Displaying items by tag: Sustainability

France: Extinction Rebellion activists forced operations to stop temporarily at LafargeHolcim’s Port de Javel ready-mixed concrete plant in Paris on 30 June 2021. Members of the climate activist group trespassed on the site to denounce what they called the company’s firm's environmentally damaging pursuit of profit, according to Reuters. The building materials producer was forced to divert its trucks to another site during the chaos. Earlier in the week protestors from Extinction Rebellion and the non-government organisation Soulevements de la Terre targeted another LafargeHolcim site near Paris.

In late 2020 the council of Paris voted to withdraw permissions for a planned expansion to LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France’s Bercy concrete plant after protesters captured footage of a slurry spill that the company called ‘exceptional.’

LafargeHolcim currently has a target to reduce its CO₂ intensity in cement to 475kg net CO₂/t by 2030. The group says it hopes to become ‘net zero’ in the future. It is currently working with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to define a roadmap to 2050 to, “reduce scope one CO₂ emissions to a target consistent with a net zero pathway endorsed by SBTi.”

Fernando A González and Cemex took to the virtual airways this week with Cemex Day 2021. The investors’ update comprised the usual greatest hits package explaining how well everything is going: earnings growth and leverage levels about to hit desired targets, selective investments and divestments on the way, new production capacity round the corner and punchy sustainability goals turning up earlier than expected. Or at least that’s the way that chief executive officer González and the team told it.

To be fair to Cemex, it seems to be in a good place right now. It weathered 2020 well and now its first quarter results in 2021 compared to the same period in 2019, before coronavirus hit, are looking rosy with cement sales volumes growth of 9%. How much of that is attributable to pent up demand from 2020 remains to be seen though. Its strategy of focusing on markets in North America and Europe appears to have paid off in recent years with its competitors copying it as they have retreated from riskier climes and concentrated on core territories. Its obsession with righting the ratio between its debts and earnings is closer than ever to being realised, with a 4.07x net leverage ratio in 2020 and a target of 3x or lower planned for 2023. That last target is crucial both materially and psychologically for the company as it starts to put it back in the same financial field as its Western multinational competitors and opens up new investment opportunities.

From a production angle, the big news from the event was a 10Mt/yr cement production expansion project between now and 2023. This wasn’t quite as promising as it sounded, as just under half of this was attributed to legacy projects in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines and some of the new projects had already been announced, but it does bookmark a move from divesting plants to upgrading and building new ones.

The new projects comprise an additional 5.7Mt/yr capacity from on-going debottlenecking, new integrated plants, new grinding plants and reopening idle or mothballed plants. During the event José Antonio González, the Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning & Business Development broke it down into 3.5Mt in Mexico, consisting of 1.5Mt additional grinding capacity at the integrated Tepeaca plant, a 0.5Mt/yr expansion at the integrated Huichapan plant and 1.5Mt/yr from bringing both idled lines back into production at the CPN Hermosilla plant in Senora to support the US market. That last one notably was partly announced in February 2021. In Europe and the US the group plans to add 1.2Mt/yr including expanding grinding capacity at two plants in Europe with details to be announced later. Finally, the company plans to add 1Mt/yr of additional capacity in South American including restarting an idled 0.5Mt/yr kiln at a plant in the Dominican Republic and building a new 0.5Mt/yr grinding mill in Guatemala.

Cemex has also stepped up its target reduction in CO₂ emissions to below 475kg CO₂/t of cementitious material, an approximately 40% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to 1990 levels, by 2030. The previous target for 2030 of 520 kg CO₂ has been brought forward to 2025. This compares to LafargeHolcim’s similar target of 475kg CO₂/t by 2030, HeidelbergCement’s target of 500kg CO₂/t by 2030 and CRH’s target of 530kg CO₂/t by 2030. The group is planning to spend US$60m/yr on its decarbonisation projects. This compares to a spend of around US$140m/yr on its 10Mt/yr cement production capacity expansion drive over the next three years. Or to put it another way, the group is spending more on growing than sustainability.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good public relations for Cemex this week with the news in the Colombian press that one of its former executives is set to be investigated by the authorities over his alleged involvement in the ongoing Maceo cement plant corruption case. The background to this one is that in 2016 Cemex fired several senior staff members, and the local subsidiary’s chief executive resigned, in relation to the building of a new integrated plant at Maceo. This followed an internal audit and investigation into payments worth around US$20m made to a non-governmental third party in connection with the acquisition of the land, mining rights and benefits of the tax free zone for the project. Legal proceedings followed in Colombia and the US. Many large companies have legacy problems to deal with. Just take LafargeHolcim’s continued connection to Lafarge Syria’s conduct in the early 2010s. At the time of writing the Maceo plant is still yet to start operation and is likely to be one of the ongoing projects mentioned above.

Cemex’s second quarter results are due to arrive towards the end of July 2021 but the group is presenting an upbeat image. Sales are up, debts are down, divestments are out and expansions are in. Confidence is important for a multinational trying to convince the rating agencies to give it back its investment grade, so whether this is strictly true or not it certainly knows how to talk the talk. One question going forward at least is how strictly Cemex will want to stick to its core markets if the good times really have returned?

Germany: Two studies looking at how to prepare investments for the conversion to an oxyfuel process have been completed at Hocim’s Germany’s Lägerdorf cement plant. The projects were running with technology partners ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions and Linde. Project Oxyfuel100, part of the Westküste100 initiative, was finalised in mid-April 2021. In addition to the oxyfuel process, the technical and economic feasibility of the downstream CO₂ extraction, processing and forwarding was examined. The results of the feasibility study were reported as being “extremely positive.”

