Issue introduction

The cement industry’s margins are being squeezed more and more by tighter environmental limits, CO2 trading schemes and price pressures. In the future, an extra margin, named the ‘Carbon Margin’ will have to be found to help pay CO2 costs, whether by reducing outgoings, finding new income streams, or both. Thankfully, the digital revolution, changing business practices and investments in novel technologies now offer new opportunities for savings. Watching the Carbon Margin will become a major challenge for cement producers over the coming decades as the cost per tonne of CO2 rises. How can cement producers best ‘mind’ the growing gap?

Chief executives from over 30 cement groups attended the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s (GCCA) inaugural annual general meeting and symposium on 23 November 2018. Global Cement attended the event and spoke to new chief executive officer (CEO) Benjamin Sporton about his plans for the organisation and its role.

What if a cement plant could optimise its CO2 emissions performance using existing plant sensor data and fuel chemistry analyses, all at zero capital cost? A new fuel metric, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge and Hanson Cement, has the potential to do just that. Lead researcher Daniel Summerbell explains...

ecomanda AG, based in Hünenberg, Switzerland, has developed X-Fuel Energizer, a unique ‘hypersonic’ technology, which can increase flame temperatures while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. Henrique Braun explains the technology...