Displaying items by tag: Ordinary Portland Cement

US: Amazon and Brimstone have announced successful third-party test results for Brimstone’s lower-CO₂ ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which meets ASTM C150 requirements using Amazon slab mix designs. The companies will continue testing through 2025 and 2026. On the basis of the successful tests, Amazon has signed a commercial agreement to reserve annual volumes of OPC and supplementary cementitious materials from Brimstone’s upcoming plant in Oakland, California.

Stop press! The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has renamed itself as the American Cement Association (ACA).

Speaking to the audience at the IEEE-IAS/PCA Cement Industry Cement Conference taking place this week in Birmingham, Alabama, ACA president Mike Ireland said that the new name better represents its members, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast. He added that the old name, the PCA, had caused the association confusion over the years with it being mistaken as only representing Portland, Oregon, or Portland, Maine.

This follows comments from Ireland to Global Cement Magazine in April 2024. At that time he also mentioned how changing levels of production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) compared to blended cements had suggested a rethink. Surveys were then sent out by the PCA asking people what they thought about in connection to the association and which name suggestions they liked. A year or so later and the new name has arrived. Thankfully the PCA didn’t determine the name by public ballot alone, thereby avoiding the risk of a joke name. Readers wondering about this can remind themselves about the time the UK Natural Environment Research Council ran a website survey asking what a new polar research ship should be called. The vessel was eventually called the RRS Sir David Attenborough rather than the internet’s choice of Boaty McBoatface!

Global Cement Weekly also reflected upon the point Ireland made about the change in the blends of cement being used. The adoption of Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) production in the US contributed to the rise in blended cements shipments. United States Geological Survey (USGS) data shows that shipments of blended cements more than doubled from 26Mt in 2022 to 61Mt in 2024. This compares to shipments of OPC of 41Mt in 2024. This change appears to have been mostly accepted so far, but it is not without its detractors. For example, take this campaign promoting a return to traditional Type I and II cements on ‘performance’ grounds.

As for the US cement market, USGS data shows that shipments of Portland and blended cement fell by about 13% year-on-year to 11.8Mt in the first two months of 2025 from 13.8Mt in the same period in 2024. This was for both domestic shipments and imports. Most of the cement companies that have so far released first quarter financial results for 2025 reported poor weather adversely affecting sales. Holcim noted that sales improved in March 2025. Cemex blamed its lower sales volumes of cement and ready-mixed concrete on the period having one less working day compared to 2024. CRH pointed out in its analysts’ presentation that the first quarter of the year is typically the smallest of the four in terms of sales volumes. The really interesting data may start to emerge in the second and subsequent quarters, as the markets and supply chains start to react to current US trade policy. At the time of writing, widespread tariffs on many countries were announced at the start of April 2025 but then subsequently paused for 90 days.

The American Cement Association has a new name for the 21st Century. The PCA has served it well as a name for over 100 years, but now seems a good time for a change. Whether the future is one of blended cements, carbon capture, a return to OPC or whatever else remains to be seen. Yet the future of construction in the US looks set to involve plenty of cement. There are sure to be challenges along the way. Here’s to the next 100 years.

South Korea: A recent study from Daejeon explored the potential of low-lime calcium silicate cement as a low CO₂ emission alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement. Researchers from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources examined the setting and flow characteristics of a mixture of Ordinary Portland Cement and low-lime calcium silicate cement under carbonation curing conditions. The study was financially supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy's industrial strategic technology development programme.

The study aimed to explore the reaction and microstructural characteristics of these cement pastes. The low-lime calcium silicate cement was synthesised using limestone and silica fume, with varying proportions added to the Portland cement pastes. The research findings suggest improvements in compressive strength with the inclusion of 30% or more low-lime calcium silicate cement, highlighting its ability to enhance the durability and sustainability of construction materials.

US: Brimstone is negotiating a US$189m Federal award with the Department of Energy to finance the construction of a new decarbonised cement plant. This plant will produce up to 140,000t/yr of Ordinary Portland Cement and supplementary cementitious materials, reducing CO₂ emissions by 120,000t/yr.

Brimstone's process uses carbon-free calcium silicate rocks, reducing its CO₂ footprint. In July 2023, Brimstone's cement met ASTM C150 standards, confirming the effectiveness of its decarbonised process. The company is preparing to construct a pilot plant near Reno, Nevada.

The Portland Cement Association (PCA) is currently considering changing its name as part of a wider rebranding exercise. As the PCA’s president and CEO Mike Ireland puts it, “Portland cement no longer adequately represents the products PCA member companies manufacture, as they increasingly produce blended cements in today's environmentally conscious marketplace.” The exercise opens up a host of issues about the promotion of cement and concrete and the role of a trade association in the 21st century.

The reason the PCA holds its name is because ordinary Portland cement (OPC) became the most popular type of cement used to make concrete (and other building materials) in the second half of the 19th century. This continued in the 20th century without any issues. So naming a national cement association after the sector’s key product made sense at the time. The parent organisation that became the PCA was formed in 1902 and the PCA proper officially started in 1916 when cement producers met in Chicago and agreed to set up an expanded organisation.

