Displaying items by tag: Belgium

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, says it will undertake a review of the targets set out in its 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap (2013/2018) in order to align the industry’s efforts with the carbon neutrality objectives contained in the European Green Deal published in December 2019. Following this reassessment, the association says it publish a revised low-carbon roadmap setting out the key role of cement and concrete in the circular economy and a path to achieving carbon neutrality along its value chain in Europe by 2050. Cembureau expects the revised roadmap to be published in early spring 2020.

“As an industry we are determined to ensure that we play our part in helping Europe to meet its emissions reduction targets. With concrete, our industry has a sustainable building material that is uniquely positioned as an essential enabler of the transition to a carbon neutral society,” said Cembureau’s president Raoul de Parisot.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has called on the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal to incentivise investment in low-carbon technologies, provide long-term legal certainty and foster the industry’s global competitiveness. It said that the new proposal to tackle climate change showed ‘great promise’ and ‘ambitious vision’ but that this needed to be converted into action to support a successful industrial transformation.

The association is concerned about a new carbon border adjustment mechanism. In its view, “the replacement of the existing carbon leakage measures by an untested mechanism would create considerable uncertainty and risks.” Instead it called on the EU to look at a design that complements the existing carbon leakage measures and is fair for third country importers and EU producers.

Aspects of the European Green Deal that the association praised included the recognition that the cement industry is ‘indispensible’ to the European economy. It also liked the European Commission’s (EC) emphasis on the circular economy that fits with work the sector is doing already from alternative fuels usage to recycling concrete.

"The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy – for a growth that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform our way of living and working, of producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. We can all be involved in the transition and we can all benefit from the opportunities,” said EC president Ursula von der Leyen in relation to the new policy proposal.

The EC published its recommendations on how to help energy-intensive industries meet the EU’s 2050 climate target in late November 2019. Its key suggestions were to create markets for climate-neutral and circular products, develop large-scale pilot projects on clean technologies and switch to alternative climate-neutral energy and feedstock sources. It added that the pilot projects should be supported by EU funds and given easier access to private financing. These recommendations will be presented to the EU member states, the EU Competitiveness Council and the European Parliament in early 2020.

Netherlands: Germany’s HeidelbergCement’s subsidiary Eerste Nederland Cement Industrie (ENCI) announced on 9 December 2019 the upcoming closure of its former 1.8Mt/yr integrated Maastricht plant in 2020. Het Belang van Limburg has reported that the Maastricht plant, which stepped down to grinding-only in March 2019 after 91 years’ kiln operation, received an insufficient supply of clinker from ENCI’s sister company CBR Cement’s 1.5Mt/yr Lixhe plant in Wallonia, Belgium to guarantee profitable production.

Clinker grinding continues at ENCI’s 1.4Mt/yr IJmuiden and 0.6Mt/yr Rotterdam grinding plants, each of which has better access to clinker imports due to their proximity to deepwater ports.

Belgium: A team of researchers from the University of Mons in Hainaut province has concluded a study in the use of amine-based solvents for carbon capture on between 20% and 60% CO₂ flue gas with funding from HeidelbergCement and the European Cement Research Academy. Lab tests and industrial-scale simulations showed that the solvents lowered regeneration energy, equivalent work and operating costs of carbon capture across the CO₂ concentration range of flue gases tested.

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has finished loading around 1250t of cement from its 1.7Mt/yr integrated Obourg cement plant onto a train in Obourg in Belgium’s Hainaut province. It leaves on 24 September 2019 for Lafarge France’s Bonneuile-Sur-Marne, Île-de-France depot. La Province has reported that LafargeHolcim began the process on 20 September 2019 with the conveyance of cement by three shuttle trucks to the train’s 12 carriages. LafargeHolcim spokesperson Séverine Baudoin has explained that the undertaking, LafargeHolcim’s first of its kind in the region, is a part of its sustainable development plan applied to distribution to new clients in the Paris area.

Belgium: The European Cement Association Cembureau has joined 92 other European associations in lobbying the European Council to prioritise research, development and innovation in its Multiannual Financial Framework for the Institutions for 2021 to 2027. It called on the Council to raise the Horizon Europe project’s budget to at least Euro120bn, with a minimum of 60% dedicated to the ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ pillar. Cembureau emphasised the importance that Horizon Europe should have the money to realise its promises of boosting growth, securing technological leadership and scaling up 21^st century technologies ‘at this pivotal time.’

Belgium: Australia’s Calix says the Low Emissions Intensity Lime And Cement (LEILAC) consortium has successfully demonstrated CO₂ separation with more than 95% purity at its pilot unit at HeidelbergCement’s cement plant in Lixhe. Technology provider Calix said that preliminary test runs have been completed on the pilot. The technology concept has been shown to work on both lime and cement meal, with calcination near to target levels and high purity CO₂ successfully separated at the top of the reactor although not yet at full design capacity.

It added that it was still working on fixing commissioning issues. Testing will run until the end of 2020 to assess the risk of potential longer-term issues such as tube health and process robustness. In parallel, planning has commenced on the next scale-up of the technology, including conceptual design and engaging funding consortia.

Italy: Cementir Holding has blamed poor performance in Turkey for falling cement sales volumes. Although it said that positive trends in Scandinavia, the Baltics and Belgium had party compensated for this. Its sales volumes of grey and white cement fell by 12.2% year-on-year to 4.32Mt in the first half of 2019 from 4.92Mt in the same period in 2018. Ready-mixed concrete sales dropped by 21.3% to 2Mm³ from 2.54Mm³. Its revenue rose slightly by 0.6% to Euro592m from Euro589m. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 14.7% to Euro110m from Euro96m.

Belgium: WindEurope, the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) and the European Composites Industry Association (EUCIA) have created a cross-sector platform to look into using glass fibres and fillers from old wind turbine blades as a raw material for cement production. Other methods, such as a mechanical recycling, solvolysis and pyrolysis, are being developed and considered.

In 2018 wind energy supplied 14% of the electricity in the European Union (EU), from 130,000 wind turbines. Wind turbines blades are made up of a composite material, which boosts the performance of wind energy by allowing lighter and longer blades. At present 2.5Mt of composite material are in use in the wind energy sector. In the next five years 12,000 wind turbines are expected to be decommissioned.

“Wind energy is an increasingly important part of Europe’s energy mix. The first generation of wind turbines are now starting to come to the end of their operational life and be replaced by modern turbines. Recycling the old blades is a top priority for us, and teaming up with the chemical and compositors industries will enable us to do it the most effective way,” said Giles Dickson, the chief executive officer (CEO) of WindEurope.

Belgium: Cembureau, the European cement association, has appointed Raoul de Parisot, advisor to the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vicat, as its new president. He will succeed Gonçalo Salazar Leite, the Vice-Chairman of SECIL. Isidoro Miranda Fernandez, CEO of LafargeHolcim Spain, will assume the position of Vice President.