September 2024
Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched ISO14044-compliant full-lifecycle Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its ready-mix concrete range. The company says that the EPDs will help designers and builders to inform their materials selection processes. The Redacción newspaper has reported that data from five cement plants contributed to the declarations.
Concrete and aggregates director Manuel Sirtori congratulated the team for "demonstrating leadership by promoting transparency and reducing emissions in the construction industry."
Power to Green Hydrogen consortium commissions green hydrogen plant at Cemex España’s Lloseta cement plant 15 March 2022
Spain: A consortium consisting of Cemex España, energy suppliers Enagás and Redexis, renewable power and infrastructure company Acciona and 30 other partners has commissioned Europe’s first solar power-to-green hydrogen plant at the site of Cemex España’s Lloseta cement plant on Majorca. The EU contributed Euro10m to the approximately Euro50m project. Euro3.75 million came from the Balearic Islands Autonomous Community government and Euro2.5m from the Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) of the Ministry of the Ecological Transition. The project will generate 300t/yr of hydrogen, eradicating 20,700t/yr of CO2. The hydrogen will primarily fuel city buses in Palma, as well as air conditioning units in public and private buildings there.
China: Geely will include electric cement truck battery pack change facilities in its roll out of 5000 vehicle battery change stations across China. Carscoops News has reported that the stations will be able to remove vehicles’ 3.2t, 280kWh battery packs in five minutes and fully recharge them in an hour. Cement truck drivers will be able to access the service via a simple QR code scan.
Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Maltsovsky Portland Cement has reportedly commissioned a new diesel locomotive to deliver clay to its Maltsovsky cement plant in Bryansk Oblast. According to Russia-based media outlet Stroymedia, eight locomotives operate on the company’s 53km-long railway network during the construction season. Maltsovsky Portland Cement will reportedly replace sections of track and continue the renewal of its rolling stock during 2022.
Cement producers lobby Telangana government against Grid Support Charge levy on captive power plants 15 March 2022
India: The South India Cement Manufacturers’ Association (SICMA) has joined the Confederation of Indian Industry and the associations of other Telangana industries in lobbying the state government against its proposed Grid Support Charge levy on captive power plants operating in parallel to the state grid. The Hindu Business Line News has reported that power plant operators will pay a monthly levy of US$37,100/MW, potentially from 1 April 2022.
One cement company official said “Some of the most industry-friendly states such as Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal do not levy such charges, while Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat levy a minimal rate of US$261 – 392/MW per month.”
Jaypee Infratech fined US$9140 for non-disclosure of non-convertible debt securities issue 15 March 2022
India: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has fined Jaypee Infratech US$9140 for its failure to disclose its issue of a series of non-convertible debt securities. The company additionally failed to inform the BSE exchange of defaults in payment with respect to some of the series.
Spain: Tudela Veguín has shut the kiln down for 10 days at its La Robla integrated cement plant in Castile and León. It has blamed the high price of electricity for the stoppage, according to the Diaro de León newspaper. The company says it has sufficient stocks of cement to continue to supply customers during the shutdown. The plant has a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr but it produces 0.3Mt/yr at present.
Taiheiyo Cement reports oil spill at Kamiiso Plant 15 March 2022
Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says a marine oil spill took place at its Kamiiso Plant in Hokkaido on 11 March 2022. The spill was reported after a ship had finished unloading at the plant’s pier. The cement producer has apologised for the incident and is conducting an investigation.
Holcim Russia continues operations 15 March 2022
Russia: Holcim Russia says that it is continuing to work as normal and is “fully fulfilling its obligations” to its customers. In a statement on its website it said that its priorities were to, “...maintain the efficient operation of production sites, meet the needs of construction industry customers, and the well-being of the company's 1800 employees in Russia.”
Parent company Holcim, based in Switzerland, said that it was appalled by the human suffering in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. It added that its operations in Russia were continuing to run in full compliance of all regulations and that it would continue to supply the local market. However, it said that it had decided to suspend further capital investments in Russia and keep the situation under review.
Mondi continues to operate paper plants in Russia 15 March 2022
Russia: Austria-based Mondi says it is continuing to operate a paper mill and three paper converting plants in Russia. All the units serve the local market. The company said that its operations in Russia represented around 12% of the group’s revenue by location of production in 2021 and, over the last three years, generated around 20% of the group’s underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Mondi has operated in Russia for over 22 years.
Mondi operates across more than 30 countries. It reported revenue of Euro7.7bn and underlying EBITDA of Euro1.5 billion in 2021. It produces paper and packaging products including bags for industrial products such as cement.