Belgium: Heidelberg Materials Benelux will invest €450m in its Anthemis project, involving the installation of an 800,000t/yr carbon capture system, at its Antoing cement plant. The project is scheduled for completion in 2029. Captured CO₂ will travel by pipeline to the North Sea for storage.

Austria: RHI Magnesita reported 7.7% year-on-year growth in its sales from €3.32bn to €3.57bn in 2023. Its gross profit rose by 12% from €763m to €857m, while its earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) rose by 1.6% from €372m to €378m.

Germany: The German government published its new carbon management strategy and draft carbon storage law (KSpG) on 26 February 2024. The KSpG revises understandings of carbon neutrality to include CO₂ savings made through carbon capture and storage (CCS). The government says that the legislation primarily aims to support hard-to-abate sectors like cement, while coal-fired power plants will be barred from future CO₂ pipeline access. Heidelberg Materials CEO Dominik von Achten was alongside politicians at the strategy launch. The producer’s Brevik cement plant in Norway is set to become carbon neutral through the capture and storage of 400,000t/yr of CO₂.

German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck said "Achieving our climate targets without CCS is impossible."

Switzerland: Holcim recorded a 7.5% drop in sales to US$30.6bn in 2023, ‘largely’ due to its divestment of its cement businesses in India and Brazil. On a like-for-like basis, its sales rose by 6.1%. The group’s earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 0.2% to US$5.4bn, but by 15% like-for-like. It attributed this both to price rises and cost-saving measures in its cement and concrete operations. Net profit fell by 7.5% to €3.47bn, including a €1.7bn special gain from its Indian divestment. Holcim says that it implemented its Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth two years ahead of schedule.