Displaying items by tag: agreement

Uganda: Lands, Housing and Urban Development minister Judith Nabakooba said that the government and the Naita-A-Tepeth Communal Land Association have finalised a lease agreement to enable Tororo Cement to build Uganda’s first clinker plant in Katikekile, Moroto District. Nabakooba said that the project began in 2023, and will reduce clinker imports and conserve foreign exchange.

According to a social media post by the ministry, the agreement includes the sale of 202 hectares to Tororo Cement for the plant site, the lease of 3824 acres to the Uganda Investment Authority and the titling of institutional land for local public use.

Mexico: Cemex has executed an investment agreement with Spain-based AI and analytics company Optimitive through its corporate venture capital arm Cemex Ventures. The company seeks to scale Optimitive’s solution across its operations as part of its Digital Innovation in Motion programme. It aims to significantly reduce energy consumption while increasing production efficiency by ‘double-digit percentage points’, according to a press release.

Alfredo Carrato, investment and open innovation advisor at Cemex Ventures, said “We are excited about this partnership with Optimitive, given the impressive results they have already achieved in Europe and the US in projects to date with Cemex.”

US: Mexico-based GCC has concluded two bank loan agreements totalling US$135m to fund the expansion of its cement plant in Odessa, Texas. The loans have five- and ten-year maturities respectively, and will support development at the site. GCC did not provide further details in its statement.

It said “These facilities reflect GCC's continued commitment to strengthen its operating and financial performance, while increasing the company's financial flexibility.”

In addition to the Odessa plant, the producer has cement plants in Rapid City, South Dakota; Trident, Montana; Tijeras, New Mexico; and Pueblo, Colorado.

Türkiye: TSKB (Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye) has signed a €75m investment loan agreement with Oyak Cement to fund renewable energy and waste heat recovery (WHR) projects. The funding will support the construction of a 115MW solar power plant in Beypazarı, Ankara, and waste heat recovery facilities at the Ankara, Adana and Mardin cement plants.

Oyak Cement general manager Murat Sela said “We have accelerated our investments for the Beypazarı solar power plant, as well as the WHR facility investments with a total installed capacity of 13.5 MW at our Adana, Ankara and Mardin plants. We expect these investments to help generate 237,000MW/yr of energy, while increasing the total renewable energy utilisation rate at our plants from 9% to 30%.”

Denmark: Air Liquide and Cementir Holding, via its Danish subsidiary Aalborg Portland, have signed the European Innovation Fund grant agreement for the ACCSION project at the Aalborg cement plant. The project aims to reduce the plant’s CO₂ emissions by 1.5Mt/yr, with the captured CO₂ transported via pipeline to onshore CO₂ storage facilities.

The value of the Innovation Fund grant is €220m, fully financed by the EU Emissions Trading System.

Greece: Ecocem has signed a partnership agreement with Titan Group to co-develop and deliver low-carbon cements using Ecocem’s ACT technology. The collaboration will initially target the Greek market, replacing a portion of clinker with locally sourced supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to reduce cement CO₂ emissions by up to 70%.

Group managing director Donal O’Riain said “Signing this co-development and technology transfer agreement with a partner of Titan Group’s size and calibre is a real demonstration of confidence in our ACT technology. This partnership has the potential to accelerate the use of a range of SCMs with ACT technology and deliver rapid and low-cost decarbonisation of the cement industry globally.”

Sweden: Skanska and Cemvision will enter into a partnership, which will combine Skanska’s experience in low-carbon construction solutions and Cemvision’s circular cement technologies. The collaboration will begin in spring 2025 and will see Skanska scale up a new generation of cement with up to 95% lower climate impact compared to traditional Portland cement.

The signed letter of intent marks the first step towards a future off-take agreement, in which Skanska will secure access to Cemvision’s cement for implementation across its projects. The company is planning its first pilot projects for the near future.

UK: Drax Power has entered a 20-year joint venture agreement with Power Minerals to build a new facility to process pulverised fuel ash into supplementary cementitious material (SCM) for cement.

The facility will be located adjacent to Drax Power site and will produce 400,000t/yr of SCM for use in lower-carbon cement. Power Minerals will construct, own and operate the plant. Drax will supply ash, power and water, as well as share profits from SCM sales. There is no capital investment required by Drax.

Operations will begin by the end of 2026. Drax expects the project to generate incremental adjusted earnings by interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €6m annually between 2027 and 2046.

Europe: Sweden-based SaltX has signed a letter of intent with German engineering firm thyssenkrupp Polysius to collaborate on establishing 100% electric cement production facilities in Europe. The facilities will combine SaltX’s electric arc calciner (EAC) technology with thyssenkrupp Polysius’ material handling solutions.

CEO of SaltX Lina Jorheden said "Strong partnerships are essential for us to effectively implement our technology and reduce millions of tonnes of CO₂ emissions from the industrial sector. Our collaboration with thyssenkrupp Polysius is crucial for developing complementary systems to the EAC technology and building electrified facilities for our customers."

Egypt: Arabian Cement Company (ACC) has signed a €25m loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The loan will be used to assist the company’s decarbonisation efforts. It will finance the company’s alternative fuel capacity expansion and automation of its facilities. The company will also acquire and install a hydrogen injection system at its Ain Sokhna cement plant. This will reduce CO₂ emissions by 130,000t/yr.

CEO of Arabian Cement, Sergio Alcantarilla, said "This agreement with EBRD is a key milestone in ACC's sustainability journey, supporting our transition to cleaner technologies. The integration of the hydrogen injection at our Ain Sokhna plant will enhance operational efficiency and significantly reduce our carbon footprint."