Displaying items by tag: concrete

Sweden: Researchers at the department of architecture and civil engineering at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg in Västra Götaland county are developing a technology to enable concrete to store energy in the manner of a rechargeable battery. The team has proposed a design based on cement mixed with short carbon fibres. The concrete is then fitted with a metal-coated carbon fibre mesh that forms the battery’s anode and cathode. The team says that a future product based on the technology would enable solar-powered roads and buildings to store their own energy. Additionally, the introduction of sensors to the system would enable full and constant monitoring of the condition of the structure.

Chief researcher Emma Zhang said, “Results from earlier studies investigating concrete battery technology showed very low performance, so we realised we had to think out of the box, to come up with another way to produce the electrode. This particular idea that we have developed – which is also rechargeable – has never been explored before. Now we have proof of concept at lab scale.”

Switzerland: France-based Vicat subsidiary Vigier Holding has agreed to sell precast concrete producer Creabeton Matériaux to Müller Steinag Holding. The group says that it will finalise the deal within the first half of 2021.

Creabeton Matériaux specialises in the prefabrication of concrete products. It has a workforce of nearly 380 employees and reported a turnover of Euro83m in 2020. Vigier Holding will retains its railway business including the construction of concrete sleepers.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has described first-quarter building materials demand as ‘resilient’ in 2021 despite renewed coronavirus lockdown restrictions, on-going supply chain disruptions and wet winter weather. Following a recent survey the association says that continued housing activity – with increased home improvements – and an acceleration in infrastructure work, driven by a new roads programme and the start of the HS2 high-speed railway, drove minor growth during the quarter. Ready-mix concrete demand rose by 2% year-on-year, while mortar demand fell by 7% during the period. The MPA said that both products are mostly used in the early stages of construction, thus serving as a barometer for construction activity ahead in the short term.

The MPA reports that since September 2020, construction growth has remained close to zero, whilst new contract awards have been ’weak’ since May 2020. The downward trend of housing-led mortar demand in the first quarter of 2021 continues a pre-pandemic decline since mid-2018. Thus, housing activity growth is considered unlikely to continue beyond the completion of existing projects ahead of the end of a land tax holiday and a deadline in a first time buyers loan scheme. The MPA described the slow growth of ready-mixed concrete demand as ‘concerning.’ Low housing activity and few new commercial projects compounded the difficult recovery: non-infrastructure projects normally generate 60% of demand. Ready-mix concrete producers rely on London and the South East region for over 30% of sales. First-quarter volumes were 9% below the previous five-year average, despite three consecutive quarters of growth since the first coronavirus lockdown in the first half of 2020.

Director of Economics Affairs Aurelie Delannoy said, “Mineral products manufacturers are busy supplying post- lockdown pent-up demand, particularly for domestic activity such as landscaping, repair and maintenance and home improvements, as well as infrastructure projects.” She added “The outlook for this year and next is also positive, but the stakes are high. Any optimism assumes activity is not disrupted by renewed outbreaks of Covid-19 and, most importantly, relies on the government delivering on its planned infrastructure commitments. MPA members tell us they are yet to see a more clear-cut pick-up in new house building, whilst any recovery in commercial development is expected to remain muted given the current reticence for major new investments.”

Mexico: Cemex has partnered with UK-based oil company BP to accelerate the progress of its ambition for net-zero CO₂ concrete by 2050. The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop cement production and transport decarbonisation solutions. Such solutions include the transition to reduced-emissions power and vehicles, energy efficiency-improvements, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon offsetting. In addition, the companies will collaborate on urbanisation solutions to decarbonise cities.

Sustainability, commercial, and operations development executive vice president Juan Romero said “Concrete plays an integral role in society, and there are no substitutes for its key attribute – strength and resilience. We believe it will continue to have a critical role in a low carbon economy, and the challenge for the industry is to find solutions to the manufacturing process emissions.” He added “This initiative with BP is another example of the work we are doing with partners across industries, academia, and startups to tap into the latest innovation and disruptive technology to achieve our ambition of delivering net-zero CO₂ concrete globally to all of our customers.”

