Displaying items by tag: Ecocem

Netherlands: Ireland-based Ecocem has agreed a deal with Overslagbedrijf Moerdijk (OBM) to expand production and storage capacity at the company’s Moerdijk slag cement grinding plant. The project is intended to allow the unit to both produce and store the company’s advanced cement technology (ACT) product. It will quadruple the storage capacity for key materials at the site up to 40,000t. Ecocem has signed a long-term agreement to lease the site from OBM, who will manage the handling and storing materials on Ecocem’s behalf.

This expansion of the Moerdijk plant is part of Ecocem’s plans to expand its manufacturing and storage capacity to support the commercialisation of ACT across all its plants. It follows the expansion of its Dunkirk plant in France, which was announced in June 2023. These expansion plans will be supported by licencing and partnership strategies to accelerate availability and adoption of scalable low clinker cement at speed.

Conor O’Riain, Managing Director (Europe), at Ecocem, said: “We are increasing our capacity at all of our locations and our deal with OBM is a hugely important aspect of our expansion strategy. It will accelerate our ability to manufacture ACT our low clinker cement technology and make it available commercially by 2026. At the same time, we are actively pursuing licensing and partnership agreements in the construction industry to ensure the benefits of this technology are shared widely and we accelerate progress to Net Zero.”

In February 2024 Ecocem said that its ACT technology received an ETA (European Technical Assessment), which provides the technology with a route to full commercialisation by 2026.

France: Cemex France and Ecocem have signed a deal to collaborate on the development of reduced-CO₂ concrete development at 10 Cemex France ready-mix concrete batching plants. The partnership will explore methods that include the use of supplementary cementitious materials in place of clinker. Cemex hopes that the collaboration will help to realise its goal of a 55% CO₂ emissions reduction across its European operations by 2030.

Cemex Western Europe vice president materials and Cemex France president Michel Andre said “Cemex continues to reinforce its commitment to advancing the sustainability agenda with the announcement of this extended partnership with Ecocem. We know that if we are to achieve our global ambition of operating as a net-zero business by 2050 we must prioritise exploring innovation and new technologies with like-minded companies who share our dedication to leading the industry’s transition to a lower carbon and circular economy.”

UK: The UK government has committed to investments worth Euro22.8bn in early deployments of carbon capture technology. It will announce a shortlist of new projects for deployment later in March 2022.

The government said "This unprecedented level of funding for the sector will unlock private investment and job creation across the UK, particularly on the east coast and in the North West of England and North Wales. It will also kick-start the delivery of subsequent phases of this new sustainable industry in the UK."

Ireland-based Ecocem responded to the budget with a call for funding for more short-term areas besides carbon capture. It said these will be essential in order for the UK cement and concrete industry to reach its 45% decarbonisation target by 2030. The slag-based cement products company called for funding for low-clinker technologies which have already been developed and can be rolled out at scale before 2030, until carbon capture becomes a 'scalable, viable option.'

Ireland: Ecocem has launched Superfine, a ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) for use in specialist applications in the European market. The product is a GGBS that has been ground to a very fine particle size. It is intended to be added to other products to improve their strengths in applications such as high performance and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). It can also be used to improve the finish of concrete and reduce the amount of pigment required.

Superfine will be launched across Europe, with the product already being trialled in Abu Dhabi and specified in projects across Ireland. It is designed to be used as a specialist additive in binders, industrial mortars, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) and precast concrete.

Susan McGarry, the managing director of Ecocem Ireland, said “After extensive time in research and development, launching Superfine onto the Irish market is testament to our global range of innovative and sustainable concrete solutions.”

UK: Ecocem and construction company Taylor Woodrow have conducted the first pour of the Exegy ultra-low CO₂ concrete at waste management site in London. The mix used on the project is reported to reduce the carbon footprint by up to 70% when compared to traditional concrete. Cemex also collaborated on the project by producing the concrete used for the pour.