One topic that was less of an issue in 1916, was considering a national cement association in an international context. Or in other words, should a national or regional cement association say where it is from in its name? Many associations do so elsewhere in the world but not all. Cembureau in Europe, the Cement Manufacturers’ Association in India and the Mineral Products Association in the UK for instance are three examples that do not. The PCA’s current name does not indicate where it is based and it has appeared to have coped for over 100 years. Curiously though, most of the suggestions that the PCA has put forward for its potential new name do include ‘America’ in some shape or form. Another connected problem is whether the general public in the US make the assumption that the PCA is a smaller group based in Portland, Oregon!

Mike Ireland points out another dilemma facing the PCA today with the rise in popularity of blended cements. The PCA, for example, worked on supporting the use of Portland Limestone Cement in the 2010s before lots of US producers started making it in the 2020s. To illustrate the scale of the change that this and other initiatives have created, United States Geological Survey (USGS) data shows that shipments of blended cements doubled from 26Mt in 2022 to just under 55Mt 2023. At the same time, shipments of Portland Cement fell by 37% year-on-year to around 52Mt from 83Mt. More blended cements were shipped in the US than OPC in 2023. So the PCA finds itself named after a minority cement product.

The other issue that Ireland touches upon is the environmental perception of cement by the general public and the problems for marketing, branding and advocacy this presents to a trade association. Simply put, it is far easier for the environmental lobby in developed economies to portray cement as ‘bad’ than it is for the cement sector to publicise the many small but incremental changes it has made or the monumental effect that cement and concrete have made upon human society over the last 150 years. Although it may not mean much to the wider public, to whom ‘cement is cement,’ the rise of blended cements in the US has handed the PCA the opportunity to differentiate cement into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ offerings. In this case high CO₂ emitting OPC becomes the old dirty product of the past and blended cements become clean shiny symbols of the future. It follows, therefore, that retaining the name of an old product for one of the biggest cement associations in the world might be considered unhelpful.

In some respects OPC and the PCA have become victims of their own success. Cement built the modern world and has become ubiquitous. So commonplace in most countries, in fact, that people outside of the building industry often fail to realise how crucial the stuff is. The tricky proposition for those marketing cement today is to somehow recognise the historical contribution that it has made to build our world whilst also conveying how it is changing to become more sustainable. Unfortunately for fans of OPC though this may mean dumping it from the name of the PCA.

US: Brimstone has announced a new method of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with a negative carbon footprint. Brimstone's method uses carbon-free calcium silicate in the place of limestone. Its calcination also produces magnesium compounds, which naturally sequester further CO₂ from the atmosphere. The technology will now proceed to the testing phase at an upcoming pilot plant in Reno, Nevada, before proceeding to commercial-scale production. Brimstone will then begin to market its OPC, along with supplementary cementitious materials produced by its process.

Brimstone's chief technology officer Hugo Leandri said “By delivering the exact same cement, we clear away the main obstacles to adoption, offering an opportunity to dramatically speed up the path to net-zero construction. The same buildings, bridges and roads being built today can be built tomorrow, without carbon."

Philippines: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on cement imported from Vietnam. Trade Secretary Alfredo E Pascual said that the dumping of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Blended Cement from Vietnam posed an "imminent threat of material injury to the domestic cement industry," according to the BusinessWorld newspaper. The duties will comprise 4 – 28% of the export price of OPC and 3 – 55% of the price of Blended Cement. The DTI has identified 11 cement companies from Vietnam that will be targeted with the anti-dumping tariffs.

A report by the Tariff Commission found that 53% of the total cement imported from July 2019 to December 2020 comprised product originating from Vietnam at dumped prices. Overall the country’s OPC and Blended Cement imports rose by 11% year-on-year to 5.90Mt in 2020 and by 16.2% to 6.85Mt in 2021. Imports rose by a further 7% year-on-year to 3.50Mt in the first half of 2022 compared to an average of 3.27Mt for the same half-year periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The TC said, "The existence of threat of material injury to the domestic industry is imminent in the near future, as indicated by the significant rate of increase of dumped imports into the Philippines capturing substantial market share, presence of price undercutting, price depression and price suppression.”

Poland: Lafarge Poland says that it has started one of its decarbonisation goals by removing the first of its ordinary portland cement (OPC) products from the market. From the start of September 2022 the subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim has stopped producing its bagged CEM I 42.5 R Special cement product. In late 2021 it said it was planning to stop production CEM I OPC by the end of 2025. As it does so it will switch to products in the group’s ECOPlanet range instead.

India: Nuvoco Vistas is promoting its products in Northern India with the launch of its Double Bull cement brand in the region. As part of the initiative it has increased its dealer network in the states of Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. It is also preparing to build a 1.2Mt/yr grinding plant at Bhiwani in Haryana to support its presence in the north of the country.

The cement producer manufactures Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Slag Cement (PSC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Portland Composite Cement (PCC) products. Its flagship brands include the Concreto, Duraguard and Double Bull products.

Poland: Lafarge Poland says it plans to stop production CEM I Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by the end of 2025. As part of its sustainable development strategy to 2030 it intends to gradually start phasing out CEM I from the end of 2022, starting with its CEM I 42.5 R Special bagged product. The subsidiary of Holcim will switch to products in the group’s ECOPlanet range instead. So far in 2020 ECOPlanet products were responsible for 10% of the sales from Lafarge Poland’s Kujawy plant.