Global Cement Newsletter

Issue: GCW449 / 01 April 2020

Headlines


Cement and concrete products with sustainability credentials have increased in recent years as societies start to demand decarbonisation. In spite of the recent drop in the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) price, there has been a trend in recent years in the construction industry towards offerings with better environmental credentials. Indeed, this week’s position paper from Cembureau on a carbon border mechanism concerns directly the growth of these kinds of products within Europe. Typically, the higher profile projects have been slag cement or concrete implementations such as Hanson’s use of its Regen cement substitute in a London sewer project or David Ball Group’s Cemfree concrete in a road project also in the UK. In this short review we’ll take a selective look at a few of the so-called low carbon cement and concrete products currently available.

Table 1: Some examples of methods to reduce embodied CO2 in cement and concrete. Note - the product examples are selective. In some cases many other products are available.

Material Type Method Product examples
Cement SCM cement Lower clinker factor Many products
Cement Limestone calcined clay cement Lower clinker factor LC3, FutureCem, Polysius activated clay, H-EVA
Cement Calcium silicate cement Reduced process emissions Solidia, Celitement
Cement Recycled concrete fines Reduced lifecycle emissions Susteno
Cement Geopolymer cement Reduced process emissions Vertua
Cement Calcium sulphoaluminate cements Reduced process emissions Many products
Concrete CO2 curing/mineralisation Uses CO2 and reduces water usage Solidia, CarbonCure Technologies
Concrete Recycled concrete coarse Reduced lifecycle emissions Evopact, EcoCrete, FastCarb
Concrete SCM concrete Uses less or no cement Cemfree, Carbicrete, Regen
Concrete Uses less cement in mix Uses less cement  
Concrete Admixtures Uses less cement  
Concrete Locally sourced aggregate / better supply chain logistics Reduced transport emissions  
Concrete Geopolymer concrete Uses no cement E-Crete
Concrete Graphene concrete Uses less cement Concrene
Concrete Carbon offsetting Separate offsetting scheme Vertua

Looking at cement first, the easiest way for many producers to bring a lower carbon product to market has been to promote cements made using secondary cementitious materials (SCM) such as granulated blast furnace slag or fly ash. These types of cements have a long history, typically in specialist applications and/or in relation to ease of supply. For example, cement producers in eastern India often manufacture slag cements owing to the number of local steel plants. However, cement producers have more recently started to publicise their environmental credentials as they reduce the clinker factor of the final product. Alongside this though, in Europe especially, a number of so-called low carbon cement producers have appeared on the scene such as EcoCem and Hoffman Green Technologies. These newer producers tend to offer SCM cement products or other low carbon ones built around a grinding model. It is likely that their businesses have benefitted from tightening EU environmental legislation. How far cement producers can pivot to SCM cement products is contentious given that slag and fly ash are finite byproducts of other industries that are also under pressure to decarbonise. Although it should be noted that other SCMs such as pozzolans exist.

As will be seen below a few of the methods to reduce embodied CO2 in cement and concrete can be used in both materials. SCMs are no exception and hold a long history in concrete usage. As mentioned above David Ball Group sells Cemfree a concrete product that contains no cement. Harsco Environmental, a minerals management company, invested US$3m into Carbicrete, a technology start-up working on a cement-free concrete, in late 2019.

Limestone calcined clay cements are the next set of products that are starting to make an appearance through the work of the Swiss-government backed LC3 project, more commercial offerings like FutureCem from Cementir and H-EVA from Hoffman Green Technologies and today’s announcement about ThyssenKrupp’s plans to fit the Kribi cement plant in Cameroon with its Polysius activated clay system. They too, like SCM cements, reduce the clinker factor of the cement. The downside is that, as in the name, the clay element needs to be calcined requiring capital investment, although LC3 make a strong case in their literature about how fast these costs can be recouped in a variety of scenarios.

Calcium silicate cements offer reduced process emissions by decreasing the lime content of the clinker lowering the amount of CO2 released and bringing down the temperature required in the kiln to make the clinker. Solidia offers its calcium silicate cement as part of a two-part system with a CO2 cured concrete. In the US LafargeHolcim used Solidia’s product in a commercial project in mid-2019 at a New Jersey paver and block plant. Solidia’s second core technology is using CO2 to cure concrete and reducing water usage. They are not alone here as Canada’s CarbonCure Technologies uses CO2 in a similar way with their technology. In their case they focus more on CO2 mineralisation. In Germany, Schwenk Zement backed the Celitement project, which developed a hydraulic calcium hydro silicate based product that does not use CO2 curing. Celitement has since become part of Schwenk Zement.

