Displaying items by tag: Cancellation

US: The Trump administration has cancelled a US$500m grant awarded in December 2024 to National Cement in California for the conversion of its Lebec cement plant into the state’s first net-zero cement facility. The project, valued at US$891m, aimed to switch to limestone calcined clay cement and use agricultural waste as fuel, with CO₂ captured for permanent underground storage, according to the Bakersfield Californian newspaper. It was expected to create 20 - 25 permanent jobs. The US Department of Energy (DOE) said the project was among 24 grants worth US$3.7bn cancelled due to failure “to advance the energy needs of the American people,” and cited economic infeasibility and poor return on taxpayer investment.

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said that the previous administration “failed to conduct a thorough financial review before signing away billions of taxpayer dollars.”

Executive director Steven Nadel of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy said “Choosing to cancel these awards is shortsighted, and I think we're going to look back at this moment with regret.”

The project was one of 33 cement, steel and aluminium decarbonisation projects awarded DOE grants in 2023. The project turned up on an April 2025 list of 39 projects the DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations was considering terminating.

Cambodia: The government has cancelled over 460 hectares of cement projects in Kampong Trach district, Kampot, to preserve the region's ecotourism and cultural heritage, according to Construction & Property Magazine. The decision will affect a project licensed to BYRICH Construction Material Company.

Its project spans 463 hectares across six limestone-rich mountainous sites, with a license valid from March 2020 to March 2035.

US: CalPortland and Martin Marietta Materials have cancelled a deal under which CalPortland was set to acquire the Tehachapi cement plant and other assets worth US$350m in Southern California. The US government's Federal Trade Commission (FTC) described the cancelled deal as 'presumptively illegal.'

FTC Bureau of Competition director Holly Vedova said “Following an in-depth investigation by FTC staff of the Mergers Division and Bureau of Economics, along with the California Attorney General’s Office, CalPortland and Martin Marietta have announced that they have abandoned their planned transaction. The transaction would have reduced the number of cement suppliers in Southern California from five to four, further concentrating an already concentrated market." Vedova concluded "The abandonment is a victory for consumers and preserves competition for a key component of Southern California’s construction and infrastructure industries."

India: The state government of Himachal Pradesh says that it will take 'legal action' against Adani Group should it fail to reopen its Darlaghat and Gagal cement plants. The Times of India newspaper has reported that measures may include cancellation of the cement producer's relevant land leases. Out-of-work truck drivers agreed to cancel a state-wide road blockade in protest against the closures after the government promised a 'resolution' on 4 February 2022. It now plans to hold talks with Adani Group, in which it will relay truck drivers' offer of an 11% reduction in per-kilometre freight rates to US$0.12/t from US$0.14/t.

Himachal Pradesh industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said that the state government is empowered to take drastic measures in defence of Himachali people's interests.

Geological Survey of India (GSI) officials are reportedly investigating alleged illegal mining at the sites of the Darlaghat and Gagal cement plants.

US: Mitsubishi Cement Corporation has reportedly abandoned its planned construction of a cement terminal at the Port of San Diego in California. The Union-Tribune newspaper has reported that the cement producer failed to produce a plan involving electric vehicle use for cement deliveries to the facility. Board of Port Commissioners rejected the company’s previous terminal proposal in 2020 because of its involvement of diesel-powered cement trucks.

Vietnam: High costs have resulted in the cancellation of four planned new integrated cement lines by a local cement producer. Viet Nam News has reported that the producer in question presently faces costs of US$59.9 - 64.1/t cement, with a net loss of US$8.55 - 10.30/t. Coal prices are US$237/t, more than triple those at the start of 2022 of US$85.5/t. Gypsum and diesel prices rose by 50% over the first half of 2022. The producer reportedly attributed the coal price rise to the effects of the Covid-19 conflict and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement has ended a contract with Arab Swiss Engineering Company (ASEC). In April 2019 the companies signed a contract for ASEC to provide technical management at the producer’s plant. Reuters News has reported that the cement company will now undertake the operation of its production lines.

Germany: Vecoplan has said that it will host 360-Degree Days, an exclusive live presentation from its technology centre, from 27 - 29 May 2020. It says that the event is aimed at filling the void left by the cancellation of IFAT 2020, which would have covered waste and raw materials management, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Vecoplan said, “Participants will learn all about recycling and processing technology, subdivided into several topic areas. Details on the content will be announced closer to the time.”

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s profit was Euro1.24bn in 2019, down by 3.4% from Euro1.23bn in 2018. Its revenue grew by 4.3% to Euro18.9bn from Euro18.1bn. HeidelbergCement says that it reduced its specific net CO₂ emissions by 1.5% year-on-year to 590kg/t from 599kg/t in 2018 and ‘intensified its research and development (R&D) efforts on carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCU/S)’ in every operating region globally.

The group announced a year-on-year increase in volumes in the first two months of 2020, with all but three of its plants (HeidelbergCement subsidiary Italcementi’s 2.8Mt/yr Calusco plant, 2.5Mt/yr Rezzato plant and 0.6Mt/yr Tavernola plant in Lombardy region, Italy) still operating through the coronavirus pandemic, though it noted that construction is slowing in the US, Australia and Western Europe due to the outbreak.

HeidelbergCement cancelled its 7 May 2020 annual general meeting (AGM) ‘due to the spread of the coronavirus.’

Germany: Easyfairs Deutschland has announced that its Solids & Recycling-Technik Dortmund trade fair will not be taking place on 1 – 2 April 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has postponed the event to 24 – 25 June 2020, pursuant to a ‘general decree by the authorities,’ namely the City of Dortmund and the Ministry of Health of North Rhine Westphalia.

Easyfairs event director Sandrina Schempp told attendees, “Our team will actively contact you by telephone in the coming days regarding further procedures.”