Egypt: Investments worth US$30bn in the coal industry are expected to be conducted within the next five years, according to Egypt's investment minister Ashraf Salman.

Salman said that there is 'full coordination' between the ministries of environment, electricity and investment to adhere to international environmental standards when using coal. Egypt's cabinet announced new rules on coal use in April 2015, which stipulate that coal imports can only take place after approval from the ministry of environment. The new rules are an amendment to a law on environmental affairs and allow the use of coal for cement, iron and steel, coke and aluminium production and in power plants.

Salman said that using coal as an energy source would decrease the dependency on natural gas as a primary energy source and petroleum products in steel and cement production. Despite the energy crisis, which has caused frequent and numerous power outages for years, the cabinet's approval of new coal use has caused controversy both within the government and outside.

Egypt: 90% of cement plants have agreed to use coal to increase their cement production, according to Egypt's Industrial Development Authority.

The authority is facilitating plant upgrades to enable coal use and ensuring that the necessary quantities of coal can be supplied, according to the head of the Industrial Development Authority, Ismail Gaber. He added that Egypt needs more than 32Mt/yr of cement to meet the needs of the domestic market.

In light of the population increase, the demand on energy has significantly increased in Egypt in recent years. The government agreed to include coal in the cement industry energy system in April 2014. Prior to that, coal was used only in the iron and steel, coke and aluminium industries. It is now also allowed to be used for electricity and cement production.

Canada: The Metro Vancouver government body is considering sending its refuse as refuse derived fuel (RDF) pellets to the Lehigh Cement plant in Delta. The scheme is one of three new options the body is considering to manage its waste including incinerating it to produce electricity or gasification, according to local media.

"There's no electricity produced, but it would be a benefit because it would result in no increased air emissions. The others (mass burn and gasification) would have new emissions," said Sarah Wellman, project manager of Metro Vancouver's waste-to-energy project, in relation to the cement plant option.

Metro Vancouver is waiting to hear from the provincial government on how to proceed. The area currently generates electricity from the Covanta Burnaby Renewable Energy incineration plant.

Germany/Netherlands: HeidelbergCement has signed a six-year contract extension with waste management company Shanks Group for the supply of its ICOPOWER^® energy pellets.

Under the contract, Icopower, part of Shanks' Solid Waste Division, will supply HeidelbergCement with an increased volume of 54,000t/yr of the pellets, which are derived from commercial waste.

Shanks' production process includes a combination of sorting, drying and pelletising technology. In a statement Shanks said, "Unlike solid recovered fuel (SRF) or refuse derived fuel (RDF), ICOPOWER^® energy pellets are not classified as a waste product in the Netherlands."