Displaying items by tag: Investment

Mexico: Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim’s US subsidiary Geocycle has signed an agreement with the City Council of Macuspana in Tabasco for the removal of 21,600t/yr of inorganic waste for sale to cement producers as alternative fuel (AF) for calciners. The company has inaugurated a US$1.3m waste processing plant for the purposes of meeting its commitment. Geocycle Mexico general director Sven Ritschard said, “This typifies the circular economy and is positive for all parties involved.” The waste would otherwise have gone to landfill.

El Salvador: Geocycle, the waste management subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, plans to invest US$1m in new equipment. It will be used to process solid waste before co-processing at a cement plant, according to La Prensa Gráfica newspaper. LafargeHolcim operates two integrated cement plants in the country.

Canada: Lafarge Canada has commissioned a new lower carbon fuel (LCF) system at its Richmond cement plant in British Colombia. The fuel handling and delivery system is expected to replace up to 50% of the plant’s fossil fuel use with lower carbon fuels. The project cost US$20m. Lafarge received US$10m in funding support from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment. LCF used by the plant is comprised of primarily non-recyclable waste by-products.

“Lafarge is aligned with Metro Vancouver’s sustainability goals for recovering energy from landfill-bound solid waste, a classic example of the Circular Economy in action. This new system allows us to more easily reach our target of substituting 50% of our fossil fuel use with lower carbon options. Data from our pilot suggests we can go higher—even up to 70% is realistic,” said Pascal Bouchard, the plant manager at Richmond.

The Richmond cement plant is Lafarge’s first Canadian unit that has been permitted to use lower carbon fuels for 10 years. Previous upgrades allowed the plant to achieve 25% substitution rate.

Oman: Four French investors and technology suppliers, including Fives and Suez, have created a syndicate to develop business opportunities in the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm. The other partners are CMA CGM and EDF Renewables. The companies intend to assess various investment options in the area and develop them. In particular, the syndicate has an interest in a ‘global approach to cement factory ecosystems’ and related facilities including transport facilities, a solar power generation plant and the production of alternative fuels.

Algeria: Minister of Water Resources and Environment Abdelkader Ouali has encouraged investors to enter the waste recycling market. The minister said that the industry could be worth up to Euro310m during a tour of a waste treatment project at the Lafarge Algeria cement plant at Oggaz.

Ouali also praised Lafarge’s initiative to eliminate wastes through the furnaces of the cement works. These operations have allowed the elimination, over the past two years, of 106t of expired medication, collected in 12 provinces. They have been carried out in cooperation with the ministry of Environment and the Algerian national union of pharmacies and dispensaries.