Displaying items by tag: UK
Cemex UK launches Supaflo Rapide screed
04 March 2021UK: Mexico-based Cemex subsidiary Cemex UK has announced the launch of Supaflo Rapide, a calcium sulphate binder-based screed for all domestic and commercial floor applications. The company said that the product achieved a moisture condition of below 75% relative humidity at between 10 and 15 days under controlled conditions.
West Europe regional quality and product technology director Steve Crompton said, “Our technical expertise has enabled us to develop a new, more sustainable, premium quality screed that will help increase the efficiency of the job site, allow effective use of labour and improve the climate impact of projects. Supaflo Rapide uses an enhanced calcium sulphate binder and the latest admixture technology to cut down on drying time while maintaining the speed of installation associated with these types of screeds.” He added, “This will greatly benefit construction companies as they juggle the on-going challenges of site working requirements alongside increasing demand for fast and safe completion of jobs with a lower environmental impact.”
Hanson’s Padeswood cement plant to host Hynet North West consortium carbon capture and storage study
01 March 2021UK: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson has partnered with the Hynet North West consortium for a study on carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution at its Padeswood, Flintshire, cement plant. The consortium is planning to implement carbon capture and storage installations at industrial facilities across Flintshire, Wrexham, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire. It says that when active the network will constitute the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster, with a total reduction of 10Mt/yr of emissions by CCS. The Padeswood plant would account for 800,000t/yr of this total.
Hanson group chief executive officer Simon Willis said, “Our involvement in the HyNet North West project is the latest example of our commitment to cutting CO2 emissions. CCS at our cement plants will be a key part of our roadmap to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. The first step would be for us to carry out a feasibility study - this would give us a clear design basis and cost estimate for a capture plant and connection to the planned HyNet North West CO2 network and storage system.”
The HyNet North West project also includes production, storage and distribution of low carbon hydrogen, which will help to decarbonise other industries whose CO2 emissions primarily come from fossil fuels. The project, led by Progressive Energy, is being developed by a consortium of regionally located partners including Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, INOVYN and the University of Chester as well as Hanson.
Cemex starts operations at seven sustainable growth investments in Europe in January 2021
22 February 2021Europe: Cemex commissioned seven new bolt-on investments across Europe in January 2021. The company says that all of the investments are aligned to its key priorities of climate action, sustainable construction and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) growth. They include advances in fossil fuel reduction, lower CO2 footprint products, circular economy investments and products that demonstrate life cycle CO2 and energy consumption advantages for buildings. It made various changes at its cement plants, for example the installation of a new alternative fuel (AF) system in the Czech Republic. In France and the UK, it made circular economy and recycling improvements, and shifted to lower-CO2 cement production in Croatia and lightweight concrete production in Spain. Additionally, it made efficiency upgrades to sites in Spain and the UK.
Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said, “We have made a strong start to our 2021 ambitions to both grow our business and improve our climate impact. In 2020, we achieved our ambition of a 35% reduction in our CO2 emissions compared to our 1990 baseline in Europe. We are also the first company in our sector to align our Europe operations to the EU aspiration to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030. These investments represent further advances towards this 2030 target, as well as to deliver net zero CO2 concrete globally by 2050.”
15% of large cement companies aligned with 2°C target for 2050
19 February 2021UK: The Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) has conducted a study into the emissions reduction practices of 33 large cement producers. The study concluded that five of the companies are currently aligned with the emissions reduction pathway which would keep the global temperature rise below 2°C by 2050 compared to pre-industrial levels. This corresponds to 15% of large cement companies assessed in the study compared to 14% of large companies in heavy industries globally. The TPI commended the five producers, noting that in global industry “fewer companies are aligned with 2°C after 2030 [than by 2030], because the pace of decarbonisation required in the industrial sector really picks up next decade, requiring drastic falls in emissions between 2030 and 2050 to meet Paris Agreement goals. More industrial companies need to set longer term targets to 2050 that require greater levels of decarbonisation.” Just one aluminium producer and no paper producers are in line with the 2050 target.
TPI Co-Chair Adam Matthews said, “As we enter the transition decade these hard-to-abate sectors are critical to achieving net zero goals by 2050. Whilst it is concerning that so few industrial companies are ready, it is clear new industrial processes based on circular economy principles give us a tipping point of technically viable, economically attractive solutions.”
Cemex UK launches Viabase asphalt concrete
16 February 2021UK: Cemex UK has announced the launch of Viabase, an engineered asphalt concrete. The company says that the product is especially suited to use in residential housing estate roads, where it will be exposed to construction traffic before being surfaced after houses are built. The launch supports the UK government’s drive to increase house building to 300,000units/yr.
