Global Cement News

Germany: KHD Humboldt Wedag has appointed Martin Strouhal as its Chief Sales Officer from effect from 1 January 2026.

Strouhal previously worked as the Vice President - Head of Construction & Operation - Region APAC for wind turbine manufacturer Vestas. Before this, he worked for FLSmidth from the mid-1990s to 2022. He started as a Site and Installation Service Manager before moving into sales. Notable positions during this time included Sales Director - Cement Project Division EMEA & APAC from 2011 to 2016 and Senior Vice President - Global Projects and Asset Management from 2018 to 2022. Strouhal is a graduate in machinery and production engineering from the DTU - Technical University of Denmark and holds a number of post-graduate business qualifications.

Romania: Holcim has won a European Union Innovation Fund grant for its Carbon Hub CPT 01 carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Campulung cement plant. The initiative will produce an estimated 2Mt/yr of near-zero cement from 2032, marking Eastern Europe’s first full-scale onshore CCS project, according to the company.

The project, developed with Carmeuse as a key partner, will capture CO₂ from kiln flue gases, compress it and transport it for permanent underground storage. Holcim said the project supports the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and advances its NextGen Growth 2030 strategy.

With this grant, Holcim now has eight large-scale EU-supported carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects, located in Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania.

Greece: Titan Group has entered a strategic partnership with thyssenkrupp Polysius to advance Polysius’ meca clay technology, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions from cement production. The collaboration was formalised through a memorandum of understanding.

The meca clay system activates alternative cementitious materials to partially replace clinker, thereby lowering emissions and energy use without affecting performance, according to the company. Titan will first implement the technology at its Patras cement plant, with pilot activities scheduled for 2026 and further rollout planned. The partnership targets the production of low-carbon cement with a clinker-to-cement ratio below 40%, compared to 93% in ordinary Portland cement.

Belgium: Carmeuse’s LEOPARD project in Aisemont has been selected for funding by the European Innovation Fund. The project aims to achieve zero-carbon lime production through a hybrid process that combines CO₂ preconcentration with membrane-based carbon capture. The system increases the CO₂ concentration in kiln flue gases prior to capture, reducing operating costs compared to conventional post-combustion methods while avoiding additional air or chemical waste emissions, according to the company. The facility will also integrate bioenergy with carbon capture and storage technologies.

Carmeuse said the project will prevent more than 70,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions and remove additional CO₂ from the atmosphere through bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS). The process runs solely on electricity, supporting the company’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Germany: AUMUND Fördertechnik has launched its electrified Linear Calcination Conveyor (eLCC), which enables efficient clay calcination for limestone calcined clay cement (LC3).

LC3, composed of roughly 50% clinker, 30% calcined clay, 15% limestone and 5% gypsum, can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 40% compared to ordinary Portland cement, according to the company. The technology enhances pozzolanic reactions between limestone and calcined clay, which provides additional alumina to form carboaluminate phases, improving strength and durability while lowering clinker use. Developed in collaboration with Holcim over four years, the eLCC was tested successfully at AUMUND’s pilot demonstration unit in Rheinberg, confirming its potential to support low-carbon cement production at industrial scale.