Displaying items by tag: Mexico

Mexico: Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital and open innovation unit of Cemex, has published its fifth annual Top 50 Contech Startups list for 2024. The Top 50 lists the start-ups operating in the global construction technology sector that Cemex Ventures believes show the greatest disruptive potential. The unit evaluates start-ups across four strategic areas: green construction; enhanced productivity; construction supply chain; and future of construction.

In 2023, global construction technology investments totalled US$3.03bn, down by 44% year-on-year due to macroeconomic factors impacting funding. Investments in enhanced productivity accounted for 45% of the total, and investments in green construction for 24%.

Gonzalo Galindo, head of Cemex Ventures, said "Our investment analysts track investment data throughout the year and continually engage with global start-ups to target the most innovative solutions that are consistent with our mission to foster the construction industry revolution. Innovation requires a long-term approach and cannot be defined by a year alone, but our Top 50 Contech Startups list and report helps us track innovation through investment and technology adoption and gauge the health of the construction start-up ecosystem.”

North America: Aker Carbon Capture and MAN Energy Solutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and CO₂ compression opportunities in North America. The collaboration will combine Aker Carbon Capture's amine capture technology with MAN Energy Solutions’ compressor technology to provide standardised and modularised solutions, with optimised energy consumption and delivery time. Both parties are currently participating in the Brevik capture and storage project with Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe in Norway. Rystad Energy has forecast potential capture capacity across North American industries of 200Mt/yr by 2030.

Aker Carbon Capture head of North America Jonah Margulis said "This agreement will strengthen our position to remove and reduce carbon emissions from industries and energy solutions, which is supported by strong incentives from the US government."

MAN Energy Solutions head of sales and project management, carbon capture and storage, Marco Ernst said "We are delighted to work with Aker Carbon Capture, which appreciates our comprehensive expertise in compressor solutions in general and in the area of CO₂ compression in particular. We feel encouraged by the high level of interest in our technical solution concepts that we are on the right path towards sustainable decarbonisation of the industries that have previously had particularly high emissions."

Mexico: GCC has signed an agreement of understanding and collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and professional services company Dexis. Under the agreement the cement producer is joining the Pro-Integrity anti-corruption initiative. This project aims to strengthen the business environment in Mexico by promoting governance, the adoption of corporate best practice and the promotion of partnerships that promote transparency and integrity.

US: Shipments of cement, including imports, in the US and Puerto Rico fell by 2.5% year-on-year to 80.7Mt in the first nine months of 2023 from 82.8Mt in the same period in 2022, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Shipments fell in most states with the exception of Texas and Pennsylvania. The USGS estimated that, in September 2023, 98% of all blended cement shipments were of Portland Limestone Cement. Turkey was the biggest exporter of cement to the country during the reporting period at 6.3Mt followed by Canada, Vietnam, Greece and Mexico.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has concluded a deal to set up a trial of hydrogen injection in kilns at one or more of its seven cement plants in Mexico. The producer says that the technology will optimise combustion processes and facilitate the increased substitution of alternative fuel.

Mexico: The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Mind the Bridge have named Cemex among construction industry sustainability leaders at the Top 100 Corporate Startup Stars 2023. The designation recognises work towards world-class open innovation and sustainability practices and successes in establishing collaborations between corporations and start-ups.

Gonzalo Galindo, head of Cemex’s venture capital arm Cemex Ventures, said “Fostering innovation, one of Cemex’s core values, is a fundamental aspect of our company culture and central to our commitment to our customers and communities in which we are present. We’re thrilled to be considered among some of the world’s most innovative companies in this year’s Corporate Startup Stars list, and will continue to disrupt the status quo and foster the construction industry revolution.”

Mexico: Cemex has increased its borrowing under a credit agreement with Banorte by 15% to US$347m, and extended its maturity to 2028 from 2026 previously.

Cemex told investors "The credit agreement, denominated in Mexican pesos, will have an interest rate margin dependent on the leverage ratio slightly lower than that applicable prior to the refinancing, and financial obligations consistent with an investment grade capital structure."

Mexico: Cemex has reached 1000 reduced-CO₂ trucks in operation across its global cement business. This includes trucks fuelled by renewable diesel and natural gas. These efforts have reduced its global transport CO₂ emissions by 5% since 2020, in line with the group’s commitment to a 30% reduction by 2030.

Chief executive officer Fernando González said “Our net-zero transition is supported by proven and readily-available lower-carbon technologies that guarantee that we meet our short and medium-term decarbonisation commitments. At the same time, we remain at the forefront of innovation and emerging transportation technologies so we can achieve our ultimate goal of becoming a net-zero CO₂ company by 2050.”

Jamaica: Caribbean Cement has appointed Jorge Alejandro Martinez Mora as its managing director with effect from 1 December 2023. He succeeds Yago Castro Izaguirre in the post. Castro Izaguirre has been the head of Caribbean Cement since late 2020. He will take up another role in Cemex Group.

Martinez Mora is a civil engineer with knowledge and experience in commercial, corporate and operational fields. He has worked for Cemex and its subsidiaries since 2004 and, most recently, held the position of Builders Segment Regional Director for the Cemex Group's Central Region in Mexico, based in Mexico City.

Mexico: The Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican parliament has approved a resolution exhorting the state government of Hidalgo to take ‘urgent action’ to help restore the Tula cement plant to its owner, Cooperativa La Cruz Azul. Local press has reported that the chamber determined that the situation had arrived a critical point, as those illegally occupying the plant were looting and dismantling the plant.