Displaying items by tag: Europe

Portugal: Molins has signed an agreement with Portuguese investment group Semapa to acquire 100% of cement producer Secil for €1.4bn. Molins said that the deal reinforces its presence in Europe and ‘completes its geographic expansion’ in Latin America by entering Brazil, the only major market in the region where it was not yet present. Secil operates in eight countries with a cement production capacity of approximately 10Mt/yr. Its operations span cement, concrete, aggregates, construction solutions and circular economy initiatives. The company employs more than 2900 people and recorded €740m in sales over the past 12 months.

UK: First Graphene has announced the successful large-scale production of around 600t of graphene-enhanced cement at Breedon’s Hope Cement Works in Derbyshire ahead of new trial projects rolling out across the UK. The batch contains 3t of First Graphene’s PureGRAPH-CEM® additive, and was produced in a single day. The product is now in storage ahead of despatch for use in three concrete projects across the UK. The University of Manchester will conduct compressive strength testing and analysis of the concrete’s performance.  The additive is introduced during the final milling stage, and is designed to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 16% by lowering the clinker content in the cement.

The first trial involves using 30-40t of the graphene-enhanced cement to produce thousands of roof tiles at FP McCann’s Cadeby plant in Leicestershire. The five-month study is part of an Innovate UK-funded initiative aiming to improve resource efficiency and reduce construction waste in response to the UK government’s housing targets. First Graphene has also reportedly received further interest from organisations in both the UK and Australia for testing the material in various applications.

First Graphene CEO Michael Bell said “Adding graphene into cement has proven to deliver performance benefits for a wide range of applications, and multiple end uses of this cement batch reinforces PureGRAPH®'s versatility. We look forward to working closely with our strategic commercial partner Breedon, Morgan Sindall, FP McCann and the University of Manchester as application trials roll out over the coming months."

Sweden: The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded US$12.5m to Boliden under its Industrial Leap initiative to support the development of a low-carbon cement alternative derived from iron-rich residual materials. The product allows for partial replacement of limestone in cement. Boliden is building an industrial demonstration plant to produce, test and verify the new material, which is based on byproducts from its own operations. Boliden estimates that the technology could cut value-chain emissions by around 600,000t/yr of CO₂ if fully implemented across its operations.

“Demonstrating innovative new technology to manufacture products with lower carbon emissions is fully in line with the purpose of the Industrial Leap. By reusing materials in new products instead of depositing them, the project also contributes to more circular use of materials,” said Klara Helstad, Deputy Head of the Department for Research, Innovation and Business Development at the Swedish Energy Agency.

Germany: Spot, the autonomous robotic dog developed by Boston Dynamics, has joined operations at Heidelberg Materials’ Leimen grinding plant, taking on regular inspection duties to support on-site engineering teams. Equipped with advanced sensors and digital tools, Spot independently navigates buildings, monitors machine thresholds, detects anomalies and leaks early, and captures inspection data for real-time decision-making. The robot has already covered more than 4km autonomously, completed more than 20 inspection rounds, and recorded over 700 inspection points across the plant’s machines and equipment.

The team will now focus on validating Spot’s data, optimising its routes and expanding its inspection coverage.

France: Ecocem has welcomed the publication of a new European Assessment Document (EAD) on blended cements, confirming that the company’s ACT low-carbon technology meets recognised technical requirements for the European construction market. The EAD enables Ecocem and other low-carbon cement producers to pursue the European Technical Assessment (ETA) route and obtain CE marking for market access.

Ecocem’s ACT product reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 70% compared to conventional cement, and received ETA 23-0877 in December 2023, issued by Cerema. Ecocem is currently building the first production line for ACT at its new €50m facility in Dunkirk, France, which is planned to begin commercial operation in late 2026. This is part of a wider €226m investment programme to expand the company’s production facilities by 2030.

Norway: Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe has announced the launch of a new methanol-powered cement carrier in partnership with the Hartmann Group and the Norwegian NOx Fund. The vessel is scheduled to begin operation in Norway in the first quarter of 2028. It is expected to cut CO₂ emissions by up to 6000t/yr compared to conventional fossil-fuel ships. The vessel was selected following a competitive tender involving six shipping companies. The Hartmann Group will design, own and operate the vessel, with Cyprus-based InterMaritime providing technical management after delivery. In early 2025, Heidelberg Materials applied for financial support, and the project received US$5.9m from the Norwegian NOx Fund, without which the vessel would reportedly have been too costly to develop.

Knut Omreng, director of logistics at Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe, said “This vessel cuts emissions by 80% and increases our overall transport efficiency. A 10-year contract signals our willingness to support innovation and build lasting partnerships.”

UK: Cool Planet Technologies has successfully tested its third-generation carbon capture membrane module at its Grimsby site. The test validated the scalability and performance of the company’s membrane process at flow rates of up to 37,000t/yr of captured CO₂ and recovery rates of 95% CO₂. Further tests were also conducted with a lime manufacturer in for a project which will use Cool Planet’s technology to decarbonise one of its kilns. The module will now be deployed at Holcim’s Höver cement plant in Germany for a 12-month demonstration project.

Andrew Corner, CEO of Cool Planet, said “This achievement validates years of innovation and positions Cool Planet at the forefront of lower cost, scalable industrial carbon capture solutions. The UK tests not only confirmed the performance and robustness of our technology, but also significantly strengthened industry confidence in our ability to help them deliver on their global decarbonisation goals.”

Bulgaria: Greek carbon storage company EnEarth has signed a term sheet with Heidelberg Materials to negotiate exclusive agreements for the transport and storage of CO₂ from the Devnya cement plant. The project aims to capture, transport and store 0.8Mt/yr of CO₂ from the plant. It is part of a wider CCUS initiative by parent company Heidelberg Materials, called ANRAV, which aims to be the first full-chain CCUS project in Eastern Europe. It has received a €190m EU grant, including €38m for the storage site, and is scheduled to be operational before 2030.

Europe: Vattenfall has signed a commercial agreement with Cemvision to supply near-zero-CO₂ cement for its onshore wind infrastructure projects across Europe from 2028. Cemvision’s Re-ment Massive product will be prioritised by subcontractors and has the potential to cut emissions by up to 95%, according to the company. Deliveries will come from Cemvision’s first industrial-scale plant and follow a 2024 letter of intent signed by the two companies.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hallen said “This long-term agreement for the supply of our near-zero cement is a foundational step in transforming the cement market, and we are proud to take the partnership with Vattenfall to the next level. Our cement is one of the most cost-efficient ways to decarbonise construction. Moving from pilot to commercial action is how the transition becomes real.”

Vattenfall aims for 10% of its cement and concrete purchases to be near-zero by 2030, with the deal making it possible to reach 20% by 2028 and supporting a 50% supply chain emissions reduction by 2030.

UK: Worley has secured the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility at Heidelberg Materials’ Padeswood cement plant in North Wales. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will provide the carbon capture technology. The project will enable commercial-scale production of evoZero, Heidelberg Materials’ near-zero CO₂ cement, by capturing around 0.8Mt/yr of CO₂, representing nearly all of the plant’s emissions. Construction is expected to begin before 2026, with commissioning planned for 2029. Worley will lead the EPCM delivery of the project and provide support to infrastructure development, technology integration, and commissioning. The contract follows Worley’s successful completion of the project’s FEED study with MHI.