Solidia isn’t the only company looking at two complementary technologies along the cement-concrete production chain. A number of companies are looking at recycling concrete and demolition waste. Generally this splits into coarse waste that is used as an aggregate substitute in concrete and fine waste that is used to make cement. LafargeHolcim has Evopact for the coarse waste and Susteno for the fine. HeidelbergCement has EcoCrete for the coarse and is researching the use of fines. Closing the loop for heavy building material producers definitely seems like the way to go at the moment and this view is reinforced by the involvement of the two largest multinational producers.

Of the rest of the other low carbon cement methods detailed in table 1 these cover other non-Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) such as geopolymer and calcium sulphoaluminate cements. The former are a type of alkali activated binder and generally lack common standards. The latter are similar to slag cements in that they are established specialist products with lower CO2 emissions than OPC.

With concrete when trying to make a low carbon product the first choice is whether to choose a low-carbon cement as the binder or even not to use cement at all in the case of Regen or Cemfree. From here the next step is to simply use less cement in a concrete mixture. There are a number of ways to do this from optimising aggregate gradation, following performance specifications more closely, using strength tests like maturity methods and generally adhering to quality control protocols better to deliver more consistency. Read the Mineral Production Association (MPA) publication Specifying Sustainable Concrete for more detail on this. Using concrete admixtures can also help make concrete more sustainable by improving quality and performance at construction sites through the use of plasticisers and accelerators, by decreasing embodied carbon through the use of water reducers and by improving the whole life performance of concretes. The use of locally-sourced aggregates is also worth noting here since it can reduce associated transport CO2 emissions.

More novel methods of reducing embodied CO2 emissions in concrete include the use of geopolymer concrete in the case of Zeobond Group’s E-Crete or adding graphene as Concrene does. Like geopolymer cements, geopolymer concretes are relatively new and lack common standards. Products like Concrene, meanwhile, remain currently at the startup level. Finally, if all else fails, offsetting the CO2 released by a cement or concrete product is always an option. This is what Cemex has done with its Vertua Ultra Zero product. The first 70% reduction in embodied CO2 is gained through the use of geopolymer cement. Then the remaining 30% reduction is achieved through a carbon offsetting scheme via a carbon neutral certification verified by the Carbon Trust.

As can be seen, a variety of methods exist for cement and concrete producers to reduce the embodied CO2 of their products and call them ‘low-carbon.’ For the moment most remain in the ‘novelty section’ but as legislators promote and specifiers look for sustainable construction they continue to become more mainstream. What has been interesting to note from this short study is that some companies are looking at multiple solutions along the production and supply chain whilst others are concentrating on single ones. The companies looking at multiple methods range from the biggest building material producers like LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement to smaller newer ones like Solidia and Hoffman Green Technologies. Also of note is that many of these products have existed already in various forms for a long time like SCM cements and concretes or the many ways concretes can be made more sustainable through much simpler ways such as changing aggregate sourcing or working more efficiently. In many cases once markets receive sufficient stimulus it seems likely that low carbon cement and concrete products will proliferate.

Global Cement is researching a market report on low carbon cement and concrete. If readers have any comments to make please contact us at editorial@propubs.com


Mexico: Cemex has added responsibility for the Philippines, Israel, Egypt and the UAE to Sergio Mauricio Menendez Medina with his appointment as the president of Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia (EMEAA). He will continue to remain the president for Cemex in Europe

Jesus Vicente Gonzalez Herrera, current president for Cemex in South, Central America and the Caribbean (SCAC), will also oversee Cemex’s Global Trading activities, in addition to his current responsibilities.


Finland: Tana has appointed Kari Liuska as its chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from 1 May 2020. Present CEO and owner Kari Kangas will continue as chairman of the board.

Liuska will transfer to Tana from Etteplan Oyj, where he worked as a Senior Vice President in Software and Embedded Solutions. Liuska has worked in Etteplan's management positions since 2016 and before that as managing director of Espotel.

