Displaying items by tag: net zero

US: National Cement is upgrading its Lebec cement plant in California to make it carbon neutral. The upgrade involves a transition to limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) production. The producer will also substitute fossil fuels with locally-sourced biomass, including pistachio shells, in cement production. Lastly, a carbon capture installation will remove 950,000t/yr of CO₂ from the plant’s flue gases.

France: Lafarge France has ignited the new kiln at its Martres-Tolosane cement plant following a Euro120m upgrade. Local press has reported that the upgrade replaced the plant’s existing kilns and preheater tower with entirely new equipment. The new kiln has tripled the plant’s capacity, to 2.1Mt/yr from 0.7Mt/yr. Meanwhile, the new preheater tower will help to reduce the plant’s electricity consumption by over 20%. As a result of the upgrade, the Martres-Tolosane plant can now support an alternative fuels (AF) substitution rate of 60%, compared to 20% beforehand. Lafarge France aims to carry out further work to reach 85% AF substitution at the plant by 2027. Other planned projects include the installation of a carbon capture system.

Lafarge France CEO François Petry said “We are going to create a research and innovation centre here dedicated to the capture of CO₂, with the ambition of ultimately making the Martres-Tolosane plant net zero carbon.”

US: Summit Materials has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with hydrogen producer PCC Hydrogen (PCCH2). The MOU establishes an alliance to develop a fuel replacement strategy for Summit Materials’ cement production. PCCH2 will build a hydrogen plant to supply green hydrogen at a cement plant belonging to Summit Materials subsidiary Continental Cement.

Continental Cement president David Loomes said "Continental Cement has a longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship, seeking out opportunities to develop innovative practices and differentiated solutions to build a better tomorrow. Our company has signed on to the Portland Cement Association (PCA)'s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, with a goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2050. By coupling PCCH2's hydrogen production process with our cement manufacturing know-how, we are taking a bold stride towards achieving that goal, while continuing the push to cost-effective decarbonisation of cement manufacturing."

Mexico: Cemex Mexico plans to install hydrogen injection systems at four cement plants across Mexico. The producer will use the technology to increase alternative fuel (AF) substitution at the plants by 8 - 10%. A 40% reduction in Scope 3 purchased fuel emissions forms part of Cemex's 2020 -2030 CO₂ emissions reduction strategy. Through the decarbonisation and circular economy pillars of its Future in Action plan, the group aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Cemex Mexico president Ricardo Naya said "Hydrogen is a key technology to accelerate the implementation of our climate action roadmap."

The El Financiero newspaper has reported that Cemex set a new group record AF substitution rate of 34% in September 2022. It uses hydrogen at all of its European cement plants and at one plant in the Dominican Republic.

Dominican Republic: Cemex Dominicana has announced the signing of a new sustainability agreement with food producer Nestlé Dominicana. Under the agreement, Cemex Dominicana will co-process Nestlé Dominicana's non-recyclable high-calorific solid industrial waste as alternative fuel (AF) in its cement plant.

Cemex's Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti regional director José Antonio Cabrera said "This agreement with Nestlé allows us to continue promoting our Future in Action strategy by operating our cement plant with AF." He concluded "We are committed to becoming a net-zero CO₂ company."

Australia: Adbri is targeting 40% refuse derived fuel (RDF) substitution in cement production at its Birkenhead, South Australia, cement plant in 2022. By 2024, it aims to further increase RDF use to 50%. The plant used 35% RDF in its production in 2021.

Adbri says that it is Australia's only cement producer not to use coal, relying instead on a combination of RDF and gas.