Australia: Calix has joined as a partner of the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC). The initiative brings together heavy industry players, government and research and aims to boost the capability of Australian companies to remain globally competitive by capitalising on existing mineral and renewable energy resources to become international producers and exporters of low-carbon products. HILT CRC has secured US$29m from the government. This joins funding of US$158m in direct and in-kind contributions from its partners over the last decade.

“It is a chance for us to demonstrate the technology developed for CO₂ mitigation in the production of cement and lime through our European LEILAC-1 and 2 projects in an Australian setting, as well as explore other more sustainable applications for our technology in heavy industry, backed by this impressive team of researchers and industrial participants," said Calix’s managing director Phil Hodgson.

As part of the HILT CRC, Calix will continue to develop its technology for the reduction of carbon emissions from lime and cement production, and also use its Calix Flash Calciner (CFC) technology to develop other more processing applications such as for bauxite processing for the aluminium industry and production of calcined clay from kaolinite for use in new lower carbon cements.

HILT CRC’s core industrial partners include Adbri, Alcoa, Boral, Fortescue, Grange Resources, Liberty, Roy Hill and South32. The initiative has its headquarters in Adelaide and it plans to establish hubs in heavy industry regions of Gladstone, the Pilbara, Northern Tasmania, South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf, Western Australia's Kwinana and South West regions, the Southern Highlands of Nnew South Wales and Portland in Victoria.

France: Denmark-based FLSmidth has won a contract to supply a 400t/day calcined clay production line to Vicat’s Xeuilley integrated cement plant. The order includes flash calciner technology, an environmental control system and alternative fuel (AF) firing, handling and storage equipment. The line will have a design capacity of up to 525t/day and is scheduled for commissioning in 2023. It will enable clinker substitution in cement of up to 40%, according to the supplier. It says that cement produced using calcined clay will have a 16% smaller carbon footprint than its clinker-based equivalent. The value of the contract is Euro26.8m.

Vicat deputy chief executive officer Eric Bourdon said, “EU regulations and increasing demand for more sustainable cement has accelerated the decision to introduce clay as an environmental alternative to clinker in our production. With clay readily available in the area and positive results from pilots at FLSmidth’s test facilities in Denmark, we feel confident about the technology and hope to be able to expand further in the future.”

Mexico: Cemex has launched a new brace of CO₂ emissions reduction targets. The group is now targeting CO₂ emissions below 475kg/t of cement and 165kg/m3 of concrete by 2030. These represent decreases of 40% and 35% respectively compared to 1990 levels. The group plans to invest US$60m/yr in efforts to meet its 2030 targets. It had previously targeted CO₂ emissions below 520kg/t of cement by 2030. It now aims to achieve the previous target by 2025. The group says it intends to reach the new targets through the use of alternative fuels with high biomass content, hydrogen injection, low temperature and low CO₂ clinker, decarbonated raw materials, optimisation of the kilns’ heat consumption and the reduction of clinker factor through the higher utilisation of blended cements in the market.

Chief executive officer Fernando Gonzalez said, “Climate action is the biggest challenge of our times, and Cemex is taking decisive action to address it. We commit to continue leading the industry in climate action.”

Switzerland: Holcim has launched its Transport Analytics Center (TAC) software platform across its logistics fleets in 50 countries. The centre optimises route mapping, increasing deliveries’ predictability and safety, according to the company. This enables transport emissions tracking, including those of its third-party suppliers. Holcim says that the platform will cover 1.4bn kilometres of journeys by over 60,000 trucks annually. The producer hopes to use the software to reduce its Scope 3 emissions related to transportation and fuels by 20% in 2030 compared to the 2020 baseline of 29Mt of CO₂.

Chief information officer Jochen Werling said, “TAC is a great example of how we are becoming a data-driven organisation. With our extensive industry expertise and advanced technologies we are developing cutting-edge digital solutions that are tailored to our specific business needs. TAC is a breakthrough for us as well as for our broader industry.”

Malawi: Switzerland-based Holcim says that the world’s first 3D printed school has opened in Salima district’s Kalonga village after a build time of just 18 hours. The EcoPact green concrete producer says the building provides a much-needed thirteenth school in Yambe, which still needs three more. Holcim’s green construction subsidiary 14Trees estimates that its 3D printing technology can meet Malawi’s school building needs by 2031, compared to after 2090 by conventional methods. The group said that the school proves that “3D printing can play a key role in bridging our world’s education infrastructure gap” with high-quality, sustainable, affordable and fast-paced construction, at scale.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said, “I am very proud of how our colleagues at 14Trees have deployed cutting-edge 3D printing technology to solve such an essential infrastructure need. Now that we’ve proven the concept in Malawi, we look forward to scaling up this technology across the broader region, with projects already in the pipeline in Kenya and Zimbabwe.”

US: The California Senate has voted in favour of a proposed bill which will require the State Air Resources Board to develop a plan for the state’s cement producers to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the end of 2045. A 40% reduction compared to 2019 levels would also be mandated by the end of 2035. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC), an environmental advocacy group that is sponsoring the bill, has called for measures such as requiring public construction projects to use reduced-CO₂ cement and establishing purely performance-based specifications for legally defining cement to be adopted by the eventual strategy if the bill passes into state law. The proposed bill will next move to the California State Assembly as part of the local legislative process.

Poland: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Polska has launched Aggneo, a recycled aggregate recycled from demolition-sourced concrete. The producer says that Aggneo offers high consistency and a lower density than mined aggregates, resulting in material savings. Besides reducing waste, the product also lowers the carbon footprint of delivery by 66%, according to the company. The building materials producer aims to manufacture 1Mt/yr of recycled aggregated by 2030.