Philippines: Holcim Philippines has signed an agreement with Prime Infrastructure Capital for the supply of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) to its cement plants in Bulacan and La Union. Under the deal, Prime Infra’s subsidiary Prime Waste Solutions (PWS) Pampanga will provide RDF produced from plastic waste converted into alternative fuels through co-processing technology, helping Holcim to reduce its reliance on traditional fuels.

Cara Peralta, market sector lead for waste at Prime Infra, said “It is rare to find like-minded organisations such as Holcim willing to partner with us and make investments in sustainable practices like RDF consumption.”

France: Cement producer Eqiom has inaugurated a €2.5m pilot station for the continuous injection of alternative fuels at its Rochefort-sur-Nenon plant. The new facility enables the injection of wood fines - treated wood residues sourced from local sawmills - directly into the kiln at a rate of 5000t/yr.

The facility has reduced its coal use from 30,000t/yr to 8000t/yr. Currently, more than 70% of the plant’s kiln fuel comes from alternative sources, with the site now targeting 80%. Since the 1990s, the plant has successively used liquid chemical waste, animal meal and solid recovered fuels (SRF), which together accounted for 50,000t in 2024. Eqiom is also developing new cement types with lower clinker content by incorporating more pozzolans, as part of its broader decarbonisation efforts.

Pierre Bernard, Eqiom’s head of cement manufacturing, noted that national cement production fell from 20Mt/yr in 2022 to 15Mt/yr in 2024, equivalent to 1960 levels, due to a decline in construction activity.

Bulgaria: Zlatna Panega Cement, part of Greece-based Titan Group, has achieved a 65% rate of thermal substitution of fossil fuels with alternative fuels for four consecutive months. The company’s 5MW solar plant supplies between 11% and 13% of its energy needs.

General director Adamantios Francis said “We have achieved a historic success for our plant. With this, we prove that we are committed to sustainable development and are ready to lead the industry towards a greener future.”

Titan Group’s long-term strategy includes cutting energy consumption by 58% compared with 2020 levels and reducing direct net CO₂ emissions to 500kg/t of cement. At Zlatna Panega, CO₂ emissions in 2024 were 839kg/t of clinker, while electricity-related emissions fell by 38% year-on-year.

Belarus: The country’s cement sector is intensifying efforts to use refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in cement production, according to the state information agency Belarus Telegraph Agency.

Belarusian Cement Company introduced an RDF processing line in 2021 at OAO Krasnoselskstroymaterialy in Grodno Oblast, enabling full incineration of RDF supplied by local waste-processing plants. Contracts are reportedly already in place with RDF suppliers for 25,000t of the fuel to be delivered by the end of 2025.

In September 2025, industrial trials of RDF made by Minsk-based Ekores will begin. If successful, shipments from the company could double from 15,000t to 30,000t, raising total RDF use to 40,000t in the final quarter of 2025.

Plans are also underway to expand RDF infrastructure in 2026, with a regional municipal waste management and RDF production complex under construction near Volkovysk.