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Displaying items by tag: Memorandum of Understanding
India: The state government of Assam signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth over US$974m on 9 May 2023. The MOUs include three new planned cement plant projects. Agreements have been signed with Calcom Cement India, Star Cement and Taj Cement Manufacturing.
The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the government said “There are another US$852 - 974m investment proposals in the pipeline. Investors are touring Upper and Lower Assam, scanning for locations for investment projects.”
Belgium: France-based Air Liquide has signed a memorandum of understanding with Holcim to supply and operate a Cryocap Oxy carbon capture unit for the forthcoming upgrade to the Obourg cement plant. The intention is that 95% of the CO2 generated from the new production line will be captured and then transported via the Antwerp@C export terminal for under-sea sequestration. Air Liquide and Holcim have co-applied for the European Innovation Fund to support the project.
Pascal Vinet, Senior Vice President at Air Liquide Group, said “The decarbonisation of the industry is at the heart of our Advance strategy. We are committed to accompany our customers through providing a wide range of innovative solutions. As an example, Air Liquide's proprietary Cryocap technology is particularly well suited to decarbonise the cement industry.”
YTL Cement signs sustainability agreement with the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia
17 April 2023Malaysia: YTL Cement has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) to support the transition of the local construction industry to sustainable construction practices. Under the deal, YTL Cement will also contribute to the Construction Industry Development Board’s (CIDB) goals by rolling out human resource development programmes, research and development initiatives.
As part of the MOU, YTL and the CIDB will jointly design training programmes for young adults to be certified as concrete technicians and develop the training syllabus for accreditation programmes of qualified personnel in operations. It is hoped that this will assist in attracting, retaining and growing skilled workers in the construction industry. CREAM will work with YTL Cement’s team of experts to conduct research and development on lower embodied carbon alternatives in materials and construction methods. CIDB and YTL Cement will also work together to increase awareness on the embodied carbon of the construction sector by providing channels for discussions and knowledge transfer among industry practitioners and experts.
Orient Cement abandons Tiroda grinding plant plan
24 February 2023India: Orient Cement says that it has 'mutually terminated' a memorandum of understanding with Adani Group subsidiary Adani Power Maharashtra for a sublease of land in Tiroda in Maharashtra. Orient Cement had planned to establish a grinding plant on the land. It is located at the site of Adani Power Maharashtra's Tiroda coal-fired power plant and belongs to the state-owned Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The parties signed the agreement in September 2021. The reason for termination was the parties' failure to meet its conditions, even despite extensions beyond the stipulated 365-day period in which to do so.
Leilac signs deal with Heirloom on direct air capture of CO2
22 February 2023US: Leilac has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with US-based Heirloom to use Leilac’s kiln technology in Heirloom’s direct air capture (DAC) process. The MOU outlines the key terms for a licence and collaboration agreement.
Daniel Rennie, the chief executive officer of Leilac, said “Leilac is delighted to be partnering with Heirloom. Our partnership will apply Leilac’s core technology for cement and lime decarbonisation to address the global challenge of excess atmospheric CO2.” He added “Heirloom uses low-cost and abundant limestone, which Leilac’s technology is specifically designed for. Both technologies are modular, easily scalable and can be renewably powered.”
Heirloom is developing a method of using limestone to remove atmospheric CO2 in a DAC process. The proposed DAC method using both Leilac and Heirloom technology will heat limestone in a Leilac kiln to release CO2 that can then be captured and sequestered. The lime that the kiln produces will then be reformed back into limestone directly capturing CO2 from the atmosphere in an accelerated process. This limestone will then be feed back into the kiln restarting the process. The partners also suggest powering the kiln from renewable electricity sources to further increase the net reduction of CO2 emissions from the process. No cost for the combined process or who would pay for it has been revealed so far.
Leilac is a subsidiary of Australia-based Calix that has been testing its indirectly heated calcination technology with the cement and lime industry since the mid-2010s. An industrial scale application of the process at Heidelberg Material’s Hanover cement plant in Germany is expected to be ready to start testing by the end of 2023. Additional projects have been announced in Australia with Adbri and Boral.
Siam Cement Group to implement new carbon capture projects at Southeast Asian cement plants
12 January 2023Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) plans to install carbon capture systems at cement plants in Southeast Asia. Reuters has reported that the producer signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a subsidiary of Nippon Steel to carry out the projects.
INSEE Cement signs conservation memorandum of understanding
01 December 2022Sri Lanka: INSEE Cement and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) have signed a memorandum (MoU) of understanding to extend their global biodiversity management partnership until 2026. Projects include quarry restoration, wildlife rescue and release and field surveys of the Koggala and Aruwakkalu mangrove restoration sites and Unawatuna manmade coral reef.
INSEE Cement's environment and corporate social responsibility manager Rohan Lakmal said "Biodiversity is one of the fundamental pillars of INSEE's Sustainability Ambition 2030. Our partnership with IUCN enables INSEE Cement to meet our own ambitious sustainability targets, while also creating more awareness of the general decline in Sri Lanka's biodiversity, and the urgency to do our part to conserve our natural habitats."
Holcim and TotalEnergies to work together on decarbonising upgrade to Obourg cement plant in Belgium
05 October 2022Belgium: Holcim and TotalEnergies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work towards the full decarbonisation of the Obourg cement plant. Various energies and technologies will be assessed for the capture, utilisation and sequestration (CCUS) of around 1.3Mt/yr of CO2 emitted by the unit. The project will include working towards building an oxyfuel switchable kiln as part of an upgrade project at the plant and the transportation and use of the captured CO2 by TotalEnergies for a synthetic fuel producing scheme and/or deposit in geological storage in the North Sea.
TotalEnergies will also assess the development of renewable projects to power a new electrolyser, which would generate the green hydrogen needed to produce synthetic fuels. This new renewable energy production capacity would also power Holcim’s new oxyfuel kiln. Finally, the oxygen emitted by the electrolyser would be used to fuel the new kiln.
Bart Daneels, the chief executive officer of Holcim Belgium said “Cement industry decarbonisation is extremely challenging because of the process's inevitable CO2 emissions, which put us firmly in the hard-to-abate sector. CCUS is vital for Obourg to become the first net carbon neutral clinker plant in northwest Europe. We are very happy to work with TotalEnergies to accelerate the development of these CCUS solutions for GO4ZERO. By joining the first movers, we want to set the standards for future clinker manufacturing plants.”
Qassim Cement to acquire Hail Cement
26 September 2022Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement has concluded a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hail Cement for acquisition of the latter’s issued shares. After any acquisition takes place, Qassim Cement plans to issue US$377m-worth of share capital in favour of Hail Cement’s existing shareholders.
Qatar National Cement Company and Gulf Organisation for Research & Development sign deal on low-carbon building materials
20 September 2022Qatar: The Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) and Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the research and development of low-carbon building products. The organisations will also lead capacity building and knowledge sharing exercises to encourage the industry-wide transition to low-carbon solutions and green building practices.
Essa Mohammed Ali Kaldari, the chief executive officer of QNCC, said, “We are pleased today to sign a MOU with the GORD, which aims to enhance the cooperation towards scientific research in the area of green and low carbon products, achieving sustainable development, and establishing an integrated system that serves all the people of Qatar.” He added “In line with Qatar National Vision 2030, QNCC started significantly supporting institutions that focus on capacity building and create a strong sustainability culture that combines the economy and the environment.”