Global Cement News

Spain: Cement consumption in Spain witnessed a 1.5% year-on-year decline in February 2024, marking nine consecutive months of decreases amid high interest rates, surging housing prices, and a stagnant outlook for the construction sector. According to Oficemen, February's consumption reached 1.1Mt, down from 1.2Mt in February 2023. The export sector experienced an even sharper fall, dropping 13.9% year-on-year in February 2024, continuing an eight-month decline, with a 9.8% decrease in exports from February 2023 to February 2024. Conversely, imports have risen by 11.3%.

Oficemen's general director, Aniceto Zaragoza, said “With nine months already in decline, the concern with which we observe the evolution of cement consumption and, of course, the construction sector, is accentuated.” Zaragoza called for increased collaboration between public and private institutions in public contracting processes to sustain infrastructure competitiveness. The slump in cement consumption, which has been ongoing since 2019, coincides with the European Central Bank's interest rate hikes, leading to higher mortgage costs and reduced demand in the housing market.

Mexico: Standard & Poor's (S&P) has raised Cemex's long-term global scale issuer credit rating to Investment Grade (BBB-). The upgrade is attributed to Cemex's robust financial and operating performance, effective deleveraging strategy, and adaptable capital allocation.

The upgrade to Investment Grade marks a significant achievement for Cemex, reflecting its record results and consistent financial performance over several years.

"Achieving an investment-grade credit rating from S&P is a very important milestone for Cemex," said CEO Fernando A González. In 2023, Cemex reported a 25% growth in EBITDA and more than a doubling in Free Cash Flow after maintenance capex.

S&P also elevated Cemex's national scale issue-level rating in Mexico from mxAA to mxAA+.

Croatia: Cemex Croatia has won contracts to install solar power plants at three of its facilities, co-financed by the EU's Modernisation Fund. The company will build new solar plants at Sv. Juraj and Sv. Kajo cement plants in Kaštel Sućurac and Solin, respectively, and at the Podsused production facility in Zagreb. The total investment is valued at €5m.

The solar power plants, with a combined capacity of 6.34MW, will be installed on the roofs of these facilities. The Sv. Juraj plant will receive a 3.79MW system worth €3m, the Sv. Kajo plant a 2.14MW system valued at €1.7m, and the Podsused facility a 0.41MW system costing about €318,000. The EU's Modernisation Fund will cover 60% of the costs for the Sv. Juraj and Sv. Kajo projects and 50% for the Podsused project.

"The savings that these measures will bring to us in terms of energy consumption will increase the efficiency of our production and reduce emissions from our operations. These are just some of the projects we are planning to achieve our climate goals" said Marijan Zekić, Cemex Croatia’s project and quality assurance manager.

France: Neo-Eco has developed a low-carbon cement binder from clay excavated during the Grand Paris Express project. The process, developed at IMT Nord Europe, involves flash-calcination at about 700°C, allowing it to replace part of the clinker and emit approximately five times less CO₂ than traditional methods. Neo-Eco's director, Christophe Deboffe, said that this new ingredient could constitute 30% of cement, maintaining the cost similar to traditional binders.

To commercialise this breakthrough, Neo-Eco established Neocem, a subsidiary based near Lille. Neocem has raised €23m to build a production plant in Saint-Maximin, Oise. Strategically located near waterways and Île-de-France, the plant will directly receive excavated materials from the Société du Grand Paris.

Starting in 2025, the facility will produce 100,000t/yr of flash-calcined clay, with potential to double its capacity in the future. Deboffe sees this as just the beginning, planning to establish more plants across France and Europe to meet the cement and ready-mix concrete industry's demand.

The clay supply is estimated to exceed 100Mt, ensuring a sustainable and ample source for the binder.

The facility is supported by the French government's ‘Première usine’ initiative under the France 2030 investment plan, with funding from investors like Bpifrance and CB Green. CB Green, based in Calais, is also developing a limestone filler production plant in Dunkerque with Ecocem, pointing to a future where cement could be composed equally of flash-calcined clay, limestone filler, and clinker. Bottom of Form

Australia: Fremantle Ports has completed the construction of a 40m-high cement clinker storage dome at Kwinana Bulk Terminal in the Outer Harbour. This dome, a first in Western Australia and the second in Australia, can store an entire 40,000t shipment of clinker.

The new storage solution links to the adjacent Cockburn Cement plant and serves BGC, another major clinker importer. The dome was chosen for its smaller ground footprint compared to traditional dry product sheds.

CEO Michael Parker said "Without clinker, industry stops. Every tonne entering Western Australia comes through Kwinana Bulk Terminal.”

The terminal imports over 1.1Mt/yr of clinker, sourced from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.