Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

Malaysia: 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.

Ireland/UK: A six-month feasibility study conducted by Mannok at its Derrylin plant, in conjunction with Catagen, has found a number of ways that the cement producer can reduce its CO₂ emissions. Using Catagen’s HGEN renewable hydrogen generator with waste heat recovery could potentially decrease the cement plant’s annual CO₂ emissions by 7%. In addition the study found that using biohydrogen generation from waste biomass could generate larger volumes of hydrogen with less renewable energy required, compared to electrolytic hydrogen generation. Using Catagen’s BIOHGEN process in this way could minimise carbon intensity by a further 18%. A combined group of engineers from Mannok and Catagen worked on the project.

Kevin Lunney, operations director at Mannok, said “We are very excited to be working with the Catagen team, who have demonstrated a deep level of technical ability and competency during the feasibility work. I have no doubt that Mannok will derive significant value from the work already completed, with many new opportunities for collaboration now presenting that we would not have considered before. Achieving Net Zero is now the primary goal for our business and I expect Catagen will play a significant role in our achieving that goal, which we expect will have major benefits for the sector overall.”

In early April 2023 Mannok revealed that it had secured funding from the UK Government Green Energy Scheme to support its energy transformation programme. The first phase of the initiative, which the funding will support, is the generation of onsite green hydrogen to replace the use of diesel in over 70% of the company’s 150 heavy-goods truck fleet.

Belfast-based Catagen started as a testing company providing emissions data to the automotive sector. It has started working in other industrial sectors - such as cement, glass and steel in Europe and the US – as part of its ClimaHtech product range.

Poland: Lafarge Cement Polska has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with KGAL Investment Management. The KGAL ESPF 4 renewable energy fund will provide the cement producer with around 230GWh/yr of electrical energy from two onshore wind farms. These will be the 35MW Krasin unit, which opened in 2022, and the 27MW Rywald unit, which is scheduled to start feeding the local grid from October 2023. With this latest agreement in place, Lafarge Cement Polska will be able to cover over half of its electrical supply requirements from renewable sources.

KGAL is an independent investment and asset manager based in Germany. It focuses its investments in real estate, sustainable infrastructure and aviation sectors.

Image credit: KGAL GmbH & Co. KG.

UK: Legal & General Capital, an alternative investment arm of financial services company Legal & General, has invested around US$15.5m in Cambridge Electric Cement (CEC) and other companies as part of its strategy to decarbonise the residential sector. It is also investing in Hometree and SunRoof, as well as increasing its existing investment in Sero Technologies.

CEC is developing process to create net zero-CO₂ cement product using recycled concrete paste. It launched a two-year industrial trial of its Cement 2 Zero project in February 2023.

India: UltraTech Cement says that it has made a second deployment of GreenLine liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cement trucks in its cement operations. Indo-Asian News Service has reported that the new trucks will operate from UltraTech Cement’s Pune cement terminal in Maharashtra. GreenLine says that its LNG trucks have 28% lower CO₂ emissions than ordinary cement trucks, equating to reductions of 24t/yr per truck for UltraTech Cement.

The cement producer’s associate vice president Tanmay Pradhan said “We are dedicated to creating a sustainable future, and we are fully committed to collaborating with our partners and stakeholders to achieve our goal of a cleaner environment. Our association with GreenLine is a step forward in our ongoing efforts to decrease emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and promote sustainability."

Switzerland: Holcim has published its Climate Report 2023, detailing the company’s progress towards meeting its sustainability commitments up to the end of 2022. The cement producer recorded net specific CO₂ emissions per tonne of product of 562kg/t, down by 1.7% year-on-year from 572kg/t in 2021. In line with its 1.5°C climate change-aligned targets, Holcim is committed to 420kg/t specific CO₂ emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Overall, the group’s Scope 1 CO₂ emissions from cement production fell by 2.5% to 77Mt from 79Mt, while its Scope 2 emissions remained at 5Mt and its Scope 3 emissions fell by 11% to 47Mt from 53Mt. Its cement had an average clinker factor of 73%, down from 73.6% in 2021. Holcim processed 6.8Mt of construction and demolition waste, up by 3% from 6.6Mt. Meanwhile, its thermal substitution rate of alternative fuel (AF) rose to 28% from 26%.

CEO Jan Jenisch and chief sustainability officer Magali Anderson said “With our successful transformation, we reduced our CO₂ per net sales by 21% in 2022, and commit to reducing it by over 10% in 2023. Accelerating the shift to net-zero cities requires deep partnerships across our value chain. In 2022 we engaged with public authorities to evolve building standards, with cities to scale up green demand in their projects, and with architects and engineers to specify sustainable solutions in their designs. We did this as a key partner for our customers, bringing solutions that help them achieve their sustainability goals.”

Greece: Titan Cement Group published its 2022 Integrated Report on 6 April 2023. The report outlines the cement producer’s financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. For the full year, the group recorded a net profit of Euro110m, up by 19.3% year-on-year. It made ‘record’ capital expenditure investments of Euro242m, and increased its net debt by 12% to Euro797m.

The group says that it is ‘on track’ to meet its ESG targets for 2025 and beyond. It reduced its specific CO₂ emissions by 5% decade-on-decade in 2022. Throughout the year, Titan Cement Group continued its investments in research, development and innovation activities across all markets, with an increased focus on carbon capture, storage and utilisation. It also rolled out its digital transformation to further plants around the globe.

UK: Holcim has acquired leading London construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling company Sivyer Logistics. Sivyer Logistics produced 500,000t of recycled aggregates and manufactured soils from 1Mt of CDW across its six sites in 2022. Holcim says that the acquisition represents a step towards realising its target of 10Mt/yr of construction and demolition waste in Holcim products by 2025.

The group’s Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Sivyer Logistics is an excellent addition to help us drive circular construction.” He added “I look forward to welcoming all employees of Sivyer Logistics and investing in our next era of growth together.”

Europe: Cemex has launched its latest packaging design for its Vertua reduced-CO₂ product range at the Low Carbon World exhibition in Paris, France. The new design incorporates products' scores across five 'sustainability attributes:' emissions reduction, energy efficiency, conservation of water, recycled content and design optimisation. Cemex will now deploy the design across Europe by June 2023.

Cemex's Europe, Middle East and Africa regional president Sergio Menendez said “Cemex is attuned to the need to focus on all aspects that can make a product more sustainable - not just achieving a lower carbon footprint. With the updated classification system for Vertua, customers can now more easily identify which of our products leverage the cutting-edge technology and innovation that will enable them to overcome the challenges they are currently facing in construction and renovation." Menendez concluded "The enhanced Vertua brand represents a more ambitious and stronger approach: from a group of low carbon products to a family of products and solutions that encompass more sustainable attributes and contribute to our company vision of building a better future.”

Japan: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Osaka Gas have launched a collaboration to develop a value chain for captured CO₂ from Japan's hard-to-abate industries, including the cement sector. JCN Newswire has reported that their collaboration will leverage MHI's expertise in CO₂ capture, liquefied CO₂ maritime vessel transport and CO₂ management, and Osaka Gas' expertise in e-methane production and CO₂ storage. The project will integrate MHI and IBM Japan's CO₂nnex software platform to model value chains. The project aims to contribute to the realisation of Japan's target of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.