Germany: The Ministry for Economy and Climate Protection has presented HeidelbergCement with its German Climate and Environment Innovation Prize (IKU) for its ReConcrete-360° concrete recycling process. The process retrieves hardened cement paste from waste demolition concrete for use in place of limestone in clinker and cement production. The recycled material can also bind CO₂ to act as a carbon sink.

Global research and development Wolfgang Dienemann said “With ReConcrete-360°, we have succeeded in developing a limestone substitute from demolished concrete that also allows us to use the carbon-containing exhaust gases from cement production. A small revolution with a big impact: In Germany alone, the CO₂ savings potential of this process is 10Mt/yr. The IKU award underlines that we can be proud of our pioneering innovation.”

Canada: HeidelbergCement has announced its acquisition of a minority stake in concrete technology developer Giatec Scientific. The group says that, together, the partners will drive the development and adoption of industry-leading sensor technology and AI-driven software in order to reduce concrete’s carbon footprint and optimise processes for HeidelbergCement’s ready-mix concrete customers.

HeidelbergCement said “Giatec’s suite of proprietary smart sensors helps with accurate monitoring of concrete throughout its lifecycle, all the way from production to delivery and placement. Combined with sophisticated AI algorithms, which learn continuously from past and present data sets, the real- time sensor data enables concrete producers to optimise concrete mixes, with up to 20% cement reduction in certain applications.”

Chile: Mexico-based Cemex has announced an investment by its venture capital subsidiary Cemex Ventures in concrete monitoring software supplier ObraLink. ObraLink’s software uses advanced thermal imaging to monitor the concrete hardening process at up to three times more measurement points than similar sensors, at a fraction of the cost. By enabling builders to remove formwork or moulds at precisely the right time, the software can reduce a project’s structural costs by 15%, according to the supplier. Its integrated platform automates the process, offering additional features via APIs.

Cemex Ventures head Gonzalo Galindo said "As pioneers in the construction industry's digital transformation, our mission is to seek innovative solutions that help boost productivity and efficiency. ObraLink's scalable technology is a perfect fit with Cemex's service offering, as it digitalises a currently manual process, improving both the efficiency of execution and completion time of a project. We look forward to working with them to further scale and develop the solution so we can deliver a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies.”

Czech Republic: Českomoravský Beton has acquired six ready-mixed concrete plants and a sandpit in Moravia from Kámen Zbraslav. The plants have a total capacity of 85,000m³/yr. Českomoravský Beton says that they have a ‘well-established residential and commercial customer base’ in and around Brno.

Parent company HeidelbergCement says that the acquisition drives forward its portfolio optimisation programme. It now operates 80 ready-mixed concrete plants in the Czech Republic.