12 June 2024

Kenya: The government has decided to sell its entire 25% stake in East African Portland Cement Company, as part of a strategic reform of its investments, guided by the International Monetary Fund. The Star newspaper has reported that the government expects to earn US$134m from the sale. It reportedly sold 30% of shares in the producer for US$117m in 2023.

Of East African Portland Cement Company’s multiple minority shareholders, the largest is Lafarge South Africa, with 42% of shares, followed by the Kenyan National Social Security Fund, with 27%.

Canada: Hyperion Global Energy has fired up its pilot Tandem Carbon Recycling System at Lafarge Canada’s Bath cement plant in Ontario. The system mineralises captured CO₂ to produce mineral components for alternative building materials. It has a capture capacity of 1000t/yr. The partners will test the Tandem Carbon Recycling System in producing Lafarge Canada’s 30 – 90% reduced CO₂ ECOPact concrete.

Lafarge Canada’s Eastern Canada regional president and CEO of David Redfern said "Our collaboration with Hyperion marks an exciting milestone in our decarbonisation journey and the advancement of our circular construction technologies. We look forward to advancing our net zero strategy by leveraging carbon utilisation technology like Hyperion's, enabling us to further reduce CO₂ emissions from our operations while at the same time producing innovative and sustainable building solutions."

Hyperion CEO Heather Ward said "Working together with an innovative partner like Lafarge on this exciting pilot project allows us to apply our proprietary carbon recycling technology to large-scale industries, and make an immediate, measurable reduction on carbon emissions. At the same time, we are advancing our vision to offer a scalable and affordable decarbonisation solution for industry, and a market-driven profit incentive on the cost of carbon removal."

US: Representatives of the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and its members are meeting politicians at Congress to discuss cement sector decarbonisation on 12 and 13 June 2024. The PCA says that meetings will address permitting processes and new emission standards affecting the industry.

PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland said "There's a lot happening in Washington this year that directly impacts America's cement manufacturers, which is likely why we have a record turnout of cement company leadership in town for this fly-in. Our industry's top objective is to reach carbon neutrality. While our companies appreciate recent funding from the Department of Energy to assist in decarbonisation efforts, it's still challenging for them to make significant advancements due to a cumbersome permitting system and unrealistic Environmental Protection Agency regulations that could lead to eventual cuts in plant operations and staffing. As the infrastructure law is hitting its stride, the country needs more cement and concrete, not less. We're here to ask Congress to work with us to arrive at reasonable policies and standards that will allow manufacturers to continue to provide the resilient, sustainable building materials our country has come to expect."

Spain: Heidelberg Materials plans to stop clinker production at its Añorga plant near San Sebastián and run the site as a cement grinding plant instead. It says it intends to use the change to focus on low-carbon cement products in Spain and the South-West of France. The clinker required to supply the markets in Northern Spain and the South-West of France will be produced at Heidelberg Materials Spain’s Bilbao plant instead. The closure of the clinker production line at Añorga will start once staff negotiations at the plant are completed. The company said that, “socially acceptable solutions for all affected employees are being sought.”

Netherlands: Paebbl has successfully mineralised its first tonne of CO₂ into raw materials for alternative building materials at its pilot facility in Rotterdam. The tonne of CO₂ corresponds to 3t of material produced. In a post to LinkedIn, the company said that it is now seeking ‘more brilliant, planet-aligned, resilient people’ to join its team of 30 people.

Paebbl said “We're moving fast, but our journey is barely a humbling 0.0000001% complete.”

Canada: Votorantim Cimentos subsidiary St Marys Cement has entered redemption of all its outstanding 2027 senior notes, at a value of US$229m. The company notified the holders of the notes accordingly.

China: KHD’s management team met in Nanjing in May 2024 to strategise on advancing decarbonisation in the cement industry. The meeting focused on industry needs and sustainable practices.

CEO Jianlong Shen said "We were pleased to welcome members of KHD leadership from around the world to Nanjing. Everyone who attended had the opportunity to take part in the discussion and share their ideas and suggestions for our next steps. We look forward to sharing more about our direction in due course as we continue on our collective journey to cement beyond carbon."

Germany: Flender celebrated its 125th anniversary on 10 June 2024. The company reflected on the role of its forward-looking approach in making it market leader in industrial drive technology and a pioneer in industrial transformation and sustainable business practices.

CEO Andreas Evertz said "We have always been and will always be a large Flender family. Whether employees, customers, suppliers, partners or owners – today we all feel like Flenderans. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team and to advance the energy transition with you. Because without drive technology and Flender, nothing moves in this world."

Portugal: Sacopor has inaugurated a new bag production line at its paper bag plant near Lisbon. The new line will increase capacity to 160 million bags per year from 130 million at present. It had an investment of €11.5m. The subsidiary of Cimpor sells bags to the cement mortar industries.