UK: Recycling company Scott Bros plans to install a plant to produce low carbon concrete made from filter cake at its soil wash plant in Middlesbrough. The company has been working with Teesside University on a series of trials to find by how much it can reduce the amount of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) it is using in its concrete mixes. It has been researching how to use filter cake, a fine-grained clay, which it produces as a by-product from its two ‘urban quarries’ which convert construction and excavation waste into sand and aggregate. The silicate clay-rich filter cake, which has cementitious properties, is currently used as low value BS-certified pond lining material or inert engineering fill.

The €715,000 research project is being funded by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s innovation agency.

Mexico: Holcim México has acquired the San Juan del Río and Balvanera ready-mix concrete plants in Queretaro from Grupo Comosa. The purchases raise the company’s ready-mix concrete production capacity by 120m³/hr and bring its total number of ready-mix concrete plants in Mexico to 72. As a result, Holcim México's production capacity in Queretaro will double to 432,000m³/yr. Grupo Comosa was the first ready-mix concrete producer in Mexico to obtain environmental product certification for its products, which Holcim México says aligns with its own focus on sustainability.

Director of concrete and aggregates Manuel Sirtori said "This expansion not only strengthens our production network, but also underlines our on-going commitment to sustainable construction and innovation."

World: Investment firm Insight Partners has forecast a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.3% in the global green cement and concrete market between 2023 and 2030. This will result in a total value of US$990m in 2030, compared to US$806m in 2023. Regionally, the firm expects the sharpest growth in South and Central America, with a CAGR of 10% to US$7.9m in 2030. North America is expected to grow at a rate of 5.4% annually, to US$190m, followed by Europe, at 4.5% to US$226m, Middle East and Africa, at 2.9% to US$13m, and Asia-Pacific, at 1.4% to US$553m. In 2023, Asia-Pacific commanded a 61% share of the global market. Europe’s share was 20% and that of North America was 16%.

India: Shree Cement has ventured into the ready-mix concrete (RMC) sector by acquiring five plants in Mumbai from StarCrete. The company disclosed the purchase on 12 March 2024, with the plants having a combined capacity of 422m³/hr. The deal, valued at US$4.04m, marks a strategic expansion for Shree Cement.

Neeraj Akhoury, Managing Director of Shree Cement, said “The strategic foray into the RMC segment is a step ahead in our vision to become a multi-product company centred around a core cement business. The RMC segment is expected to witness healthy growth, driven by government initiatives in large infrastructure projects and a booming housing construction sector.”