Europe regional asphalt, paving and building products director Carl Platt said, “With Viabase, we are pleased to offer a way to ensure the longevity of housing development roads, which standard materials struggle to provide if the surface course is not placed soon after. Viabase provides a highly durable, low maintenance surface which will meet the challenges presented by heavy duty vehicles and prevent long-term problems in the overall pavement construction.”
The company will produce Viabase at all its UK asphalt plants, where it will be available for delivery to customers or collection.
Cemex holds steady in 2020 as business picks up in fourth quarter
12 February 2021Mexico: Cemex recorded consolidated cement volumes of 63.8Mt in 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from 62.7Mt in 2019. Ready mixed concrete sales volumes fell by 6% to 47.0Mm3 from 50.1Mm3. Its net sales fell by 1% to US$13.0bn from US$13.1bn although the group has reported a slight rise on a like-for-like basis. Operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to US$2.46bn, up by 3% from US$2.38bn. However, sales and earnings picked up significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Fernando A González, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex said, “2020 was one of the most challenging years we have faced but it also was a remarkable year that tested the strengths of Cemex and several of our recent strategic initiatives. I am proud of our performance, the organisation, and how we responded to the sudden arrival of Covid-19 in 2020.”
Cement volumes rose by 6% in Mexico and by 8% in the US, but fell by 1% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa and by 8% in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Prices fell in all regions except Europe, where they rose by 3%, and the US, where they remained level. Annual like-for-like sales and gross profit increases were noted in Mexico, the US and Middle East and Africa.
The group concluded the sales of its 75% stake of US-based Kosmos Cement for US$499m in March 2020 and of ready-mix assets in the UK for US$230m in August 2020.
SigmaRoc launches cement-free concrete block
12 February 2021UK: SigmaRoc has launched Greenbloc, a cement-free concrete block. The product reduces emissions by 77% compared to concrete blocks produced with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), corresponding to a reduction of 1.1kg/block.
Chief executive officer Max Vermorken said, "Our Greenbloc range and brand is the brainchild of our innovation and technical teams. It addresses a key challenge in the building products industry - the embodied CO2 in one of the most widely used building materials: the concrete block. Greenbloc is only the start of a range of sustainable alternatives to our product offering as we invest, improve, integrate and innovate."
UK: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson has installed a solar and wind-powered hydrogen generation demonstration unit at its Port Talbot Regen ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) plant in Port Talbot in Neath Port Talbot. The company says that the project is part of a collaboration with Swansea University’s Energy Safety Research Institute under the European Research and Development Fund’s Reducing Industrial Carbon Emissions initiative. The hydrogen generated by the installation will replace natural gas in the GGBFS plant’s burners.
Head of sustainability Marian Garfield said, “It is estimated that cement is the source of just under 2% of UK CO2 emissions. With demand for cement and cement replacement products predicted to increase by 25% by 2030, researchers and industry are working hard to reduce the level of CO2 emissions associated with production. As a leading manufacturer, we take our responsibility very seriously. In the UK we have already achieved a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions since 1990 across the business and have set an ambitious new target of a 50% reduction by 2030 from the same baseline. We are constantly looking to improve energy efficiency and carbon reduction at our cement and Regen GGBFS plants, so we are delighted to be involved with this innovative research project.”
Cemex USA receives US Department of Energy grant for carbon capture technology study
09 February 2021US: The US Department of Energy has awarded a grant to Cemex USA, UK-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) specialist Carbon Clean and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The grant covers the implementation of a CCS system at Cemex USA’s Victorville cement plant in California, in addition to the development of a commercially viable carbon utilisation solution. The producer says that the study is due to last 30 months.
President Jaime Muguiro said, “Cemex is committed to being part of the solution to reduce carbon emissions globally and to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete to all of our customers by 2050. We cannot achieve these aims without innovative technology and collaborative relationships with both public and private organizations who share a commitment to climate action. This grant gives us an excellent opportunity to further develop a new technology to help us all reach our goals.”
Hanson announced Ouse Fen nature reserve expansion
05 February 2021UK: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson has announced a planned 80ha expansion of its Ouse Fen nature reserve partnership project with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Cambridgeshire. The company says the additional restored land from its Needingworth quarry will increase the area of the reserve to 298ha.
Unit manager Hilton Law said, “The Ouse Fen reserve is an outstanding example of minerals extraction leading to habitat creation on a landscape scale and highlights the benefits that managing the land left behind from quarrying can make in shaping and improving habitats for wildlife. We are proud to support the RSPB, Cambridgeshire County Council and others involved in the project, which will make an invaluable contribution to achieving UK biodiversity targets and securing the future of important wildlife habitats and species.”
The reserve is a home to marsh harriers, bitterns and bearded tits, in addition to otters and water voles.