Egypt: South Korea’s JST has signed a deal with the government to build waste recycling plants to produce alternative fuels for cement plants. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mohammed al-Assar, the Minister of State for Military Production, according to the Egyptian Independent. The ministry said in a statement that the deal is part of its strategy of working with international companies to transfer modern technologies to Egypt.

Poland: Germany’s Vecoplan has opened an office in Warsaw to support the local market. Vecoplan Polska opened its branch office in November 2018. Ireneusz Suszyna will be the local lead for domestic and commercial waste and refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Machine and service sales will be handled by the new office and technical and project support will be provided from the head office in Bad Marienberg in Germany.

Germany: Intercem has been contracted to optimise the secondary fuel dosing system at an unnamed German cement plant. The scope of delivery includes disassembly on site, refurbishment of the trough chain conveyors that will be re-used, construction of a new bunker and installation of the refurbished screws. The engineering, as well as the assembly of the new components and the provision of the necessary cranes, hoists and other equipment, are also included.

Canada: The Alberta Climate Leadership Plan has allocated US$7.5m for the Lower Carbon Fuels Project at Lafarge Canada’s Exshaw cement plant. The funding is part of a total of over US$50m that will be distributed to 11 projects in the Province. Projects were selected and funded through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), an organisation that accelerates the development and demonstration of emissions-reducing technologies.

“This multi-partner, multi-site research project will help Lafarge Canada better understand the environmental benefits of introducing lower-carbon fuels at the Exshaw Cement Plant. The Exshaw low-carbon fuels project will go a long way in helping us reach our ambitious corporate goal to produce 40% less net CO₂/t of cement by 2030. This support from ERA helps us move this project forward. We hope that any positive results or lessons learned will encourage others in our industry to do the same, giving this investment a greater, far-reaching impact,” said Kate Strachan, plant manager at the Lafarge Exshaw Cement Plant.

The project at Exshaw involves studying the use co-processing alternative fuels to replace the use of natural gas. Technologies for fuel handling, processing, and injection will be installed at the site to replace 50% of its natural gas use. The implementation at Exshaw will be supported by development of a waste and fuel processing facility in Calgary. Eight fuel types will be examined including construction renovation and demolition waste, non-recyclable plastic, carpet and textiles, shingles, treated wood products, wood products, rubber and tire fluff.