Displaying items by tag: UK
Cemex Ventures raises stake in HiiROC
20 December 2023UK: Cemex’s corporate venture capital and open innovation unit Cemex Ventures has increased its stake in green hydrogen production technology developer HiiROC. Cemex Ventures described hydrogen as a ‘breakthrough approach’ to CO2 reduction in the cement sector.
Head of Cemex Ventures Gonzalo Galindo said "This news comes at a critical moment, when COP28 has brought the world together to address and refocus the climate agenda and buckle down on the responsibility of governments and private corporations to deliver on their decarbonisation objectives ahead of 2030. With our increased investment in HiiROC, we are especially proud to be number one in the use of hydrogen in the cement sector and are committed to keep scouting new ways to deploy hydrogen at a grand scale at Cemex’s 60 cement and grinding plants.”
Mineral Products Association welcomes UK cement carbon border adjustment mechanism plan
19 December 2023UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has welcomed government plans for the implementation of a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism for cement by 2027. The association urged the government to develop policy and business models for carbon capture, use and storage, including supporting a domestic carbon neutral and negative products sector.
MPA executive director for energy and climate change Diana Casey said “We cannot take our supply of cement for granted and neither can we put ourselves at risk of unstable international trading markets. That is why today’s commitment to a UK CBAM is so important. Levelling the carbon cost between domestic production and imports will help the UK attract the investment required to decarbonise and ensure our long-term security of supply. The Government’s commitment to bring in the UK CBAM by 2027 is very welcome, and ideally it should be introduced in 2026 to align with the EU scheme. This is the only way to prevent any detrimental impact of the EU CBAM on UK industry.” She added “As well as a CBAM on cement, the MPA would be interested in exploring a CBAM on lime. However, the challenge for the lime sector is ensuring that lime exports can compete in international markets.”
World Cement Association welcomes Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative’s low-CO2 cement procurement commitments
14 December 2023UAE/UK: The World Cement Association has endorsed new commitments agreed upon by Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI) member countries Canada, Germany, the UK and the US at the COP28 climate conference. The commitments include the development of time-bound low CO2 cement procurement plans. The WCA says that IDDI members’ collective leverage of national purchasing power will help to accelerate the decarbonisation of construction globally.
CEO Ian Riley said “The WCA has always emphasised the need for immediate and collaborative action between government and industry to make carbon-negative concrete a reality at scale. Creating demand for low-emission materials is essential for decarbonisation. Now is the moment to work together to make necessary progress this decade.”
UAE/UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has welcomed the first international agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, signed by 200 countries at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. The GCCA said that the deal recognises the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global CO2 emissions.
GCCA chief executive officer Thomas Guillot said “We welcome the progress made at COP28. Decarbonising global industries such as ours will take the collective effort of governments and industry, finance and policymakers, scientists and civil society, all working together. On behalf of our industry and alongside our members who represent the majority of cement production globally, we participated in the preparation and launch of a number of key initiatives that will help enable the shift to net zero – including the Industrial Transition Accelerator, Cement Breakthrough, and Carbon Management Challenge.” He added “We are fully committed to decarbonising our sector and have a detailed net zero commitment and pathway which we are already working towards, including the substitution of fossil fuels, the use of renewable energy and the deployment of new technologies such as CCUS.”
UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has commenced its construction of a cement blending plant and import hub on the River Thames at the Port of Tilbury in Essex. The facility also includes units for the production of reduced-CO2 cement components, including ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and construction demolition waste (CDW)-based materials. The Tilbury site has five loading heads and will help Aggregate Industries to maintain its continuous supply of conventional, reduced-CO2 and circular cementitious materials to London and South East England.
Chief executive officer Dragan Maksimovic said “This important investment will further strengthen our position in the market, allowing us to drive our sustainability ambitions and lead the way in low carbon and circular building materials. The London and South East construction market has major regional projects on the horizon, and we are primed and ready to meet the region’s rising demand for sustainable solutions.”
Steve Curley, managing director cement, added “Our ECOPlanet range of green cement was recently added to our green offering. By investing in this impressive facility within the Port of Tilbury, we will truly boost our sustainable offering and be more agile and efficient in the way we manufacture, transport and supply our products across this region.”
UAE/UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has launched Innovandi Entrepreneur Network. The network will connect low-CO2 technology developers with GCCA members to work towards the decarbonisation of the global cement sector.
GCCA CEO Thomas Guillot said “Innovation can help unlock our net zero future. We recognise the vital role start-ups play in that transition and very much hope start-ups will join our entrepreneur network. Only by working together and through collaboration will we achieve our shared goals.”
Ryan Gilliam, CEO of US-based alternative cement developer Fortera, said “Thank you to the GCCA for providing a platform that brings like-minded companies together to collaborate on a net zero mission to produce cement. Fortera is honoured to be one of the first companies to join GCCA’s Innovandi Entrepreneur Network, to work in concert with our industry partners to tackle this global initiative.”
UK: The World Cement Association (WCA) has welcomed the introduction of the revised BS 8500 standard, which allows for a wider range of Portland limestone cement (PLC) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) combinations in concrete. WCA chief executive officer Ian Riley, however, described the revision as ‘not breaking new ground but catching up.’ He called on the UK and other jurisdictions to begin enacting performance-based standards.
Riley said “It is good to see BSI making this change to concrete standards, however, this is still a very modest step forward. Firstly, ground limestone has been used successfully as a cement component in many markets for decades. Secondly, in order to produce concrete with the lowest embodied carbon and the highest circularity, we need to move away from standards that require particular recipes.”
Carbon Re publishes whitepaper on decarbonisation of cement
06 December 2023UK: Carbon Re has published a whitepaper entitled ‘Levers of Change’ that examines six key levers to accelerate decarbonisation in the cement industry. The document is intended to help companies in the sector navigate related regulatory and commercial factors. The six levers it examines are: standards; regulations; customer demand; technologies; capital; and financing and commercial advantages.
The whitepaper can be downloaded here: https://carbonre.com/levers-of-change
Katie Mallinson appointed as global marketing director of Untha
29 November 2023Austria: Untha has appointed Katie Mallinson as its global marketing director. She has worked as the marketing director for Untha UK since 2021. She was previously the managing director of global communications firm UK-based Scriba PR, which she founded in 2013. As part of her new role she will be based in the UK, with a visiting role to Untha’s different global teams.
Aggregate Industries to use waste tiles as alternative raw material
24 November 2023UK: Thousands of tonnes of waste ceramics from one of the UK’s largest ceramic tile manufacturers will be recycled to make cement as part of a new initiative from Aggregate Industries. The cement producer, owned by Holcim, has agreed a four-year deal with Johnson Tiles to take 20,000t/yr of legacy waste scrap from its Stoke factory in Staffordshire. They will be transported a short distance to Aggregate Industries’ Cauldon cement plant, where they will be crushed and mixed with limestone and the other raw materials prior to entering the kiln.
Andrew Whyatt, Geocycle UK General Manager at Aggregate Industries, said “We are delighted to be working with such a potteries stalwart as Johnson Tiles in order to recycle what would otherwise be a waste product. Materials such as this offer a great alternative to excavating fresh raw materials, preserving our local natural resources, whilst offering a solution whereby 100% of the material will be upcycled into new local cement. Both companies share a drive towards sustainable manufacturing and partnerships like this are vital as Aggregate Industries aims to reclaim or recycle 3Mt/yr of materials by 2025.”