Displaying items by tag: CO2

Canada: Investment bank BDC Capital has invested US$3.7m in concrete testing technologies supplier Giatec. BDC Capital hopes that the investment will further the development of CO₂-reducing technology and AI-based concrete testing.

Giatec CEO Pouria Ghods said "The BDC Capital investment will propel Giatec's expansion into international markets and accelerate our innovation in CO₂-reducing technology, moving the concrete industry towards carbon neutrality. BDC has a long history of supporting emerging Canadian cleantech firms in their growth through exports, research and development. We at Giatec are looking forward to working with BDC in our mission to revolutionise the concrete industry and to create yet another success story for the BDC cleantech practice.”

Algeria: Lafarge Algeria has launched Chamil cement, a 40% reduced-CO₂ cement, which contains locally sourced clay and ferrous materials. The producer developed Chamil cement based on technology from the Rouiba Construction Development Laboratory.

Lafarge Algeria aims to achieve export volumes of 3Mt across its product range in 2022.

India: Dalmia Bharat has accelerated its commitment to net zero CO₂ cement production by 2040 with the launch of its newTransformative and Collaborative Strategy Roadmap. The roadmap provides a framework forinnovation, growth and sustainability initiatives through shared synergies with private and public entities, including Asian Development Bank and 50 local government authorities. Initiatives already underway include non-recyclable waste disposal partnerships with local administrations across India. Dalmia Bharat is supporting these initiatives with the installation of chlorine dust bypass systems at two of its cement plants, the first in India. The producer's cement operations are already 40% renewably powered and 13 times water positive.

Dalmia Bharat's environmental, social and governance (ESG) executive director and chief risk officer Arvind Bodhankar said “As a cement producer, we are attached to people’s happiness by gluing thousands of dreams into reality. We therefore strive to give our customers only the best building materials with the lowest environmental impact. In addition, we also intend to drive a net-zero emissions reality with a strategy that’s aligned with our business philosophy, Clean and Green is Profitable and Sustainable.”

Belgium: Holcim Belgium has joined Fluxys open-access CO₂ transport network project. It intends to use the Fluxys network to either transport captured CO2 for sequestration in the North Sea or reuse in other industry after it builds a new 6000t/day production line at its Obourg plant by early 2026. As part of this process Holcim Belgium also plans to build a cryogenic CO₂ capture and treatment unit at Obourg by early 2028.

Pascal De Buck, the chief executive officer of Fluxys, said "Holcim's interest in our CO₂ network project at the Mons industrial cluster confirms the efforts industries are making to find solutions for decarbonising their activities. We're here to meet that need, which is why we offer them an open-access CO₂ network they can use to transport their captured CO₂ to storage or reuse sites. This kind of network helps achieve climate objectives and contributes to the long-term viability of the economy."

The proposed Fluxys CO₂ transport network will see the construction and creation in Belgium of pipelines, intermodal hubs, port terminals and shipping from 2025 onwards. The proposed infrastructure is intended to transport three gases: CO₂, hydrogen and methane.

Turkey: Nuh Çimento has applied for environmental clearance for the expansion of a waste heat recovery (WHR) unit at its Hereke cement plant in Marmara. En Kocaeli News has reported that the company seeks to expand the plant’s power capacity by 66% to 29.6MW from 17.7MW. The company estimates that the project will cost US$4.38m. Its construction will employ 50 people.

US: Argos USA has obtained a US$750m loan for the financing of its working capital and capital expenditure and refinancing of its debt. The loan is linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. Bank of Nova Scotia, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan Chase Bank, SMBC and Bank of New York Mellon lent the funds, assisted by Cuatrecasas.

Parent company Cementos Argos said "With this credit agreement, around 44% of Cementos Argos' consolidated debt will be linked to ESG indicators, bringing it closer to the 50% target for 2022 previously announced to the market, and thus reaffirming the company's commitment to meeting ambitious goals in terms of sustainable growth."

UK: Cemex UK has invested in a new Canning Conveyor conveyor system at its Swinderby sand and gravel quarry in Lincolnshire. The 1.6km-long system will convey extracted materials to a new processing plant. The new plant will double the quarry’s aggregates production capacity. The system includes a 20t hopper feeder and a radial stockpile, also supplied by Canning Conveyor. The company producer says that the new equipment will cut 50% of the operations’ CO2 emissions by eliminating diesel-powered dumpster use and saving 300,000l/yr of fuel, in line with Cemex’s Future in Action sustainability programme. It will also reduce dust and noise at the quarry. The investment is due for completion in early 2023.

Europe: RHI Magnesita is heading a European Union Horizon project called ReSoURCE. The project seeks to develop a sensor-based refractory waste sorting and powder handling system. It involves academic partners in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Norway and the UK. The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) supplied Euro6m in funding for the study, while the UK government supplied Euro1m. Global refractory waste generation is currently 28Mt/yr.

RHI Magnesita chief executive officer Stefan Borgas said “On average, 60% of all spent refractories generated by refractory-consuming industries go to landfill, while only 30% are recycled. With the ReSoURCE project, we aim to increase it up to 75%. This means we can achieve significant savings of CO₂ emissions per annum. With this research project, we have the chance to make a difference in the world.”

Canada: Lehigh Cement has initiated the administrative process to begin the use of alternative fuels (AF) in cement production at its Picton cement plant in Ontario. Under the company’s plans, the plant will substitute 200t/day of AF for coal and petcoke at the plant. Possible AF sources include excess seed from farm feed production in Ontario. The Picton cement plant previously reduced its CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement by 20% through assorted sustainability initiatives.

Picton plant manager Carsten Schraeder said that the move will support Canada’s 2030 emission reduction plan, and also take pressure off landfill sites.

UAE: Lafarge Emirates Cement plans to install an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery (WHR) plant at its Fujairah cement plant. Gulf News has reported that the producer will fund the upgrade through a transition trade facility provided by UK-based bank Standard Chartered. The facility is part of the bank’s planned US$300bn-worth of green finance funding up to 2030.

Lafarge Emirates Cement general manager Olivier Milhaud said “This is one of the major milestones in our journey towards sustainability. The WHR project encourages the use of clean and environmentally friendly energy in our operations and also supports our global mission to build a Net Zero world.”