Displaying items by tag: GCW726

There have been a few burner and related stories to note in the cement industry news this week. Firstly, Canada-based PyroGenesis announced that it had signed a deal with an unnamed-European cement company to supply a plasma torch system for a ‘calcination furnace.’ Around the same time UBE Mitsubishi Cement (MUCC) revealed that it had successfully tested natural gas co-firing at MUCC’s Kyushu Plant using a newly developed burner.

The PyroGenesis project is a potential game-changer for the sector because it alters the way cement production lines are heated. Roughly one third of CO₂ emissions associated with cement manufacture arise from the fossil fuels used to heat the kiln and the pre-calcination system. Cut out some of that and the specific CO₂ emissions of cement production drop. PyroGenesis’ approach uses electricity to generate high-temperature plasma. This then gives the cement plant the option of obtaining its electricity from renewable sources. PyroGenesis signed a memorandum of understanding with the power conversion division of GE Vernova in March 2025. This had the aim of targeting high temperature processes, such as cement production, with electric plasma torches. The current deal with a cement producer has been valued at US$871,000 with delivery to the client scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

We don’t know who the mystery client might be. However, Heidelberg Materials reportedly operated a 300kW plasma-heated cement kiln at its Slite cement plant in February 2025 as part of the ELECTRA project. The producer said it had achieved 54 hours of continuous operation, with 60% CO₂ concentration in the flue gas. The aim was to reach 99%. It then said that it was planning to build a larger 1MWel furnace at its Skövde cement plant in 2026 with tests to continue in 2027. In an interview with Global Cement Magazine in May 2025, Heidelberg Materials said that it was using commercially supplied CO₂ as the ionising gas in the plasma generator but that it was considering using captured CO₂ from the production process in the future. It also mentioned issues from its trials such as the effective ‘flame’ being hotter than the conventional process but not as long. This increased the reactivity of the resulting clinker. Finally, Heidelberg Materials noted from a feasibility study that a 1Mt/yr cement plant would need around 170MW of plasma generation, but that typical plasma generators topped out at around 8MW. Hence, any full set-up would likely require multiple plasma generators. For more on non-combustion style kilns see GCW561.

UBE Mitsubishi Cement’s burner installation is more conventional but again it is concerned about sustainability. In this case the line has tested burning natural gas. The cement producer says it is the first such installation at a cement plant in Japan to do so commercially. The burner was jointly developed by UBE Mitsubishi Cement, Osaka Gas and Daigas Energy. Firstly, the plant will consider switching to natural gas. This will reduce the unit’s CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. However, a later step being considered is to move on to e-methane. This is a synthetic methane made from CO₂ and hydrogen using renewable energy.

Finally, another recent story on this theme is the installation of a new satellite burner by Northern Ireland-based Mannok at its Derrylin cement plant in August 2025. This is Phase One of a two-part project to upgrade the pyro kiln system at the site. The cement company worked with FLSmidth on the €2.5m upgrade. The new burner has now allowed the plant to burn solid recovered fuel (SRF) by up to a 30% substitution rate in the kiln. This followed a project, also with FLSmidth, to install a FuelFlex Pyrolyzer in 2022. This is used to replace coal with SRF in the pre-calcination stage of cement production. Phase two will be an upgrade of the main burner to a new Jetflex burner. Once this part is completed, Mannok is aiming for an overall substitution rate of 65 - 70% on the whole pyro-processing system.

Burners at cement plants are replaced fairly commonly. However, the supplier companies don’t advertise every installation due to the commercial relationships with their clients and other factors. Hence the more interesting upgrades tend to get the publicity. Typically this means if a burner uses new technology, meets sustainability goals and so on, we find out about it. It’s a similar situation when a new heating technology such as plasma is trialled. Changing trends in fuel types for cement plants suggest different types of conventional burners. Some of this can be seen in the burner stories above with the trend moving towards ever higher rates of alternative fuels usage. Combustion in cement kilns is here to stay for the time being but plasma trials will be watched carefully.

The 18th Global CemFuels Conference & Exhibition on alternative fuels for cement and lime 2025 will take place in Milan on 17 - 18 September 2025

Spain: Oficemen has elected Ricardo de Pablos as its president. He succeeds Alan Svaiter, the CEO Spain of Votorantim Cimentos, who has been in post since mid-2023.

De Pablos is the CEO of Holcim España. He started his career working as a consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He then joined Holcim España in 2005 holding roles in both the commercial and management side of the business. He became the company’s Commercial Director in 2022 and its CEO in 2024. De Pablos holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and an executive masters of business administration from the IE Business School.

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement has appointed Samir Mohammed Al- Rehaili as its CEO. He succeeds Mansour bin Ibrahim Al-Habda, who was appointed as Acting CEO in July 2025.