Kangas, the owner-CEO of Tana Oy, will become the full-time chairman of the board. A smooth transition is anticipated as Liuska has been a member of the board of Tana for around one year.

Tana is a waste management company that produces landfill compactors, waste shredders and waste screening technologies.


US: Germany-based Lehigh Hanson has announced a suspension of work on its 2.0Mt/yr expansion of the 0.8Mt/yr Mitchell plant in Indiana to 2.8Mt/yr to early 2021 at the latest due to ‘uncertainties resulting from’ the coronavirus. The target date for commissioning has also moved, to late 2023 from September 2022. Lehigh Cement Mitchell plant manager Jerry Miller said, “A construction project of this magnitude has numerous components, such as supply chain certainty, material deliveries and, importantly, worker availability.”

The upgrade received environmental clearance in July 2019 and the company broke ground at the site in October 2019.


Philippines: Eagle Cement Corporation’s profit in 2019 was US$118m, up by 25% from US$94.1m in 2018. Sales for the year amounted to US$389m, up by 20% from US$324m in 2018. The Manila Times newspaper has reported that the company attributed the rises to ‘increased sales volumes growth,’ due in part to ‘robust demand for private consumption.’ Eagle president and CEO Paul Ang said, “We keep our positive stance that demand will eventually pick up once the enhanced community quarantine is lifted by the government and we remain committed to delivering high quality cement to both private and public sectors as soon as this happens.”

Eagle Cement Corporation will complete the installation of a fifth mill at its 7.1Mt/yr integrated Bulacan plant in 2020, bringing its cement capacity to 8.6Mt/yr.


India: Germany-based HeidelbergCement has announced the successful expansion of two grinding plants. Accord Fintech News has reported that the company took advantage of the suspension of cement production since 24 March 2020 to complete debottlenecking work at the Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, and Imlai, Madhya Pradesh, grinding plants, bringing their cement production capacities to 3.3Mt/yr and 2.5Mt/yr respectively.

HeidelbergCement India has an integrated capacity of 3.7Mt/yr and a grinding capacity of 6.3Mt/yr (total capacity: 10Mt/yr).


Cameroon: Germany-based Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions has won an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract with Netherlands-based Cimpor Global Holdings for the installation of a clay calcination plant at its new integrated Kribi cement plant in the Port of Kribi in South Cameroon. The system calcines clay at just 800°C, which can then replace clinker at a ratio of one to two, lowering the finished cement’s clinker factor by up to 33%.

ThyssenKrupp says that use of the system, the first of its kind in Cameroon and second at a Cimpor Global Holdings cement plant, will help cut CO2 emissions by 120,000t/yr, corresponding to a reduction of 40%.


US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared the Portland Cement Association its 2020 Energy Star Partner of the Year. The appointment recognises the PCA’s ‘leadership, innovation and commitment to environmental protection through energy efficiency. PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland said, “PCA and its members have greatly benefited from participation in the Energy Star programme. Cement plants have total annual source energy savings of 6.38bn mega joules and have reduced energy-related CO2 emissions by 1.5Mt/yr.”


Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos earned revenues of US$2.47bn in 2019, up by 3.0% year-on-year from US$2.39bn in 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation rose by 1.1% to US$513m from US$507m in 2018. Throughout the year, the company says that it paid off approximately US$570m of debt and contracted with a syndicate of banks for a new committed credit facility (CCF) for its alternative fuel substitution and CCF reduction initiatives of US$55.1m, due in August 2024.

On 30 March 2020 Votorantim Cimentos donated US$5.5m to fighting the effects of the coronavirus in Brazil.


Germany: Schwenk Zement’s 1.2Mt/yr Karlstadt cement plant in Bavaria, 1.0Mt/yr Allmendingen and Mergelstetten cement plants in Baden Württemberg and 0.86Mt/yr Bernburg cement plant in Saxony-Anhalt have all achieved the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC)’s gold certification, enabling the use of their cements in concrete for CSC certified sustainable buildings. Schwenk building consultancy head Werner Rothenbacher said, “Schwenk is committed to sustainable cement production at all locations. More works will follow soon.” In addition to its cement plants, Schwenk operates numerous ready-mix concrete production facilities in Germany.

In 2019 20% of German new-builds were CSC certified.