The concrete product was developed by Ecocem and Vinci Construction, using Ecocem Ultra, as part of Vinci Construction’s ultra-low carbon concrete range. Ireland-based Ecocem is a producer of cement and additives made using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Exegy is already being used at a pilot site of the Grand Paris Express and in the construction of the Athletes’ Village in Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Micheál McKittrick, managing director, Northern Europe, Ecocem, said, “Our Ecocem Ultra technology is already being used at scale in France, and we’re excited to now see it being adopted in the UK.” He added, “The cement and construction industries are developing and deploying a range of emission reduction technologies to help the UK Government reduce emissions by 78% by 2035, and reach net zero by 2050, and Ecocem will add a further dimension to these efforts.”

Netherlands: Ecocem Benelux has inaugurated a new 5000t export silo at its Moerdijk ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) plant. The new silo has been built at the waterfront in Moerdijk and rests on 65 piles sunk to a depth of up to 50m. The system operates via a screw extractor that conveys the GGBS to the centre of the bulk silo, where screws and a bucket elevator carry it to the new 150m³ day-silo. Both trucks and ships can be directly loaded from the silo: trucks on the weighing bridge situated under the silo and ships via a pneumatic transport installation with a maximum capacity of 250t/hr.

Ecocem Benelux is a subsidiary of Ireland’s Ecocem Materials. Ecocem Benelux supplies GGBS in bulk to the Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux) market for both concrete and mortars. The facility also exports to the Swedish market. Since opening in 2002 the plant has doubled its production capacity to 0.65Mt/yr.

Ireland: Ecocem says that its slag cement products have saved 10Mt of CO₂ emissions compared to regular cement since it started trading in 2002. It produces cement products from ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS). It says its GGBS cement has a carbon footprint of 32kg CO₂/t compared to 850 - 900kg CO₂/t for Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The Irish company operates four plants in Europe with a production capacity of 2.4Mt/yr.

Ireland: Ecocem Material’s pre-tax profit fell by 37.5% year-on-year to Euro2.5m in 2017 from Euro4m in 216. Its costs rose by nearly 12% to Euro76.5m from Euro68.6m and its interest bill more than doubled to Euro0.3m, according to the Irish Times. The slag cement producer turnover increased by 9.4% to Euro79.4m from Euro72.6m.

US: Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, has warned that Orcem Americas’ proposed slag cement plant in Vallejo breaks state environmental laws. In a letter to Vallejo's planning and development services co-ordinator he said that the project would violate the California Environmental Quality Act, according to the Irish Times newspaper. Becerra also raised issues with nitrogen oxide and CO₂ emissions. The intervention is an unusual move, as the state's attorney generals do not normally intervene in planning disputes.

Orcem Americas’ chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Bryant said that a new environmental impact report would be prepared to address Becerra’s concernsd by the end of November 2018. The company, a subsidiary of Ireland’s Ecocem, is proposing to build and operate a US$50m slag grinding plant in Vallejo. However, the project has faced opposition from local environmental groups.

France: Ecocem France has inaugurated its 0.75Mt/yr slag cement grinding plant in Dunkirk. The unit, located near ArcelorMittal’s Dunkirk steel plant, started commercial production in May 2018. The site has plans to expand production to 1.4Mt/yr at a later date. It has created 26 jobs.

The plant is located in the Port of Dunkirk. It includes a vertical mill, a mixer and silos. The site is intended to target markets in northern France, the UK and Northern Europe. Plans to export 0.25Mt/yr of ground slag to the UK via terminals in London and Liverpool and 50,000t to Sweden have already started.

Ecocem France is a joint venture between Ireland’s Ecocem and ArcelorMittal. Ecocem invested Euro37m in the project in Dunkirk. It follows Ecocem France’s opening of its 0.7Mt/yr grinding plant at Fos-sur-Mer, also near to an ArcelorMittal plant