Displaying items by tag: Investment

Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Cement has launched production of its new reduced-CO2 cement, called ECO, at its Claxton Bay cement plant. Trinidad & Tobago Government News has reported that the company invested US$73,800 in the development of the product.

Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has completed and commissioned a switching station to supply power for Huaxin Cement and Vaidya Group’s upcoming Dhading cement plant in Rorang. The Republic newspaper has reported that, when operational, the plant will receive 20MW of power via the switching station. Two transmission lines with capacities of 33kV and 11kV connect the facilities.

The US$125m Dhading cement plant awaits commissioning following the completion of its construction in August 2021.

India: UltraTech Cement says that it will commission a total of 1.2Mt/yr-worth of additional cement capacity in Eastern India throughout October 2021. The company invested US$53.1m in the new infrastructure.

US: The California State Senate has voted in favour of a bill to implement the US’s most advanced statutory framework for cement industry decarbonisation by 74 votes to two. The statute provides for the implementation of lifecycle CO₂ emissions reporting for cement produced in the state at an estimated cost of US$220,000/yr. The California Air Resources Board will then implement a ‘programme developed as a result of identified strategies’ at an ‘unknown but significant cost.’ The aim of the strategy will be to facilitate a 40% reduction in cement production’s CO₂ emissions between 2019 and 2030 and the attainment of net zero cement production by 2045.

US: Cemex USA has upgraded two Florida cement terminals, the Pensacola and Palm Beach terminals, at a cost of US$8m. The upgraded terminals will serve to increase Cemex USA’s cement supply to the region through marine shipments from its global operations. The Palm Beach terminal is also involved in the distribution of assorted cementitious materials including granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and fly ash for cement production.

USA executive vice president Matthew Wild said “Florida is growing rapidly, and Cemex’s strong network makes our company well-positioned to implement supply chain and operational enhancements to meet the high demand for building materials in Florida and beyond.” He added “On the cement side, increased demand has outpaced supply at times, and we expect our supply chain enhancements to help alleviate that issue.”

Mexico: Cemex has announced the release of the collateral on its debt under its main bank agreement and senior secured notes. The release follows Cemex’s reporting of two consecutive quarters with a consolidated leverage ratio of 3.75x or less.

CFO Maher A-Haffar said “We are very pleased with this momentous milestone, which is a culmination of the substantial strengthening of our capital structure and paves the way towards an investment grade rating. This will simplify our debt structure and reduce the cost of managing our debt stack.”

US: The US Department of Energy has selected Central Plains Cement to receive US$5m-worth of funding to realise its plans for a cryogenic carbon capture (CCC) installation at its Sugar Creek, Missouri, cement plant. Contify Energy News has reported that the system will initially have a capacity of 30t/day of CO₂, with a view to eventually capturing 95% of the plant’s flue gas’ CO₂ content. The Eagle Materials subsidiary will receive US$5m in funding from the US Department of Energy for the project. The sum is part of a raft of a total US$45m-worth of grants to help towards decarbonising heavy industry and natural gas power. Chart Industries will carry out the work.

Chart Industries CEO and President Jill Evanko said that the company’s CCC model increases cement production costs by just 24%, compared to 38% - 130% for other types of system. She added “We are delighted that public and private entities recognise Chart as a leader in carbon capture technologies and products; we view this award as well as our third quarter 2021 commercial activity as meaningful steps and accelerators toward capturing - pun intended - a significant share of our anticipated US$6bn total addressable market for carbon and direct air capture in 2030.”

The St Louis Post newspaper has reported that Holcim US’s Ste-Genevieve, Missouri, cement plant is also among facilities chosen to receive funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) installations.

Oman: Oman Cement Company will spend US$300m on the new 10,000t/day Line 4 as part of the upcoming upgrade and expansion of its Rusayl cement plant in Muscat governorate. The Oman Observer newspaper has reported that Switzerland-based PEG Resources will carry out the work. Oman Cement Company CEO Salem bin Abdullah al Hajri said that the new line will help Oman to achieve cement self-sufficiency by 2024.

The company said “The new 10,000t/day production line will be the largest in Oman and will have more cost-effective production, for the company to sustain its success and competitiveness in the local and international cement markets in a long run.” It added “The company will focus on utilising state-of-the-art production technology resulting in lower power consumption, potential for waste heat recovery (WHR), higher fuel efficiency, realisable use of alternative fuels (AF), improved productivity and the best environmental standards.”

Oman Cement Company is also expanding the Rusayl plant’s Line 3 by 25% to 5000t/day from 4000t/day, prior to decommissioning its other two lines.

Mozambique: West China Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mozambique government for four upcoming ‘industrial investment and development’ projects including a cement plant worth a total of US$800m. Local press has reported that another of the projects will be the construction of a power plant.

President Zhang Jimin said Zhang thanked the government for its past support of subsidiary Dugong Cimentos. He added “Due to this support we have, we are confident to continue the implementation of the development projects in Mozambique, as the government shows its concern to improve the investment conditions and environment.”

Croatia: Holcim Croatia plans to invest Euro1.28m to upgrade the dosing equipment of its Koromačno cement plant’s kiln line. The planned upgrade will enable the line to increase the proportion of alternative materials used in its cement production, thus equipping the plant for low-carbon cement production. Innovation Norway has granted the producer Euro441,000 towards the cost of the project.

Managing director Nikola Kovačević said “Mineral admixtures in cement have a threefold benefit: on the one hand, different characteristics are created in the cement to meet the requirements of different types of construction; on the other hand, the exploitation of natural resources decreases. Thirdly, the carbon footprint of the cement is thus reduced through the lowering of the clinker factor.”