinenfabrik. He succeeded Norbert Stemich in the role in May 2021. Stemich has now moved to the Product Business division of the group.
Fontius joined Beumer Maschinenfabrik in 2013 and managed corporate strategy before becoming the head of global supply chain management. In late 2019 he became the president of the airport division of Beumer’s US subsidiary. Prior to working for Beumner, Fontiuswas a member of the management board of the Bundesvereinigung Logistik, a logistics network.
Georgia: HeidelbergCement Georgia plans to invest in additional grinding capacity at both of its cement plants. The subsidiary of Germany-based HeidelbergCement says that it will complete expansion work at both plants by the 2022 production season. It is also contemplating the possibility of clinker capacity expansions.
In early July 2021, Georgia experienced a cement shortage due to the release of pent-up demand from infrastructure projects and reduced imports from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Germany: Former HeidelbergCement executive director Rainer Nobis’ Illustrated History of Cement and Concrete is now available in hardback online. The book traces the development of artificially produced building materials over 12,000 years, describing both the technical sequence of events and the political and economic environments in which they took place.
An unnamed reviewer said "The book is outstanding and comes at the right time. It has never been more necessary to recall the positive contribution of cement and concrete to mankind or to make it explainable. [Nobis] has more than succeeded!"
Cemex Deutschland partners with Enertrag and Sunfire for CO2-to-fuel project at Rüdersdorf cement plant
16 July 2021Germany: A consortium of Mexico-based Cemex subsidiary Cemex Deutschland, Uckerwerk Energietechnik subsidiary Enertrag and hydrogen specialist Sunfire has announced a cement industry decarbonisation project called Concrete Chemicals. The project will see sequestered CO2 combined with hydrogen to produce hydrocarbons for use as cement fuel. The consortium has submitted a funding application to the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for a trial at Cemex’s Rüdersdorf, Brandenburg, cement plant. This would help in the realisation of the plant’s 2030 carbon neutrality target. Alongside a 5000t/yr demonstration plant, the site will have a green hydrogen plant, supplied by Sunfire. When commissioned in 2025, the plant will produce synthetic fuels and other hydrocarbon fractions. The consortium is also investigating a methanol synthesis route using synthetic gas.
Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said “We support the urgency of action to address the climate challenge and have committed to a 55% reduction in CO2 from our 1990 baseline in our European operations by 2030. Together with our industry partners, we can collectively transform ourselves into a CO2-neutral world. Concrete Chemicals is a promising project.”
Holcim to buy Heinrich Teufel
07 July 2021Germany: Switzerland-based Holcim has agreed to acquire ready-mix concrete and aggregates producer Heinrich Teufel. The Strassburg, Baden-Württemberg-based company employs 160 people across its operations in southern Germany. No value for the purchase has been disclosed and the transaction will be subject to regulatory approval.
Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said "The acquisition of Heinrich Teufel will strengthen our footprint in southern Germany in aggregates and ready-mixed concrete. We were especially impressed by their shared commitment to advancing the circular economy. We look forward to warmly welcoming the Heinrich Teufel colleagues joining our team.”
Aumund takes over KoWey systems servicing worldwide
06 July 2021Germany: Aumund has taken over all customer support services for KoWey conveyors and bucket elevators. The company assured customers that it would be there ‘anytime, worldwide’ to provide services, spare parts, conversions or support for their KoWey products.