Global Cement News

India: The Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) has validated UltraTech Cement’s CO₂ emissions reduction targets. The validation confirms that the company’s targets are in line with a 2°C temperature rise scenario under the Paris Agreement. The targets consist of a 27% reduction in Scope 1 CO₂ emissions between 2017 and 2032 and a 69% reduction in Scope 2 CO₂ emissions between 2017 and 2032. This corresponds to a 462kg/t net CO₂ reduction for the producer’s cement.

Managing director Kailash Jhanwar said, “A changing climate scenario poses significant challenges for the built environment sector. It equally provides valuable opportunities to develop sustainable products and services. By committing to science-based targets, UltraTech Cement has once again demonstrated leadership in paving the way for the sector to help build sustainable infrastructure.”

Bangladesh: Protesters in Chhatak, Sunamganj District have accused LafargeHolcim Bangladesh of selling limestone illegally. The New Nation newspaper has reported that protesters allege that the company sold imported Indian limestone on the open market. They allege that the limestone was imported exclusively for use as a raw material in cement production under Bangladeshi tax law.

Argentina: Loma Negra has completed the replacement of an electrostatic filter at its integrated Zapala cement plant in Neuquén with a new baghouse filter. The Gaceta Mercanil newspaper has reported that the company said that the new product has the benefit of being able to work without an electricity supply. Additionally, it is able to operate at higher inlet temperatures than the previous filter, reducing water consumption by approximately 50%. Work began in early 2019 and the total investment cost of the project was US$7m.

Argentina: Loma Negra’s consolidated adjusted earning before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 3% year-on-year to US$146m in 2020 from US$143min 2019. Sales fell by 13% to US$458m from US$526m and net profit rose by 107% to US$125m from US$60.6m. Consolidated cement, masonry and lime sales fell by 6% to 5.2Mt from 5.5Mt, but rose by 27% in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 1.6Mt from 1.3Mt. The company noted a fourth-quarter increase in bulk cement sales of 7%. Bagged cement also made a ‘robust recovery’ from the negative effects of the strict Covid-19 lockdown in the second quarter of 2020, according to the company. It attributed the rise to the partial lifting of lockdown for private works. Throughout the year, the group decreased its net debt by 81% to US$22.8m from US$119m.

In 2020 the producer continued with its L’Amali cement plant expansion and divested its Paraguayan asset. All detailed engineering is reported complete and all equipment and materials supplies have been delivered to the site. Commissioning and start-up has been completed at the crushing section and a new primary crusher is fully operational. Commissioning and start-up at raw mill department and clinker line are in progress.

Chief executive officer Sergio Faifman said, “We finished the year in a very good way when considering the unprecedented scenario that we were presented with from the beginning of the year. At that point in time, the fragile macroeconomic environment in the country was impacted by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, making the future uncertain and blurred. More than ever, it was in that challenging context that we lean on our competitive strengths.” He added, “At the beginning of the crisis, we focused on managing our cash position and cash generation, and we sought to optimise our productive structure. As the market began to pull in demand, we relied on our value chain to speed up sales, especially of bagged cement. All of this allowed us to expand our profitability, and enhanced our already solid balance sheet.”

US: Lehigh Hanson has signed a collaboration agreement with materials technology company Fortera. Under the agreement, the companies will establish a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at the producer’s 0.8Mt/yr integrated Redding Cement plant in Shasta district, California. The system will produce a cementitious material for use in concrete production. The material will be the first of its kind to be produced at a cement plant.

"This collaboration with Lehigh Hanson will prove the commercial scalability, the quality of the final product, and the competitive economics of the Fortera process," said Ryan Gilliam, chief executive officer and co-founder of Fortera. He added that the Fortera process (ReCarb) has been designed to utilise the existing cement infrastructure, from the quarry to the kiln, but with less CO₂ emissions, lower energy, and lower processing temperatures, leading to 60% lower CO₂ emissions per tonne of product.