UK: Breedon Group has suspended production at all UK sites except operations that ‘serve critical supply needs,’ such as those of the Hope, Derbyshire, cement plant. The group’s Ireland operations also continue, ‘pending further guidance from the Irish government.’

Breedon Group says that it has taken the temporary measures ‘to ensure the safety and wellbeing of colleagues, subcontractors, customers and communities.’


Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has set out the measures by which it aims to achieve its July 2019 target to ‘reduce net CO2 emissions per unit of cement production’ by 80% between 2000 and 2050. The measures consist of: the introduction of energy-saving equipment, the promotion of alternative fuels (AFs) and the development of lower-CO2 cements, accounting for a minimum 15% reduction; development and introduction of new technologies to the production process, targeting especially indirect emissions by modernising energy sources, accounting for a minimum 15% reduction; assumption of future technologies, accounting for a minimum 50% reduction.


EU: Cembureau has welcomed the European Commission (EC)’s proposal for consultations on setting up a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for imported goods including cement, and set out a number of ‘design principles’ that it says ‘should apply’. According to Cembureau, a CBAM ought to be: complementary to EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) free allowances (in the initial phase) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatible, based on importers’ verified emissions, including indirect emissions, applicable to all ETS sectors and capable of providing a CO2 charge exemption for EU exporters.

The EC has said that it will present a final proposal for a CBAM by mid-2021.


Europe: Australia-based Calix has announced that construction will begin on its second low emissions intensity lime and cement (Leilac) carbon capture and storage (CCS) installation at a ‘European cement plant’ on 7 April 2020. ASX ComNews has reported that collaborators on the project, which has received Euro16m under the EU’s Horizon 2020 grant scheme, are Portugal-based Cimpor, Germany-based HeidelbergCement, Germany and France-based energy companies Ingenieurbüro-Kühlerbau-Neustadt (IKN) and Engie and Belgium-based minerals and lime company Lhoist. Calix has said that the 100,000t/yr process emissions capture facility will be operational in late 2024.
The company has appointed Emma Bowring Leilac-2 project leader.

The first Leilac installation was completed at HeidelbergCement’s 1.5Mt/yr integrated Lixhe plant in Belgium’s Limburg province in mid-2019.


Zimbabwe: China-based Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company and LiveTouch Invest, owner of Diamond Cement Zimbabwe, have acquired a six hectare site in the coal mining area of Hwange, Matabeleland North Province, and announced a planned investment of US$30m in the construction of a grinding plant which will grind clinker with waste materials from coal extraction to produce cement.

LiveTouch Invest had previously mooted the idea of a Zimbabwean clinker plant joint venture with South Africa-based PPC in July 2019.


Togo: Cim Metal Group subsidiary Cimco has received a Gebr. Pfeiffer 6400kW, CEM I - CEM IV MVR 6000 C-6 grinding mill. Germany-based Intercem Engineering will install the mill, which grinds CEM-I to a fineness of 3800cm2 at a rate of 370t/hr, at Cimco’s Lomé grinding plant.

Gebr. Pfeiffer has said that this is its 12th MVR mill installed on the African continent.


Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has announced measures to limit the ‘volatile’ impacts of coronavirus on health and business. The measures, which overrule its previous 2020 guidance, consist of: a year-on-year capital expenditure (CAPEX) reduction of Euro378m, a year-on-year fixed cost reduction of Euro283m and a reduction of net working capital ‘at least in line with level of activity.’ LafargeHolcim has said that it had Euro7.56bn strongly liquid assets as of 26 March 2020.

LafargeHolcim predicted that global construction’s cement demand will decline in April and May 2020. It said the construction sector has begun to recover in China, where all of its cement plants outside of Hubei province are once more operational. It expects to deliver 70% of it April 2019 Chinese volumes in April 2020.


India: Construction workers employed at the site of Ramco Cement’s Haridaspur, Odisha, grinding plant, which has been under construction since early 2018, have protested over an alleged lack of food being supplied to the plant, where they are currently residing. The Pioneer newspaper has reported that the nationwide coronavirus lockdown prevented the 400 workers, from Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, from returning home, leading them to take up residence in the Haridaspur plant. Police are talking with the protestors and Ramco Cements management.


India: Dalmia Bharat has suspended operations across its entire integrated cement production apparatus, equalling 26.5Mt/yr capacity, as of 26 March 2020. The move is a response to a government ordnance of 25 March 2020 imposing a 21-day lockdown on the whole of India due to the coronavirus. The company will implement the closure ‘until further notice,’ according to Mint News.

