Poland: Switzerland-based Holcim has concluded an agreement to acquire ready-mix concrete producer Ol-Trans. Ol-Trans operates five batching plants and is the market leader in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. Holcim says that its new customers in the region will benefit from access to its CO₂-saving products, including Agila Fibro self-compacting concrete, which can reduce steel reinforcement usage in construction by up to 50%.

Holcim’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “With this acquisition we will further expand the footprint of ECOPact green concrete, the first and most comprehensive sustainable concrete range in Poland.”

Germany: Holcim Deutschland announced a planned upgrade to its Lägerdorf cement plant’s kiln on 14 July 2022. The producer will install a second generation oxyfuel kiln, which uses an air separation unit to supply oxygen directly, emitting CO₂-rich flue gas. A new carbon capture system will supply captured CO₂ to a synthetic hydrocarbons plant, which will produce methanol for other industrial applications. The upgrade will result in the capture of 1.2Mt/yr
of CO₂ emissions and make Lägerdorf one of the world’s first carbon neutral cement plants, according to Holcim Deutschland.

The project, called Carbon2Business, was among four cement plant projects and 13 other EU-wide projects to win a share of a US$1.81bn EU Innovation Fund funding pot. CEO Thorsten Hahn acknowledged that the awarding of funds was ‘good news for Holcim and all partners working with us to decarbonise cement.’ He said “Climate change means cement change.”

Bulgaria/Poland: The EU Innovation Fund has awarded funding to Devnya Cement’s ANRAV carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project in Bulgaria and Lafarge Polska’s Go4ECOPlanet CCUS project in Poland.

ANRAV is a full-chain CCUS project connecting Devnya Cement’s Devnya cement plant in Varna Province over 30km to the Black Sea for storage. Go4ECOPlanet applies a similar model to the capture and storage of CO₂ from Lafarge Polska’s Kujawy cement plant offshore in the North Sea. The Kujawy cement plant is situated 200km inland in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The plan is part of Lafarge Polska’s strategy to realise carbon neutrality at the Kujawy cement plant by 2027.

Regarding the ANRAV project, Mihail Polendakov, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania managing director at Devnya Cement’s parent company HeidelbergCement said “Our vision in the ANRAV consortium is to realise an economically viable CCUS cluster for Bulgaria and the neighbouring regions.” He continued “Subject to regulatory and permissions aspects, it could start operation as early as 2028, with a capture capacity of 800,000t/yr of CO₂.

Pakistan: Kohat Cement has informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange of its plan to establish a 10MW solar power plant at the site of its Kohat cement plant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The producer says that the plant will be connected to the national grid.

US: Titan Cement Group has invested in renewably powered Heat Battery developer Rondo Energy, in the California-based company’s Series A funding round. The Heat Battery is a 98% efficient electrical heater with high scalability, according to the supplier. Its modular battery provides grid load flexibility, with the possibility of continuous operation. Titan Cement Group says that it will now work in a technological partnership with Rondo Energy to develop new concepts for cement decarbonisation using Rondo Energy’s ‘unique innovation.’

Kyrgyzstan: Kant Cement has begun excavating the Severnaya Gryada limestone deposit near to its Kant cement plant. The producer says that the limestone has a higher purity than that from its existing Agalatas mine. It therefore expects the Kant plant to reduce its raw materials consumption and eliminate a part of its dust emissions. Kant Cement currently replaces a part of the limestone in the plant’s cement production with 65,000t/yr of fly ash.

Egypt: Misr Cement Qena commenced automated cement production at its Qena cement plant in early July 2022. The automation systems also cover plant maintenance processes. Misr Cement Qena awarded a technical management contract for the plant to Arab Swiss Engineering Company in June 2021.

Misr Cement Qena said "This step came in line with the company’s growth strategy to reduce operating costs and maximise asset utilisation in order to meet current challenges."

India: ACC recorded sales of US$559m in the first quarter of the 2023 financial year. The figure corresponds to a 15% year-on-year rise from US$486m in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year. The company's cement sales during the quarter rose by 13% to US$520m from US$460m. Its net profit was US$28.5m, down by 60% year-on-year.

Press Trust of India News has reported that ACC attributed the profit drop to 'rising global fuel costs and related inflationary impacts.' It said that waste heat recovery (WHR) installations at its Jamul, Kymore and Ametha cement plants will increase its renewable energy share to 15%, 'further accelerating the cost reduction journey.'

China: Tangshan Jidong Cement expects to record a 3.9 - 12% drop in its net profit in the first half of 2022. This would result in a figure of US$157 - 171m, compared to US$178m a year earlier.

India: The Indian Ministry of Mines and Indian Bureau of Mines have awarded UltraTech Cement Five Star ratings for 10 limestone mines across India. Assessment took place within the Indian mining Sustainable Development Framework, which quantifies sustainability, efficiency, land use and resettlement, besides other social impacts.