 Malaysia: Malayan Cement has agreed to acquire YTL Cement’s cement and ready-mix concrete operations in Malaysia. MarketLine News has reported the value of the deal as US$1.25bn.

Greece: HeidelbergCement subsidiary Halyps Building Materials has agreed to sell its aggregates business and two ready-mix concrete plants to Heracles Group, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim. Heracles Group said that the acquisition would enable it to better serve the growing Athens metropolitan area and key infrastructure projects regionally. The value of the deal is undisclosed.

LafargeHolcim’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said, “I am excited about the opportunities and growth prospects of this acquisition in the Attica region of central Greece. It will provide additional support towards our net zero ambition with our leading range of sustainable building solutions such as EcoPact green concrete.” Heracles Group launched EcoPact on the Greek market in April 2021. In the first four months of 2021, LafargeHolcim completed four other bolt-on acquisitions.

HeidelbergCement remains active in the market through its subsidiary Halyps Cement. The company operates the 0.7Mt/yr Apropyrgos cement plant in Athens. Chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, "We are pleased that the transaction has been successfully signed.” He added that the realignment is the next step in the group’s portfolio optimisation as part of its Beyond 2020 strategy. In January 2021, its subsidiary Suez Cement departed from the Kuwait cement market with the sale of its majority stake in Hilal Cement.

El Salvador: Holcim el Salvador, part of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, has invested US$4.0m in the first four months of 2021 in establishing three new 70m³/hr-capacity ready-mix concrete plants and one aggregates plant. The La Prensa Grafica newspaper has reported that the plants have increased the company’s concrete production capacity by 60%. The concrete plants are situated at Apopa, La Paz and Sonsonate, enabling the producer to serve a wide area. The new plants have generated 100 direct and indirect jobs. As part of the investment, the company acquired 22 new concrete trucks. It plans to establish two further concrete plants at Santa Ana and in eastern El Salvador in 2021.

Concrete and aggregates manager Guillermo Torres said “We intend to have national coverage for all builders of all types and sizes.” He added “We have seen a rebound in the construction sector. The main bet is always high-rise, medium and high-end housing, small-scale shopping centres with open concepts, textile industrial buildings plus government investment in roads and maintenance and extension.”

Japan: Researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed a new method for producing cement-free concrete from sand. The method reacts sand with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, according to ChemEurope. When dehydrated, this produces tetraalkoxysilate. The research team then reintroduced water, and thus allowed the reactants to move back and forth between tetraalkoxysilate and sand. In this way, the sand particles progressively bonded together. The resulting concrete is reportedly more resilient to chemical, temperature and humidity changes than concrete produced from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).

In the report of the findings, researcher Ahmad Farahani wrote that various sources of sand tested suitable for use, including silica sand, glass beads and simulated moon sand. This gives the method the advantage that it is non-specific to raw materials or locations, and can be integrated into waste management.

US/Canada: XPrize has named CarbonBuilt and CarbonCure Technologies as the winners of carbon capture and storage (CCS) design prizes worth US$20.0m. The competition ran at two power plants in Wyoming, US and Alberta, Canada. CarbonBuilt won the contest at the Wyoming plant with a concrete-curing based system. The concrete produced has a lower carbon footprint than conventionally produced concrete, according to XPrize. CarbonCure Technologies won the Alberta contest with a design based on carbonating the water used in washing cement trucks. This reportedly formed a concrete-strengthening slurry.

XPrize has partnered with Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation to launch a second round of CCS design prizes worth a total US$100m.

Qatar: Switzerland-based Sika has expanded concrete admixture production capacity at it Doha admixture plant. The company has also announced the start of epoxy resin production in the country. It says that its present investments target growth to serve the expanding regional construction market. Numerous major projects and the expansion of energy and utilities infrastructure have driven a growing demand. Qatar’s state sourcing policy further increases consumption of building materials produced in the country.

Europe, Middle East and Africa regional manager Ivo Schädler said "Our latest investment in Qatar positions us for continued growth and strengthens our competitiveness in the country. In expanding our production, we are anticipating a substantial increase in demand and volumes for our high-value adhesives and flooring solutions. Our building sector customers will benefit from an expanded and locally produced portfolio of Sika solutions which, in addition, eliminates long-distance transportation."