EU: European Union (EU) member state governments have agreed to establish a carbon border adjustment mechanism on imports of polluting goods, including cement, from outside of the EU. Besides preventing carbon leakage, the member states hope that the mechanism will encourage EU partners to establish carbon pricing policies and combat climate change within the framework of the European Emissions Trading System (ETS).

US: Monarch Cement’s net sales were US$212m in 2021, up by 12% year-on-year from US$189m in 2020. Its cement sales volumes increased by 12% year-on-year to 1.2Mt. Monarch Cement invested US$24m in new equipment in 2021, including 27 new ready-mix trucks, six new cement haul trucks, three loaders and two excavators. It plans to launch Portland limestone cement (PLC) products later in 2022.

US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded its Energy Star certification to cement plants belonging to two Titan America subsidiaries. Titan Florida’s Pennsuco, Florida, cement plant has secured its 14th consecutive Energy Star, while Roanoke Cement’s Troutville, Virginia, cement has secured its 15th consecutive Energy Star.

Other cement plants to receive Energy Stars in 2022 included two Argos USA plants (Calera, Alabama, and Harleyville, South Carolina), two GCC plants (Pueblo, Colorado, and Rapid City, South Dakota), Buzzi Unicem’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant and three plants in Arizona: CalPortland’s Rillito plant, Drake Cement’s Paulden plant and Salt River Materials Group’s Clarkdale plant.

Congo: The government has reduced tolls on the transport of cement by road by 50%. The Journal de Brazza newspaper has reported that the government contacted Dangote Cement to encourage it to resume dispatches from its Ndingui cement plant.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched ISO14044-compliant full-lifecycle Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its ready-mix concrete range. The company says that the EPDs will help designers and builders to inform their materials selection processes. The Redacción newspaper has reported that data from five cement plants contributed to the declarations.

Concrete and aggregates director Manuel Sirtori congratulated the team for "demonstrating leadership by promoting transparency and reducing emissions in the construction industry."

Spain: A consortium consisting of Cemex España, energy suppliers Enagás and Redexis, renewable power and infrastructure company Acciona and 30 other partners has commissioned Europe’s first solar power-to-green hydrogen plant at the site of Cemex España’s Lloseta cement plant on Majorca. The EU contributed Euro10m to the approximately Euro50m project. Euro3.75 million came from the Balearic Islands Autonomous Community government and Euro2.5m from the Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) of the Ministry of the Ecological Transition. The project will generate 300t/yr of hydrogen, eradicating 20,700t/yr of CO₂. The hydrogen will primarily fuel city buses in Palma, as well as air conditioning units in public and private buildings there.

China: Geely will include electric cement truck battery pack change facilities in its roll out of 5000 vehicle battery change stations across China. Carscoops News has reported that the stations will be able to remove vehicles’ 3.2t, 280kWh battery packs in five minutes and fully recharge them in an hour. Cement truck drivers will be able to access the service via a simple QR code scan.

Russia: Eurocement subsidiary Maltsovsky Portland Cement has reportedly commissioned a new diesel locomotive to deliver clay to its Maltsovsky cement plant in Bryansk Oblast. According to Russia-based media outlet Stroymedia, eight locomotives operate on the company’s 53km-long railway network during the construction season. Maltsovsky Portland Cement will reportedly replace sections of track and continue the renewal of its rolling stock during 2022.

India: The South India Cement Manufacturers’ Association (SICMA) has joined the Confederation of Indian Industry and the associations of other Telangana industries in lobbying the state government against its proposed Grid Support Charge levy on captive power plants operating in parallel to the state grid. The Hindu Business Line News has reported that power plant operators will pay a monthly levy of US$37,100/MW, potentially from 1 April 2022.

One cement company official said “Some of the most industry-friendly states such as Odisha, Karnataka and West Bengal do not levy such charges, while Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat levy a minimal rate of US$261 – 392/MW per month.”

India: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has fined Jaypee Infratech US$9140 for its failure to disclose its issue of a series of non-convertible debt securities. The company additionally failed to inform the BSE exchange of defaults in payment with respect to some of the series.