Displaying items by tag: Europe

Italy: Cementeria Costantinopoli has placed an order with Vestas for a 10MW wind project to supply renewable energy directly to its cement plant in Basilicata. The on-site wind farm will cover around one third of the plant’s electricity needs. The project includes three V117-3.45MW turbines and a 10-year Active Output Management 4000 service agreement. Turbine delivery and commissioning are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Vestas Italy general manager Francesco Amati said “This project marks a milestone for Vestas in Italy as it is the first of its kind in the country to exclusively power an energy-intensive cement plant with clean wind energy. We are proud to deliver the technology solution that will reduce the plant’s environmental footprint and reliance on external power.”

Türkiye: Medcem has shipped its first 20,000t of CEM I 52.5 N cement to its new terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, with discharge scheduled for 8 December 2025, according to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. A second shipment of 5000t to the company’s new terminal in Trieste, Italy, will discharge during the week of 15 December 2025. Business development and investment director Enver Celikbas said that the company has three terminals in the UK, and that it plans to send its first vessel to Glasgow at the beginning of 2026. Medcem plans to export 70,000-100,000t of cement to Antwerp and 60,000-80,000t to Trieste in 2026.

Celikbas said “We are looking to become a more vertically-integrated company, which helps us manage our costs, operations, and supply. It's like a hedging strategy that we initiated after commissioning our new 9000t/day kiln.”

He added that an upgrade to Medcem’s clinker kilns will be completed by the end of 2026 and that the company is seeking new sources of supplementary cementitious materials to boost supply. All supply will continue to come from Medcem’s plant in Türkiye unless otherwise required.

Celikbas added “We are continuously searching and negotiating various projects and hope to sign for our third terminal in Europe very soon.”

Europe: PyroGenesis has signed a €815,000 contract with an undisclosed European cement industry customer to supply a plasma torch system for the electrification of a calciner. The torch will be powered using captured CO₂ in a closed-loop system, redirecting emissions from other processes to heat the kiln. The client will conduct a nine-month test as part of a multi-year initiative aimed at replacing fossil fuel combustion with electric heating in cement production, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2026. The project marks a step up from earlier low-kilowatt trials to megawatt-scale testing, with the eventual goal of building a plasma-driven rotary kiln for industrial-scale calcination.

Europe: Holcim has completed the acquisitions of Thames Materials in London and of a majority stake in A&S Recycling in Hanover, and agreed to acquire a third demolition materials recycler in France. The three firms have a combined processing capacity of around 1.3Mt/yr. The acquisitions will support Holcim’s NextGen Growth 2030 target of recycling over 20Mt/yr of construction demolition materials and scale up its ECOCycle circular construction technology.

With Thames Materials, Holcim can now provide circular services across Greater London. The three A&S Recycling sites in Hanover raise Holcim’s German recycling hubs to 10, and the upcoming acquisition in Northwest France will increase Holcim’s French recycling centres to 28.

Austria: Alpacem Cement Austria will invest in new infrastructure at its Wietersdorf site in Carinthia to process and utilise low-CO₂ alternative raw materials in cement production. The project aims to cut process-related CO₂ emissions by 51,000t/yr. The company will construct a new plant, expand conveying and storage facilities and modernise dosing systems to raise the share of alternative raw materials to 35%. The project is supported by a €21.6m grant under Austria’s ‘Transformation of Industry’ programme.

Lithuania: Scientists at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) have developed methods to convert discarded textiles into alternative fuels and cement additives to reduce waste. Efforts focus on reducing the clinker content of cement and CO₂ output.

Dr Raimonda Kubiliute of the KTU Faculty of Chemical Technology said “The cement industry, especially clinker firing processes in rotary kilns, contributes significantly to environmental pollution. This is why researchers are actively seeking ways to reduce the amount of conventional cement in cement-based mixtures by replacing it with alternative binders or fillers.”

KTU found that polyester fibre from waste textiles, when added to concrete at 1.5%, increases compressive strength by 15-20% and improves freeze-thaw resistance. Ash from thermal treatment of textiles at 300°C in an inert atmosphere can replace up to 7.5% of ordinary Portland cement and increase strength by up to 16% under curing conditions. The findings are part of the ‘Production of Alternative Fuel from Textile Waste in Energy-Intensive Industries (Textifuel)’ project between KTU and the Lithuanian Energy Institute.

Dr Kubiliute said “This technological solution not only reduces CO₂ emissions during cement production but also provides an innovative and environmentally friendly approach to textile waste management.”

