Displaying items by tag: Conference

World: The Biennial Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories (UNITECR) has appointed Daniel Llaguno as its president. He succeeds Mauro Cueva who has resigned due to health issues. Llaguno was the vice-president of UNITECR 2025. He is also the CEO of NUTEC Group, a company that produces industrial heating products.

Jessica Fernández has been appointed as the vice-president of UNITECR 2025. She is the Administrative Vice President at Mexico-based WM Refractories and has worked for the company for over 20 years.

UNITECR 2025 will take place on 27 - 30 October 2025 in Cancun, Mexico.

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."

World: The 19th Biennial Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories (UNITECR) has announced its call for papers for its event taking on 27 - 30 October 2025 in Cancun, Mexico. The deadline for abstracts is 20 December 2024. The meeting is being hosted by the Latin American Association of Refractories Manufacturers (ALAFAR).

Mauro Cueva, the president of UNITECR 2025, said “I invite speakers from around the world to grab the wonderful chance we offer to be at the heart of this prestigious forum for the international refractories community. Please become part of our roster for 2025 and take this fantastic opportunity to boost the knowledge base from within your own particular discipline. There will be a dynamic, receptive audience in Cancun, eager to listen, to learn, and to network. We would really love you to be part of this story.”

UNITECR held its first event in 1987 in Tokyo, Japan. The most recent outing took place in in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2023. The event, hosted by the German Refractory Association, featured over 200 speakers and more than 1100 participants in total.

For more information visit: www.unitecr2025.com/call-for-papers

Global: Policymakers, including those from the governments of Canada, the UAE and Thailand, are meeting cement industry CEOs in Bangkok to discuss how to further advance the decarbonisation of the cement industry. Thailand’s Minister of Industry, Pimphattra Wichaikul, opened the conference.

Wichaikul said “Thailand is one of the first countries in the word with a credible national roadmap for delivering on the cement industry’s net zero commitments. Key to success is innovation, cross-sectorial cooperation, strong leadership with clear targets and international collaboration to drive policy and implementation.”

Fernando González, CEO of Cemex and President of the GCCA, said “We have strong commitments and are already delivering the goal of building a more sustainable industry, and by working with governments, policymakers, built environment experts and other key players we have the opportunity to accelerate our progress in this important ‘decade to deliver’.”

The UN’s Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) also unveiled a new package of investment, technical and other support, to help Thailand decarbonise its own cement industry.

UAE: The director of the World Cement Association (WCA), Ali Emir Adiguzel, told listeners at the association’s 6th Annual Conference in Dubai that the world has ‘enough cement for the next 25 years.’ Adiguzel addressed the issue of overcapacity by noting a ‘substantial’ drop in demand and pointing out that high input costs had led the sector to raise its prices, by as much as 15% in Europe. He also said that the primary challenge facing the cement industry was “meeting stringent emission targets and embracing carbon capture technologies.”

Adiguzel added "Despite our achievements, there is more work to be done in the years to come. To reach our net zero goal by 2050, we must significantly reduce carbon emissions. The technologies and mechanisms for this endeavour appear available, though currently minuscule and not economically fully feasible. Regulatory frameworks must evolve to minimise costs for end customers. Collaboration between the private and public sectors is imperative to facilitate carbon reduction."

Egypt: The Arab Union of Cement and Building Materials (AUCBM) has moved the location of its 26th Arab International Cement & Building Materials Conference and Exhibition (AICCE26) to Cairo in Egypt. The event will now take place on 15 - 17 January 2023. The event had previously been due to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It has been moved due to a ‘situation’ outside of the AUCBM’s control.

Nigeria: Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Africa hosted industry professional and policy makers at an event dedicated to advancing understanding of renewable energy on 8 July 2023. The Business and Financial Times newspaper has reported that the event included a panel session entitled 'The Business of Clean Energy: Opportunities for Industries.'

Lafarge Africa chair Prince Adebode Adefioye said "It is about stimulating every part of our economy, creating incentives for investors in clean energy and for people and businesses to embrace the use of clean energy products and technologies. It allows Nigeria not only to boost its energy supply and create new high-value jobs, but also to be at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions and saving our planet. Therefore, the whole idea is to bring people together to be able to stimulate ideas, even the banks and broader financial sector, to involve them in creating innovative tech and financial products that allow us to generate and use energy more effectively and productively.”

CEO Khaled El Dokani added “Fighting climate change and making the transition towards a greener economy requires a concerted effort by industries, individuals and the government. As a leader in innovation, Lafarge will continue to collaborate with stakeholders and we expect that the discussions by a range of industry experts and public officials here present today will provide a clear view of the business of clean energy and reveal the opportunities, insights and strategic agendas for leaders in the private and public sectors to accelerate our society’s access to clean energy.”

India: More than 75 representatives from academic institutions and businesses from across the world are attending the Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Research Network (GCCRN) Spring Week taking place in New Delhi. The GCCRN has brought together 450 researchers and scientists from more than 40 universities and institutions, including the EPFL in Switzerland, South East University in China, University of Toronto in Canada, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the University of Cape Town, Imperial College London in the UK, as well as 35 cement and concrete manufacturers and their suppliers. The focus of the conference is to work towards reaching net-zero CO₂ concrete production, including sourcing and improving alternatives to clinker, work on calcined clays, concrete recycling – plus its carbonation and durability - as well as kiln electrification and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS).

Claude Loréa, the Innovation and ESG Director at the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), said “Global Innovation collaboration and research will help unlock our industry’s decarbonisation mission. Spring Week is the key date in the GCCA’s Innovandi calendar. It provides an opportunity for our partners to meet face-to-face, exchange ideas, run workshops, and measure progress on key research projects in line with our industry’s 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. Our industry and our key partners are stepping up to the challenge and it’s fantastic to see the progress on some of the 75 PhD candidates supported by the GCCRN.”

The event is also updating attendees about progress made by projects involved with the Innovandi Open Challenge. This initiative matches start-ups with GCCA member companies from around the world, to help scale up research and technical innovation. Two of the six start-ups selected in 2022 at the first ever Innovandi Open Challenge, which focused mainly on carbon capture and utilisation, have already gone to pilot stage. Applications for the second challenge, which focuses on low carbon concrete, close on 15 May 2023.

The GCCRN was set up by the GCCA, a lobbying group representing more than 80% of the world’s cement and concrete manufacturers outside of China. All GCCA member companies are committed to decarbonising the industry by the mid-21st Century, in line with the GCCA’s Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap.

Türkiye: OYAK Cement has ordered a 5000t/day Pendulum Cooler from Germany-based IKN for its integrated plant at Ünye. The contract was signed at the 16th TurkÇimento Technical Seminar that was held in Antalya in late October 2022. No price for the order has been disclosed.

Saudi Arabia: China-based Sinoma has signed a contract with Yamama Cement for the construction of a new 10,000t/day clinker production line at its new plant site. The announcement of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract at the Arab-International Cement Conference in Amman, Jordan, came shortly after the news that Sinoma had been contracted to dismantle, move and rebuild one of Yamama Cement’s existing cement production lines in a strategic move between the producer’s old and new plant sites.