Displaying items by tag: Americas

Peru: Cemento Yura has launched a premium white cement, designed to meet the increasing demand for architectural and decorative applications. The producer has a production capacity of 300,000t/yr, ensuring stable supply to domestic and export markets.

Technical manager of research and development Bruno Bertolotti said "This launch is the result of extensive research and innovation. Our goal is to provide our customers with a high-performance product that ensures unparalleled reliability and results."

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has begun test well drilling at its Mitchell cement plant in Indiana as part of the CarbonSAFE carbon capture and storage (CCS) project led by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS).

The drilling started on 22 January 2025 to assess the geology beneath the plant, which is located in the Illinois Basin, for CO₂ storage potential. The test will evaluate three carbon storage formations to a depth of 2210m to determine if the site can safely store 50Mt of CO₂ over 30 years.

The project began in early 2023 with seismic data collection across 87km of roadways, leading to the installation of the geologic test well.

Greg Ronczka, vice president of Carbon Transport & Storage Development said "This is an exciting step for the project as we learn which potential formations may be suitable to permanently and safely store the CO₂. This knowledge will help us design the injection and observation well network and allow us to prepare a complete and accurate US Environmental Protection Agency Class VI permit application."

Mexico: Holcim México has mitigated 1.7Mt of CO₂ emissions in housing and infrastructure projects throughout the country in 2024, according to a press release, through its ECOPact, ECOPlanet and ECOCycle sustainable products.

Holcim’s ECOPact low-carbon concrete reduces CO₂ emissions by at least 30% and represents 15% of its concrete sales, with a target of 27% by 2027. Its ECOPlanet cement range reduces CO₂ emissions by 35-65% relative to traditional blends and accounts for 56% of cement sales, with a target of 77% by 2027. ECOCycle technology incorporates recycled construction and demolition materials into concrete for non-structural applications like pavements.

Colombia: Cemex is ‘exploring’ the possible sale of its business in Colombia, Bloomberg has reported.

Cemex previously delisted Spain-based Cemex Latam Holdings from the Colombian Stock Exchange in 2023.

Honduras: Ultracem has announced that, through its subsidiary Ultracem Centroamérica, it is selling some of its assets in Honduras. The transaction involved the indirect sale of Duracem Honduras shares to Blackriver Overseas for US$56m.

The producer completed the sale on 20 February 2025, after fulfilling the conditions of the purchase agreement. It stated that the sale is “part of Ultracem's corporate strategy to focus its business on cement and concrete production activities in Colombia.”

North America: Switzerland-based Holcim has announced the name for its upcoming spin-off of its North American operations: Amrize. Amrize will operate as an independent public company and a leader in the North American building materials sector ‘from foundation to rooftop.’ Holcim says that the new name combines the business’ values and vision of ‘ambition’ and ‘rising.’ A spin-off on the New York Stock Exchange and SIX Swiss Exchange is scheduled for completion before 30 June 2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Holcim Chair and designated Chair and CEO of Amrize Jan Jenisch said "This is an exciting time for construction in North America, with the ongoing modernisation of infrastructure, the reshoring of manufacturing and the opportunity to bridge the housing gap with the most advanced building solutions. With our planned spin-off of Amrize, we aim to be the partner of choice for our North American customers and unlock value for all our stakeholders.”

Brazil: The Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) has convicted two individuals for operating a cartel in the Brazilian cement sector and ordered them to pay fines of US$1.75m.

The investigation began in 2016, stemming from a wider probe into a Brazilian cement sector cartel. The individuals exchanged emails and attended meetings to allocate market share and manipulate public procurement prices to restrict competition and entry of new competitors in the market.

Brazil: Buzzi subsidiary Cimento Nacional has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with renewable energy provider Casa dos Ventos for 65MW/yr of wind power from the 756MW Serra do Tigre and 360MW Babilonia Sul wind farms. The agreement will supply 100% of the producer's electricity requirements in its Brazilian facilities.

The Serra do Tigre wind farm is currently under construction in Rio Grande do Norte, but the Babilonia Sul wind farm is operational in Bahia.

US: Terra CO₂ has raised US$82m in Series B funding from investors including Eagle Materials, GenZero and Just Climate. The company will build its first commercial facility in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, in partnership with Asher Materials.

With the help of Eagle Materials, the company will establish multiple 240,000t/yr plants across North America. The US Department of Energy has also awarded Terra CO₂ with a grant of US$52.6m for a second commercial facility. The producer has begun concrete trials of its Opus Zero cement-free product, designed to completely replace ordinary Portland cement in concrete. It will complete a second funding round in the first quarter of 2025.

“This strategic funding from the world’s leading climate funds and industry partners validates our approach to practical cement decarbonisation at commercial scale,” said Bill Yearsley, CEO of Terra. “As we break ground on our first full-scale plant in Texas, their support enables us to accelerate deployment across North America and establish an early footprint in Europe.”

US: Eco Material Technologies has secured a US$800m green term loan facility. The facility will mature in 2032. Eco Material Technologies will invest the funds in expansion to its supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) production capacities, to raise them to 20Mt/yr.

The company noted the oversubscription of the raise as demonstrative of high confidence in its proposition for the decarbonisation of cement and concrete.