Al-Ruhaili holds over 20 years of professional experience in operational management, business development and corporate management. Notable roles he has held include Operations Manager of the Moulding Unit at Al-Wataniya Industries, General Manager of Canal Investment Company, General Manager of Al-Tawfiq Plastics Industries and CEO of Al-Tawfiq Group in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He has also worked as business consultant at Al-Zamil Investment Group and CEO of Recycling World Company, a subsidiary of Al-Zamil Group. Al-Ruhaili holds an undergraduate degree in industrial and systems engineering from King Saud University.

India: Kanodia Cement has appointed Anurag Srivastava as its CEO, according to the Economic Times newspaper.

Srivastava started his career in telecoms before joining Jaiprakash Associates in 2010. He later became the Business Unit Head - Sales & Marketing for Heidelberg Materials in central India in 2015 before joining Wonder Cement in 2017. He became the Executive Vice President (S&M) at Wonder Cement in 2022. Srivastava holds a PhD in Business, Management, Marketing and Related Drivers from the Faculty of Management Studies and a master’s of business administration from the Indian Institute of Management.

Egypt: The government has announced a series of measures to stabilise the cement market following a period of price increases, according to Ahram Online. Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir announced steps to boost production, limit exports and introduce transparent pricing.

At the end of August 2025, El-Wazir met with major cement producers, regulators and chambers of commerce and called for further price reductions, alongside continuous production, and said that eight idle production lines would be restarted. Local cement production reached 25.39Mt between January and July 2025, up from 23.3Mt a year earlier. With demand expected to grow both domestically and abroad, the government has signalled that it may issue new licences for cement factories. Among the government’s new measures are requiring companies to print the anticipated retail price on cement bags at least one month in advance to protect customers from sudden price fluctuations.

Algeria: The Souakri Group has signed a one-year agreement with a Libyan partner to supply cement by land and sea during the Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers. The deal is valued at US$51m. Contracts signed at the fair, between Algerian and and other African companies totalled over US$300m, according to local press.

Indonesia: Domestic cement sales dropped by 3% year-on-year to 27.7Mt in the first half of 2025, down from 28.5Mt in the same period of 2024, according to the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). Cement production also fell by 6% to 28.8Mt from 30.5Mt a year earlier.

ASI chair Lilik Unggul Raharjo said demand had contracted across most regions, except in Sumatra and Maluku-Papua, which posted growth of 4.9% and 5% respectively. He attributed the sales decline to weak household purchasing power and reduced government spending on infrastructure projects. The market remains oversupplied, resulting in a capacity utilisation rate of 56%. However, corporate secretary at PT Indocement Dani Handajani said that the company expects volumes to increase in the second half of 2025.

India: Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu has appealed to the union government to revive the defunct Cement Corporation of India (CCI) plant in Adilabad. At a meeting with senior officials, the proposals for restoration were reviewed. CCI management indicated that about US$227m would be needed to modernise the facility with ‘advanced’ equipment. Once operational, the unit could reportedly employ nearly 3000 people, according to Telangana Today.

Sridhar Babu said Adilabad would greatly benefit from the plant’s revival, but that it should remain under the government’s control and not become privatised. He also said that more than 809 hectares of limestone deposits are available in the region, providing long-term raw material security and ensuring the plant’s viability.

France: Lafarge France has signed a nuclear production allocation contract (CAPN) with EDF to secure a long-term supply of low-carbon electricity for its cement plants. The deal allocates part of the capacity from EDF’s operating nuclear fleet to Lafarge France for more than 10 years under a cost and risk-sharing mechanism tied to actual volumes produced.

The partnership aims to cover part of the electricity consumption of Lafarge’s most energy-intensive sites in France, reducing the company’s carbon footprint while ensuring competitiveness and local presence, according to EDF.

Xavier Guesnu, CEO of Lafarge France, said “At Lafarge, we are already activating all levers to reduce the carbon footprint of cement, from research and development to the industrialisation of new low-carbon products and the use of alternative energies, such as biomass. This partnership gives us visibility and access to decarbonised energy, which are essential elements for continuing our investments aimed at large-scale production of very low-carbon or even carbon-neutral cements.”

UK: Cemex UK has announced a partnership with The Pallet LOOP to roll out reusable pallets for its Rugby Cement products from October 2025. The company said that it is the first cement manufacturer to adopt the LOOP system. The initiative forms part of Cemex’s ‘Future in Action’ strategy to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Initially, the LOOP pallets will be used for the core Rugby packed range, including Premium Cement (paper and plastic bags), High Strength and Sulphate, with expansion across the portfolio planned for later phases.

Vicki Elliott, national sales manager for bagged cement at Cemex UK, said “This is a significant step forward for the cement industry. We’ve supported The Pallet LOOP from day one, signing its charter back in 2022. Now, we’re proud to be the first in our sector to integrate this solution into our supply chain. It’s about doing the right thing, as simply as possible: reducing waste, cutting carbon and helping our customers make more sustainable choices.”

The Pallet LOOP addresses the construction sector’s reliance on single-use pallets, of which fewer than 10% are reused, generating over 250,000t/yr of wood waste, according to the company. The Pallet LOOP’s FSC-certified pallets are built for multiple trips and backed by a nationwide collection service that offers financial incentives for returns.