Germany: The Bundesrat has given final approval to legislation enabling industrial-scale underground CO₂ storage, marking Germany’s biggest policy shift to date on industrial decarbonisation. The new law establishes a national framework for CO₂ storage beneath the seabed, excluding protected and near-shore zones. It also includes an opt-in clause allowing individual federal states to authorise onshore storage, a provision of particular interest to industrial regions seeking local solutions.

A national CO₂ pipeline network will also be developed to transport captured emissions from plants to designated storage sites. Federal Economics Ministry State Secretary Stefan Rouenhoff said the legislation is a ‘crucial building block’ for Germany’s decarbonisation plans, especially for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement production.

UK: Cleantech firm Carbon8 Systems has been placed into administration, with business advisory firm Quantuma appointed as administrator on 12 November 2025. Carbon8 Systems was founded in 2006 as a University of Greenwich spin-out, focused on research and experimental development within natural sciences and engineering. The company developed Accelerated Carbonation Technology (ACT), a patented process that captures CO₂ emissions and converts them into carbon-negative aggregates sold under the CircaBuild brand. The company also developed CO₂ntainer™, a modular solution which enabled on-site carbon capture and treatment of industrial residues.

Quantuma was instructed by the company’s board to provide advisory support in April 2025, as the company faced cash flow difficulties while seeking investment. Despite efforts to secure funding, this was not successful within the required timeframe. As part of the administration process, Carbon8’s operations at Medway Campus, University of Greenwich, and its premises at Wraxhalls storing plant will close. Eleven employees were made redundant shortly before the appointment on 10 November 2025.

Chris Newell, Quantuma managing director and joint administrator, said “It is always difficult to see a company with such innovative intellectual property (IP) be placed into administration. I expect there to be strong appeal in the assets and any parties interested in the acquisition of the IP are welcome to make contact with us.”

Netherlands: Sweden-based Paebbl's demonstration plant at its Rotterdam research and development centre has reached a cumulative 500 hours of production in the eight months since it entered operation in March 2025. The plant uses captured CO₂ as a feedstock to produce carbon-storing cementitious materials. Meanwhile, Paebbl has operated its pre-existing pilot plant for a cumulative 2000 hours. The producer is now designing its first commercial-scale plant.

France/Syria: The former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont has taken the witness stand at the start of a hearing that will focus on the alleged financing of the Islamic State in Syria in the early 2010s. Lafont took the stand on 19 November 2025 to face questions from the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Paris Judicial Court, according to the Libération newspaper. He is on trial, along with several former senior executives, for financing terrorism in Syria.

At the heart of the trial is the continued operation of the former French multinational’s assets within Syria, a country embroiled in civil war between 2011 and 2014. Lafarge has since been absorbed into Switzerland’s Holcim.

Bruno Lafont joined Lafarge in 1983 and served as its CEO from 2007 to 2015. He maintains that, on a multinational scale, the Syrian plant, located in the city of Jalabiya, north of Raqqa, was not one of the group's most strategic assets. Lafarge nevertheless aimed to supply 30% of the country's cement needs and employ 1000 people, which Lafont conceded was a ‘significant investment.’ The plant only opened shortly before the onset of hostilities.

Explaining the decision to keep the plant running, Lafont asserted that Lafarge keeping the plant open was “a form of commitment to the local communities.” Lafont said that he and his subordinates were bound by a ‘moral obligation,’ stating “These assets were ours, but they also belong to the country, to the region.”

Questioned by the presiding judge, Isabelle Prévost-Desprez, and pressed further by representatives of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office, Aurélie Valente and Olga Martin-Belliard, the former CEO mostly claimed he hadn't been informed about the situation at the Syrian factory. Prosecutors pointed out that Lafarge had received numerous warnings before the plant was invaded by Islamic State on 19 September 2014. They also pointed out the embassy closures, the mass departure of international companies and the removal of country directors from Syria, asking why these events did not attract the ‘curiosity’ of Lafarge’s CEO. In reply Lafont stated "Before Syria, we had experienced several Arab Springs… and they all stopped.” He also drew parallels to the situation in Egypt, which he described as ‘practically an insurrection.’

In a separate case in the US, Lafarge admitted in 2022 that its Syrian subsidiary paid US$6m to Islamic State and the Nusra Front to allow employees, customers and suppliers to pass through checkpoints after the civil conflict broke out in Syria. The group paid US$778m in forfeiture and fines as part of its plea agreement. Lafarge faces much lower fines in France if it is found guilty, but eight of the 10 individuals on trial face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The trial in Paris continues.