Global Concrete News

Romania: Holcim Romania invested Euro15m in an upgrade to its Abjud autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block plant in Vrancea, using equipment supplied by AAC specialist Aircrete Europe. The producer says that the project raised the production capacity of the plant by 45%.

Holcim Romania CEO Bogdan Dobre said "The investment involved the automation of processes in order to harmonise operations with Holcim standards, but also to bring our customers the best performing products. With the investment, the previous production line, almost 50 years old, was completely replaced.” He continued “We have rethought the entire industrial process, making it more efficient and increasing the degree of safety at work.”

US: Solidia Technologies has commenced production of its mineralised CO₂-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM) at a pilot line at its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The pilot line increases the company’s production capacity of the SCM by a factor of 25.

Solidia Technologies senior director of strategy and business development Pradeep Ghosh said "With the dramatic increase in production capacity that the new pilot line brings, we are now shipping significant quantities of Solidia SCM to ready-mix concrete producers, transport agencies and contractors to qualify and trial our material."

Mexico: Property developer Immobiliaria Ancore will use Cemex Mexico’s Vertua reduced-CO₂ concrete in the construction of the upcoming 100-storey Rise Tower in Monterrey. Cemex will supply a high-altitude concrete pouring system for the project. The concrete supplier said that the development aims to secure LEED, WELL, Green Globes, bEQ and NMX-164 certifications.

Cemex Mexico president Ricardo Naya said “We’re honoured to be working on a project that will establish the new standard for sustainable high-rise construction in Latin America. Cemex brings vast experience in sustainable construction, providing lower-carbon building materials, lower-waste practices and zero use of potable water in our concrete production.”

US: Georgia Power has awarded Eco Material Technologies a contract to start harvesting 600,000t/yr of pond ash from the site of its decommissioned Harllee Branch power plant in Milledgeville, Georgia. Eco Material Technologies will dry the ash and begin recycling it as replacement for cement in its concrete production from 2026. It expects to extract a total of 8Mt of pond ash from the site. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reports that Georgia Power intends to invest US$7.8bn to disposal of its ash deposits across the country over the next 60 years to around the early 2080s.

Eco Material Technologies’ chief executive officer Grant Quasha said that he hopes for the company’s work at the Harllee Branch site to serve as a ‘model for the rest of the country’ for the efficient recycling of stored coal ash.

US: Cemex USA supplied water-permeable concrete from its Vertua range for the renovation of the Bryant-Denny American football stadium at the University of Alabama. The producer says that this will reduce the project’s CO₂ emissions by 40%, while also facilitating rainwater harvesting and preventing the stadium’s field from flooding.

Cemex USA president Jaime Muguiro said “These types of projects exemplify Cemex’s versatility. From housing to large-scale infrastructure, we are able to deliver tailor-made solutions that best suit our customers’ needs. Thanks to our extensive portfolio of high-quality building materials and solutions, we can participate in such iconic projects and support more sustainable construction.”