Displaying items by tag: Investment

Germany: Zement- und Kalkwerke Otterbein plans to invest Euro10m in upgrades to its Otterbein cement plant to increase the sustainability of cement production there. The new equipment will include a hot gas filter SCR catalytic converter system. The producer says that this will install the facility as one of the lowest-CO₂ cement plants in the world. Local press has reported that, after commissioning the new system, the company plans to increase its approved substitution of biomass as fuel to 100% from 60%.

China: Xinjiang Tianshan Cement has announced plans to invest US$300m into its new materials subsidiary Chizhou CNBM New Materials. The company says that it has increased its planned investments in its Hengshan limestone mine project by 15% to US$1.58bn from US$1.37bn.

Morocco: Holcim subsidiary LafargeHolcim Maroc has released information about its 1.6Mt/yr Agadir cement plant in Souss-Massa Region. The producer invested US$299m in the plant’s construction and it has been operational since late 2021. The plant is highly automated in line with Holcim’s Plants of Tomorrow strategy. It will run off wind power from 2023, and also uses alternative fuel (AF). 200 people work at the plant.

In conjunction with its work in setting up the new cement plant, LafargeHolcim Maroc developed drinking water networks in the surrounding area, including the construction of three solar-powered water towers.

Uzbekistan: QuvasoyCement has installed Denair Energy Saving Technology (Shanghai)’s DV 315 compressors at its Fergana cement plant. The cement producer says that the new compressors increase performance by 95% compared to previous equipment. It predicts cost savings of US$25,100/yr as a result of the upgrade.

Australia: Adbri is part of a consortium of eight Australian industrial manufacturers, developers and port operators collaborating with AGL Energy on a feasibility study for a green hydrogen plant at the site of the latter’s Torrens Island power plant in South Australia. AFR Online News has reported that any future hydrogen plant established by the partners would rely on solar and wind power, which has large potential in the region.

The South Australian government previously launched its first US$414m green hydrogen project in Whyalla in March 2022.

Russia: Eurocement says that its subsidiary Peterburgcement’s Slantsy cement plant in Leningrad Oblast is undergoing an upgrade in order to co-process 100,000t/yr of alternative fuel (AF) in its cement production. The group claims that the upgrade will improve the efficiency of the 1.9Mt/yr plant and reduce its consumption of natural gas by 25%. The purported cost of the upgrade is US$1.77m.

Eurocement previously implemented the same technology at another of its cement plants in the Republic of Mordovia.

Zimbabwe: Fossil Mines plans to keep Lafarge Zimbabwe publicly traded and to recapitalise it through investments after it completes its acquisition of the company. The Insider newspaper has reported that this will lead to an increase in the company’s cement production.

Zimbabwe consumed 1.4Mt of cement in 2021, of which 560,000t (40%) was imported. Switzerland-based Holcim agreed to sell its 76% stake in national number two producer Lafarge Zimbabwe to Fossil Mines earlier in June 2022.

India: Ramco Cements plans to make capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments of US$154 – 167m in the 2023 and 2024 financial years. At the beginning of the 2023 financial year on 1 April 2022, Ramco Cements’ net debt was US$489m. It plans to pay back US$64.3m during the current financial year, with the ultimate aim of becoming net debt-free before the 2026 financial year.

India: UltraTech Cement plans to invest US$1.67bn to expand its cement production capacity to 160Mt/yr. This corresponds to a capacity cost of US$76m/Mt/yr. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that the investment is part of parent company Aditya Birla’s planned US$9.91bn spending package to expand existing capacities and enter new sectors, including paints, via its subsidiary Grasim Industries. The investments will affect both its Indian operations and those overseas.

India: Star Cement plans to invest US$129m to establish a new 3Mt/yr clinker line. BusinessLine Online News has reported that producer currently operates 2.8Mt/yr-worth of clinker capacity across two units in Meghalaya. Star Cement says that it plans to increase its presence in the Northeast India, Bihar and West Bengal markets. It will additionally invest US$90 – 103m to establish two new grinding units with a combined capacity of 4Mt/yr at Guwahati and Silchar in Assam.

Star Cement said that projected infrastructure investment growth in Northeast India inspired its investment decision, while it opted for a 3Mt/yr kiln over a 2Mt/yr alternative due to the improved efficiencies it offers.