Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has introduced a new low-carbon cement, contributing to Thailand's net-zero ambitions. According to the company, SCG is Thailand's first cement manufacturer to produce this eco-friendly cement, reducing CO₂ emissions to as low as 0.05t during production. The new cement reportedly matches or is stronger than traditional Portland cement. SCG achieved this by improving its manufacturing processes, using clean energy sources and waste heat utilisation, leading to a 38% decrease in energy consumption. The company also modified raw material ratios in order to further reduce emissions.

SCG's president of the cement and green solutions department, Surachai Nimlaor, said “Since cement production consumes a considerable amount of energy and emits CO₂ during the process, we decided to find out how we could reduce this impact." He continued “With the initial low-carbon cement formula, we have reduced emissions by 15 to 20%. Moving forward, our goal is to develop new formulas that can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50%.”

India: Shree Cement has inaugurated its Guntur cement plant in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The producer says that the move raises its cement capacity by 5.6% to 56.4Mt/yr, with six integrated cement plants. It already operates one other plant in South India, the 2.4Mt/yr Kodla cement plant in Karnataka. Press Trust of India News has reported that the Guntur cement plant cost US$300m and will employ 700 people. It will serve the ‘growing markets’ of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The plant will co-process up to 30% alternative fuel, consisting of municipal solid waste and biomass, as cement fuel.

Managing director Neeraj Akhoury said "We're committed to growing responsibly. The Guntur plant reflects this by using advanced technology for manufacturing and controlling emissions, making high quality cement with the efficient use of energy.”

India: Roofsol Energy has won a contract to supply solar power plants with a total capacity of 10.5MW for Shree Cement in Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, Saur Energy News has reported.

Roofsol Energy said “Shree Cement owns and operates cement grinding units in nine locations across India and owns production facilities in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka and has operations in India and UAE. The company carries out power generation through waste heat recovery plants and now it is adopting solar plants as well.”

Zimbabwe: PPC Zimbabwe says that a planned fly ash beneficiation project at a power plant in Zimbabwe will now take place in early 2025 instead of in 2024. This is due to delays in accessing the power plant to complete the design and commercial contract, according to the cement producer. The Chronicle newspaper has reported that, as a result, PPC Zimbabwe’s capital expenditure investments so far in 2024 are behind its previous full-year guidance of US$31.8m.

Italy: Bedeschi has finalised a new contract to supply Buzzi Unicem’s Guidonia integrated cement plant with a double-stage crushing unit. Each machine has a capacity of 750t/hr with two 315kW power systems installed. The system will receive limestone lumps of up to 600mm in diameter and will output limestone lumps below 50mm. No value for the order has been disclosed.

Ukraine: The Ukrainian government has approved the construction of the €35.6m Galicia building materials complex in Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Region. The complex will include a cement plant. Business World News has reported that the government expects the Galicia complex to generate 1000 new jobs.

China: China Tianrui Group Cement's sales were US$1.09bn in 2023, down by 32% year-on-year from US$1.60bn. Reuters has reported that the company recorded a full-year loss of US$87.6m, where previously it recorded a profit of US$62m in 2022.

India: Udaipur Cement has commissioned a new grinding unit at its Udaipur cement plant in Rajasthan. The unit more than doubles the plant’s grinding capacity from 2.2Mt/yr to 4.7Mt/yr. Capital Market News has reported that the Udaipur plant now has an integrated capacity of 3Mt/yr, following the establishment of a second 1.5Mt/yr clinker line there in October 2023.

The company said "Udaipur Cement has been a pioneer in the promotion of various green initiatives. The company is the only one in the entire Indian cement industry with a 1MW floating solar power plant at its mines. During the fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year, the company also doubled its Udaipur cement plant’s waste heat recovery capacity from 6MW to 12MW. This has enabled Udaipur Cement to achieve a green energy share of more than 50% in total electrical energy consumption."

Egypt: Sinai Cement reported a reduction in its consolidated net loss after tax in 2023, amounting to US$2.57m, down from US$7m in 2022. The company's net sales saw an increase, reaching US$90.8m in 2023, up from US$49.6m the previous year.

Italy: Buzzi reported a net profit of €967m in 2023, more than doubling from €459m in the previous year. The company's consolidated revenue rose by 8.1% to €4.3bn, despite a fall in cement and concrete sales volumes of 7% and 12.7% respectively. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached €1.2bn, marking a 40.7% year-on-year increase.