Dalmia Bharat CEO and managing director Mahendra Singhi said, “While cement production is continuous in nature and the plants have requisite permission from both the state and the central governments to operate with minimum employees during the lockdown, Dalmia Bharat will only carry out mandatory activities required for safety and security of the plants in the larger interest of its staff.”

Coronavirus had claimed 13 lives in India on 27 March 2020.


Colombia: Cementos Argos owner Grupo Argos has announced a raft of cuts to investments and expenses worth a total of US$245m in response to the impacts of Covid-19. Noticias Financieras News has reported that US$61.2m of the cuts will be to planned investments in expansion projects and raw materials inventory restocking, including to some in the cement business. Group Argos President Jorge Mario Velasquez said that the measures would, “give additional currency for the different sources, cash and funding that the organization has access to and give us relative peace of mind in our cash structure.”

Grupo Argos said it would stick to its US$3.67bn five-year investment plan.


Mexico: Cemex has shared its 2019 sustainability achievements in an integrated report entitled ‘Innovating for a Better World,’ which analyses the company’s strategic vision, operational performance and corporate governance against its commitment to drive innovation in the cement sector. Throughout the year, the company introduced its new Climate Action strategy to reduce CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030 and established an ambition to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete by 2050. It achieved an alternative fuel substitution rate of 28%, its highest since 2014, bringing its net specific CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious product to 624kg.

Cemex’s net income was US$179m in 2019, down by 69% year-on-year from US$570m in 2018. Its sales declined by 8%, to US$4.3bn from US$4.7bn


EU: The European Union (EU) has ignored lobbying calls from the cement industry in upholding the 31 March 2020 deadline for companies to submit emissions reports for 2019. EurActiv News has reported that “firms are struggling to have their reports verified” due to the coronavirus.

After reports are submitted, producers will have until 30 April 2020 to surrender any Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) credits needed to cover their reported emissions.


Poland: Denmark-based chain specialist ScanChain has announced that it will be producing and distributing chains from a new facility located in Poznan in the province of Greater Poland. The company says it has ended its partnership with a partial ownership by UK-based John King Chains.

Scan Chain said “Over the past three years we have seen a great growth in new markets. We are pleased that both ScanChain and John King Chains wish to establish a strong link going forward.”


Colombia/Panama: Mexico-based Cemex has announced the suspension of production at all of its plants in Panama and those of its Colombian subsidiary Cemex Latam Holdings from 25 March 2020. It said it ‘may resume certain activities on or before 13 April 2020,’ according to Noticias Financieras News. The NAFTA 2.0 newspaper has included Cemex on a list of Mexico’s companies most exposed due to a large European presence to the impacts of the coronavirus there. Europe is the second-largest market for Cemex’s products, generating 24% of its revenue in 2019.


China: Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement’s net profit in 2019 was US$197m, representing a 20% year-on-year increase from US$164m. Reuters has reported that on 15 November 2019 Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement paid US$82.6m for a lease and limestone exploration rights for land in De’an County, Jiangxi Province, previously held by Fushan Cement. On 25 June 2019 the company received US$23.3m in government compensation for the relocation of its Wannian cement plant.


Spain: Members of the Spanish cement association Oficemen have offered help to the government in the disposal of medical waste contaminated with the coronavirus, for which any kiln line with the right alternative fuel processing capabilities will be made available. Minister for Industry Reyes Maroto said that the plants will be used for waste’s elimination ‘only insofar as companies can continue operating.’


Egypt: Sinai Cement’s net loss in 2019 was US$28.1m, down by 44% year-on-year from US$50.2m in 2018. Arab Finance News reported that the company attributed the loss to accumulated effects of currency devaluation on imported fuel and to rises of electricity and oil prices.


UK: Mineral Products Association (MPA) chief executive Nigel Jackson has written to the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, welcoming his deferment of value added tax (VAT) and urging the extension of this deferment to Employer National Insurance (ENI), Corporation Tax and Business Rates. “What business needs now are fast and simple solutions that enable them to keep cash in their businesses and their employees in their jobs,” said Jackson. “Fixed costs are very high. Once the recovery starts the pent-up demand will be immense.”