Displaying items by tag: optimisation

China: The China Building Materials Federation, Conch Group and Huawei have partnered to showcase their AI model for the cement industry. Conch Group and Huawei began constructing the model in April 2024 with federation support. Since then, they have identified over 200 AI application scenarios across 15 categories spanning the entire production process, from mining to shipment. The model can reportedly predict the strength of clinker with an 85% accuracy rate and can allow for a reduction in coal consumption.

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.”

Colombia: Cementos Argos will invest US$45m to strengthen its operations in Colombia, according to a press release on 22 April 2025. The investment will reportedly fund infrastructure modernisation, implementation of new technologies and ‘operational excellence’, with the goal of increasing efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability nationwide.

The president of parent company Grupo Argos previously revealed that around US$3bn would be invested in fixed-income securities in the US following its sale of a 31% stake in Summit Materials in February 2025. In the longer term, the company would evaluate investments in heavy building materials, logistics companies and aggregates in the US.

India: The Ramco Cements has increased the capacity of its Kalavatala plant in Andhra Pradesh from 2Mt/yr to 2.4Mt/yr by de-bottlenecking and optimising the cement mill. The producer's total cement grinding capacity now stands at 24.4Mt/yr.

Australia: Boral will receive US$15.4m in government funding for a kiln feed optimisation project at its Berrima Cement Works, with CO₂ emissions expected to reduce by up to 100,000t/yr, based on predicted production rates. The Powering the Regions grant will support the producer’s installation of a new specialised grinding circuit and supporting infrastructure, which will raise the use of alternative raw materials in kiln feed to 23% from 9%, lowering the amount of limestone used.

Boral will use steel manufacturing by-products and industrial waste, including granulated blast furnace slag, steel slag, cement fibre board, fly ash and recycled fine concrete aggregates. The project will be operational in 2028.

The head of innovation and sustainability at Boral, Ali Nezhad, said “In terms of the resulting emissions intensity of the manufactured clinker, the project will result in up to 11% reduction in clinker emission intensity, 9% attributable to a reduction in calcination emissions and 2% attributable to thermal efficiency gains.”

Europe: Titan Cement has invested in AI solutions provider Optimitive, to reinforce the use of AI for the optimisation of its plants. The producer aims to continue to improve its productivity and efficiency through this investment. The investment follows Titan Cement's implementation of Optimitive's Optibat software at its plants in order to improve their operational performance, reduce energy consumption and curb CO₂ emissions.

Fernando de la Prida, CEO of Optimitive, said "For Optimitive, the investment by Titan, one of the main players in the cement market, demonstrates the strength of the company, the cutting-edge technology built inside our product and the high level of satisfaction of our customers."

Yemen: Pakistan-based Reon Energy has won a contract to build a microgrid equipped with a 13.5MW solar power plant and a 5.59MWh battery energy storage system for Arabian Yemen Cement. The energy storage system will employ Reon Energy’s SPARK Intelligent Energy Management product. The supplier said that the project aims to reduce energy costs by 20% and lower CO₂ emissions from Arabian Yemen Cement’s operations.

Arabian Yemen Cement chief executive officer (CEO) Waheeb Al-Azab said "Our partnership with Reon Energy signifies a monumental stride towards sustainable energy practices, enabling us to harness solar power, significantly reduce our carbon footprint and optimise fuel efficiency in our operations."

Reon Energy CEO Mujtaba Khan said "This collaboration marks a significant step in our commitment to delivering practical, efficient solutions, tailored to industry-specific energy challenges. We look forward to driving positive change in the energy landscape of the cement industry with Arabian Yemen Cement."

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has concluded a deal to set up a trial of hydrogen injection in kilns at one or more of its seven cement plants in Mexico. The producer says that the technology will optimise combustion processes and facilitate the increased substitution of alternative fuel.

Japan: Tokuyama Corporation has installed ABB’s Expert Optimizer automated optimisation system in the kiln line of its Nanyo cement plant. The system controls the line’s calciner, kiln and cooler processes. The supplier says that the technology will reduce the Nanyo cement plant’s thermal energy consumption by 3%.

Tokuyama Corporation "We selected ABB's Expert Optimizer to equalise operations and improve operational efficiency. As expected, we have significantly reduced the number of the operator manual operations normally spent on manual tasks.” It added “We believe that this solution will also support our young operators in learning the know-how of our operations efficiently."

US: ThyssenKrupp Polysius, a subsidiary of Germany-based thyssenkrupp, has delivered a Polysius booster mill to Mountain Cement's Laramie grinding plant in Wyoming. The Eagle Materials subsidiary will take delivery of further ancillary equipment, including material handling, process gas management and machine protection systems, throughout mid-late 2023. The supplier said that the mill will help to increase the Laramie plant's flexibility. It will also provide site services and technical support for optimisation and maintenance for two years after commissioning, also slated for 2023.

ThyssenKrupp Polysius' project manager Matthew Burchfield said "This is a very important and interesting project for ThyssenKrupp Polysius. This is the first booster mill system sold in the US and one of the first booster mills worldwide. We are tasked with a very tight engineering and supply schedule. ThyssenKrupp Polysius is working closely with Mountain Cement and its engineering teams."