Displaying items by tag: funding
Novo Holdings invests US$65m in Biomason
01 March 2022US: Denmark-based life sciences investment company Novo Holdings says that it has invested US$65m in bio-based clinker-free cement producer Biomason. Biomason uses microorganisms to grow its Biocement cement, without heating or CO2 emissions. The producer is in its Series C round of financing. Novo Holdings previously invested in its Series B financing round.
Innovate UK awards First Graphene consortium Euro228,000 in funding
18 February 2022UK: A consortium led by Australia-based First Graphene dedicated to developing graphene-enhanced cement has won Euro228,000 in UK government funding. Innovation agency Innovation UK selected the consortium for its work’s potential to contribute towards cement and concrete’s carbon footprint reduction of 25% by 2030. UK-based Breedon Cement represents the cement industry within the consortium.
India: Udaipur Cement Works plans to raise US$114m through an issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). India Infoline News Service has reported that the company will use the money it raises to fund Phase 1 of its on-going expansion project.
CP Concrete Consortium receives US$80m funding for Carbon Pool Concrete technology development
31 January 2022Japan: The CP Concrete Consortium has received US$80m in funding under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO)’s Green Innovation Funding Programme. The funding will support the consortium’s development of its Carbon Pool Concrete reduced-CO2 concrete production technology until 2032. Hazama Ando Corporation leads the consortium along with 14 other members of the Japanese Ready-Mixed and Returned Concrete Solution Association.
Carbon Pool Concrete technology can be used in the construction of pavements, buildings and other civil engineering structures. Through comprehensive carbon life cycle evaluation, the consortium is attempting to robustly link the use of its technology with carbon market instruments and environmental and social governance infrastructure funding. Its aim is to redefine concrete as a carbon neutral material.
Holcim issues sustainability-linked bonds
20 January 2022Switzerland: Holcim has successfully issued two sustainability-linked bonds worth US$355m and US$109m in the Swiss market. The group says that the issuances are another way in which it keeps climate action at the heart of its financing strategy. It brings the total sum raised by Holcim through sustainable financing agreements to US$7.33bn. Investors will be entitled to a higher coupon if the company does not achieve its climate objective.
Chief finance officer (CFO) Géraldine Picaud said “We are proud to be the first company to launch a sustainability-linked bond on the Swiss franc market. The bond attracted new environmental and social governance investors, demonstrating their confidence in Holcim’s financial strength, strategy and ability to deliver our sustainability targets.”
Spain: Cement Science Group (CemSciG) and the University of Málaga (UMA) have received a US$50,000 donation from US-based CSA Research for their research into reduced-CO2 cement production. The funding will continue the partners’ work at UMA’s department of inorganic chemistry, crystallography and minerology into alternative methods of cement production. Titles of their on-going projects include ‘Optimisation and Processing of LC3 Eco-Cements with Spanish Clays,’ ‘Microstructure Analyses of Limestone Calcined Clay Cements by Advanced Synchrotron Techniques’ and ‘Reduction of Cement Industry CO2 Emissions without Loss of Mechanical Properties.’
Fauji Cement takes US$212m loan for cement plant expansions
06 January 2022Pakistan: Fauji Cement has taken out a loan of US$212m from a consortium lead by Habib Bank Limited. The Business Recorder newspaper has reported that the funding will go towards cement plant expansion projects with a total cost of US$339m. Fauji Cement plans to expand its plant in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, while its subsidiary Askari Cement plans to expand its plant in Nizampur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company says that the projects will together increase its installed cement production capacity to 10Mt/yr.
Taiheiyo Cement to participate in CCUS study
14 December 2021Japan: Taiheiyo Cement is among 13 participant companies whose proposed carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) demonstration hub has received approval to proceed with funding from the Japan Ministry of the Environment. Nikkei Business Trends News has reported that Toshiba Energy Systems and Solutions, Uyeno Transtech, JGC, Chiyoda, Taisei Corporation, the University of Tokyo, Kyushu University, Japan NUS, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and QJ Science also collaborated in the development of the CCUS system. The trial will begin in early 2022 and conclude in the 2025 financial year.
Innovative Ash Solutions to establish 20,000t/yr ash processing plant in South Lanarkshire
02 December 2021UK: Innovative Ash Solutions has received a Euro588m Scottish government grant to establish a 20,000t/yr ash processing plant in South Lanarkshire. The Herald newpaper has reported that the plant will process boiler ash, cyclone ash and incineration fly ash for use in local cement production. When commissioned in 2022, the plant will eliminate 6104t/yr of CO2 emissions, according to the operator. The government granted the funding under its Zero Waste Scotland circular economic investment scheme.
The company said “Using this new patented process, which diverts waste materials from landfill and avoids the use of virgin sand, creates a product which is cheaper and will reduce the environmental impact of cement production compared to the use of imported pulverised fuel ash.”
Innovative Ash Solutions is a joint venture of waste management company Levenseat and consultancy Organic Innovative Solutions.
Switzerland: Holcim has announced its support of Beton, the first Swiss exhibition dedicated to the history of concrete, at the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel. The exhibition will run until 24 April 2022 and feature talks by an industry expert on the future of concrete.
Holcim chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I congratulate our partners at the Swiss Architecture Museum for creating this first-of-its-kind exhibition showcasing the essential role of concrete in our world. This exploration is a great inspiration for all of us at Holcim as we shape the future of concrete, making it green, circular and technology-driven. Throughout its history, concrete has been part of building progress in our world. Today we are reinventing it to make it work for people and the planet.”