Displaying items by tag: Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan: Cement production rose by 6% year-on-year to 0.58Mt the first two months of 2025, up from 0.55Mt in the previous corresponding period. Cement clinker output increased by 11% to 0.61Mt from 0.55Mt in the same period of 2024, according to the State Statistical Committee.

The State Customs Committee reported exports of 0.14Mt of cement and clinker at a value of US$9.1m. This represents an increase of 32,000t (29%) by volume and US$2.7m (43%) by value compared to the same period in the previous year.

Azerbaijan: Cement production reached 4.03Mt in 2024, up by 1.6% year-on-year, according to the State Statistics Committee. The total value of the construction materials sector rose by 17% to US$823m. Production of bricks and similar products from cement and concrete increased by 41%, while cement clinker output grew by 16%.

Azerbaijan: The State Customs Committee (SCC) reports that cement production in Azerbaijan reached 3.42Mt in the first 10 months of 2024, an increase of 11.2% compared to the same period in 2023.

The SCC also reported that Azerbaijan exported 695,656t of cement and clinker in the first 10 months of 2024, a 2.4% decline compared to the same period of 2023. However, the value of exports rose by 5.8% to reach US$43.1m, reflecting stronger pricing dynamics in international markets.

Azerbaijan’s cement capacity is approximately 5.2Mt/yr, which provides a solid foundation to meet both domestic and export demand.

Azerbaijan: Cemex has won the Net-Zero Industries Award for its clinker decarbonisation process using concentrated solar power. The award was presented at COP29 in Baku. Cemex’s solar clinker project is a collaboration with cleantech company Synhelion, which developed the high-temperature solar heat technology it uses. Cemex and Synhelion partnered in 2019 and achieved the first successful production of solar clinker in 2022.

Davide Zampini, vice president of Global R&D at Cemex, said "Together with Synhelion, we are pioneering solar-powered clinker production, a breakthrough process that can contribute to decarbonising cement manufacturing."

The mood music for this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan has been poor. Despite this though the decarbonisation prospects for the cement sector are looking rosier than other industries.

First, the negatives. People are starting to question whether the COPs are fit for purpose. Donald Trump’s election as President-Elect in the US before the event started pretty much set the tone given that he intends to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Again. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev described his country’s natural gas resources as a “gift from God” following reports that, once again, COP national delegates had been caught promoting fossil fuel deals. France and Argentina also withdrew their lead negotiators for differing political reasons. Meanwhile, there has been increasing lobbying against carbon capture from the environmental sector. In short the view is growing that carbon capture is a delaying tactic by fossil fuel companies rather than a viable solution. This poses a threat to the cement sector because its current net zero roadmaps require carbon capture.

The World Cement Association’s CEO Ian Riley asked in a statement whether there might be “...a shift toward negotiations driven by the major emitters - China, the US, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.” However he observed that none of these countries yet seem ready to lead on the climate agenda globally.

Now, the positives. Cement CO₂ sector emissions may have continued to fall in 2023. The Global Carbon Project published its Global Carbon Budget 2024 in mid-November 2024. It predicts that global fossil CO₂ emissions will rise by 0.8% year-on-year in 2024 with emissions from coal, oil and gas still mounting. However, emissions from cement producers are expected to fall by 0.8%. This trend started in 2022. It appears to be due to declines in China, the US and the EU but, notably, not in India. It’s worth commenting here that this decline may be principally down to the parlous state of the real estate market in China, but there is also a lot of decarbonisation work happening. We’ll take a win where we can.

Next, the Global Cement and Concrete Association’s two big announcements at COP29 have been the publication of its Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25 and the launch of international definitions for low carbon cement and concrete. The progress report proffers a nifty update on how well it’s going. Short version: 23% reduction in emissions intensity since 1990; lots going on; plenty more to do.

One of those issues that require attention is low-carbon procurement. Hence those international definitions. This may seem like an abjectly boring topic but never underestimate the power of standards upon building materials. This should help support governments, policy makers and the private sector to set low carbon procurement rules. Since governments are among the biggest buyers of building materials worldwide, both directly and indirectly, this is intended to start speeding up decarbonisation by driving demand for existing lower carbon cement and concrete products. Whether this is the tool that cracks the global adoption of low carbon building materials remains to be seen. Yet the long lead time it took the Portland Cement Association (PCA) in the US, for example, to promote the use of Portland Limestone Cement is both instructive and inspirational. It can be done and it can deliver results.

COP29 has been described as the ‘finance COP’ because the representatives are hoping to set a new global climate finance target. This target, or new collective quantified goal (NCQG), is seen as one of the summit's main outcomes. It is intended to replace the existing US$100bn goal that is due to expire in 2025. However, the question of how much each country pays has predictably caused disagreements between developed, developing and those countries in between. All of this is well above the ‘paygrade’ of the cement sector but is crucial to what happens next, because it’s going to get expensive. Establishing regional carbon capture infrastructure requires serious funding. Time will tell whether COP29 can actually further this aim. The arguing continues.

Azerbaijan: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has called on governments at the COP29 climate conference to support the decarbonisation of the cement industry. The association published its Net Zero Progress Report 2024/25 to coincide with the conference. The report details the ‘extensive decarbonisation work’ currently underway in the industry, including accelerating carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), switching to renewable energy sources, advancing the circular economy and reducing cement’s clinker factor. The sector expects to commission its first net zero cement plant, following a carbon capture upgrade to Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway, later in 2024.

GCCA president Fernando González said “Our industry is engaged in the most significant transformation in its history. To fully unlock our decarbonisation progress in this crucial Decade to Deliver, we urgently need effective policy support."

Azerbaijan: Shahbulag Mining subsidiary AzCement has launched a new cement plant project in Askeran village, Khojali district, according to ABC Azerbaijan news.

Economy minister Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov posted on X that "The AzCement cement plant with a production capacity of 60,000t/yr will provide jobs for 70 people. The enterprise will contribute to strengthening the infrastructure and industrial potential of the liberated territories, as well as economic growth of the region."

Türkiye: Türkiye exported cement worth US$377m in September 2024, 1.4% lower in value than in September 2023, according to Türkiye's Ministry of Trade. The total value of its exports between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024 came to US$4.2bn.

The value of cement products exported from Türkiye to Azerbaijan specifically amounted to US$39.6m during the first nine months of 2024, representing a 7.7% increase year-on-year. In September 2024 the value of cement exported was US$5.1m, a year-on-year rise of 8.8%.

Azerbaijan: The Azerbaijan Cement Producers Association (ASIA) has held the third Net Zero Accelerator workshop to discuss the final report on its 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. ASIA members, construction companies and government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) all participated in the two-day event. TurkicWorld News has reported that topics include Azerbaijani cement’s clinker factor, alternative fuel (AF) substitution rate, construction and design aspects, carbon capture and related regulatory frameworks. ASIA will launch its finalised roadmap in partnership with the European Cement Research Academy (ECRA) and the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

ASIA said "The association is making use of the expertise of the GCCA and ECRA to ensure our roadmap aligns with national policies."

Afghanistan: The governments of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have agreed to build a new 1Mt/yr cement plant in northern Afghanistan. Trend News has reported that representatives of the three countries met to discuss the upcoming plant, as well as other opportunities for regional cooperation, railways and the role of Afghanistan in the Economic Cooperation Organisation.