Displaying items by tag: GCW715

UK: Heidelberg Materials UK has opened a railway line connecting its Horton limestone quarry in North Yorkshire to the rail network. The move reinstates the movement of materials by rail, following a transition to road transport upon the original closure of the railway line in 1965. Heidelberg Materials UK expects to supply 1650t/yr of stone for use as aggregates in the construction industry in North West England.

US: Holcim completed its 100% spin-off of its North American business Amrize through a dividend-in-kind distribution of one Amrize share per Holcim share owned as of 20 June 2025. The move creates two independent, publicly traded companies, each with its own management and operational focus, according to the company.

Holcim CEO Miljan Gutovic said “This is an exciting moment for Holcim and Amrize as we begin a new chapter as independent companies. I thank all employees for contributing to the many remarkable achievements of Holcim including the exceptional execution of the spin-off. We wish Amrize success in the future under the leadership of its chair and CEO Jan Jenisch.”

Shares of Amrize began trading today [23 June 2025] on the SIX Swiss Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ‘AMRZ.’

Honduras: The Installation of the Loesche LM 46.2+2 vertical roller mill, designed for a throughput of 150t/hr, is nearing completion at a cement plant in Honduras, according to a social media post by the supplier. The unit features a 500,000m³/hr dedusting system. The mill was developed in collaboration with HN Ingenieros, and the project was carried out with the support of CENOSA and CEMPRO, coordinated by Loesche Latinoamericana.

Malaysia: Cementir Group subsidiary Aalborg Portland Malaysia has launched CEM II/A-LL 52.5N with 12% lower CO₂ emissions compared to Aalborg White CEM I 52.5N. The product, part of the D-Carb family, maintains high and consistent early-age performance and is aimed at supporting industrial decarbonisation. It will be distributed primarily in Australia, with further availability across Asia.

Aalborg Portland APAC managing director Fabrizio Piero Carraro said “The demand for low carbon white cement is rapidly increasing across APAC markets, particularly in more mature markets like Australia. This growth is being driven by clear policy direction, defined industrial decarbonisation targets and rising environmental awareness among industry players. As a result, we are seeing a strong shift toward white cement solutions that offer both reduced carbon emissions and high performance.”

Sweden: Cemvision has developed a patent-pending beneficiation process to upcycle electric arc furnace (EAF) and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slags into high-performance supplementary cementitious material (SCM), while recovering valuable metals.

Third-party testing found the material performs as well as or better than ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). Cemvision recovers 99% of the iron oxide content from EAF slag for reuse in steelmaking, as well as other metals like chromium.

The output will support Cemvision’s Re-Ment Massive and Rapid products as clinker-replacing SCMs. The process was piloted with metallurgical research institute Swerim.

Cemvision CEO Oscar Hållén said “This is a game-changer not only for the cement industry but for steel producers as well. Our process enables high-performing cement products from materials that would otherwise be treated as waste. With this innovation, we're proving that decarbonisation and circularity can go hand in hand, and at scale.”

UK: Material Evolution has secured a venture debt facility from HSBC Innovation Banking UK to support the development and scaling of its ‘ultra-low CO₂’ cement technology.

The producer uses alkali fusion and AI-powered design to manufacture its MevoCem product, which the company says reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 85% compared to ordinary Portland cement. The venture debt facility will reportedly be used to help ‘grow the company’s commercial traction’, according to a press release.

Russia: The Union of Cement Producers (SOYUZCEMENT) and National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen ties. The partnership will focus on cement engineering, including reverse engineering, development of technological equipment, and solutions to enhance the cement sector’s ‘technological sovereignty’ and environmental safety, according to RBC News.

The two parties will also work together on a cement project. Executive director of SOYUZCEMENT Daria Martynkina said “SOYUZCEMENT, together with Tomsk Polytechnic University, is implementing a project to create a standard line for the production of dry cement with a capacity of 1Mt/yr, consisting entirely of Russian and Belarusian equipment. Colleagues from TPU have already joined this process, and I am sure that the agreement will help to intensify cooperation.”

Peru: National cement shipments rose by 5% year-on-year to 1.01Mt in May 2025 and by 0.7% over the 12-month period, since the start of June 2024, according to national cement association ASOCEM. Cement production reached 929,000t, up by 5% year-on-year and down by 1% in the 12-month period. Clinker production rose by 16% year-on-year to 832,000t but fell by 7% across the 12-month period.

Cement exports dropped by 27% to 7900t year-on-year, while rising by 4% over 12 months. Clinker exports rose by 0.4% year-on-year to 70,600t but declined by 31% across the 12-month period. Cement imports dropped by 28% year-on-year to 9000t and rose by 99% in the 12-month period. Clinker imports rose by 213% year-on-year to 88,000t and increased by 31% across the 12-month period.

Ukraine: Renewable energy company Elementum Energy and Ukraine-based cement producer CEMARK, part of CRH, signed a one-year financial power purchase agreement to stabilise electricity prices, supplied from the 100MW Dniester Wind Farm to one of CEMARK’s plants.

It is the second such agreement signed by Elementum Energy, following a pilot deal in January 2025. CEMARK energy resources procurement manager Maryna Boyaryntseva said electricity costs are “one of the key components in the cost of cement and require constant attention and the introduction of new tools to influence price formation.”

Elementum Energy said one- to two-year price stabilisation tools are attractive to businesses in wartime, because they allow for a cost forecast and risk reduction without committing to a longer-term contract.

Iraq: The Ministry of Industry and Minerals plans to establish new cement plants with a total production capacity of 52Mt/yr, according to Iraqi News. Ministry spokesperson Doha Al-Jabouri said Iraq’s existing plants currently produce 32Mt/yr. The strategy responds to growing domestic demand and ongoing construction projects and aims to meet future requirements through integrated plant development.

Prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani launched six new cement plants in Muthanna province in April 2025 worth US$1.171bn. Al-Sudani said the goal is to meet local demand and end cement imports.