US: Holcim US won a National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) Concrete Innovations Award for its contributions to the Lower Carbon Content Concrete Pavement MnROAD project in Minnesota. The producer supplied its reduced-CO₂ ECOPact ready-mix concrete.

Holcim US North Central Regional Senior Vice President and General Manager Randy Gaworski said "Our ECOPact low-carbon concrete mix included Portland limestone cement (PLC), slag cement, fly ash and other materials to reduce total cementitious materials, achieving a mix with less than 50% clinker content. This innovative approach demonstrates the ability to reduce carbon content in construction materials with no compromise on performance."

Holcim also received nominations for its supply of its Ductal Ultra-High Performance Concrete for the Delaware Memorial Bridge overlay project in Delaware/New Jersey and its supply of its Agileflow ultra-lightweight concrete mix for the Babcock Street Outfall Project in Buffalo, New York.

US: Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a carbon-negative building material using seawater, electricity and CO₂. The process mimics the development of mollusc shells and coral reefs, using electrical instead of metabolic energy, and injecting the necessary CO₂. Electrek News has reported that the resulting materials consist of a mix of carbonate and hydroxide minerals, including calcium carbonate.

Building materials producer Cemex reportedly contributed to the research.

Romania: Symmetrica says that it will complete construction of its upcoming €50m, 15,000m²/day precast concrete slab and paving stones plant in Bolintin-Vale in Giurgiu in mid-2025. Two solar power plants will together cover 60% of the plant’s power consumption. Three of four lines at the Bolintin Vale plant are reportedly already operational. Once completed, the plant will join nine existing Symmetrica precast concrete products plants and increase the company’s output of these products by 30%. The plant’s product range will include the Symmetrica Select collection of paving stones.

Romania Journal News has reported that Executive Director Sebastian Bobu noted the ‘challenging’ economic situation, but said that “Despite difficulties in the residential sector, we are seeing a clear trend towards higher-quality products, with consumers becoming increasingly attentive to durability, aesthetics and innovation.”

EU: Several strategic projects have commenced under a new EU critical raw materials plan to ensure the supply for one year of demand of 17 strategic minerals, including bauxite and graphite. Spain’s El País newspaper has reported that the plan requires the EU to raise its minerals extraction to 10% of consumption and its processing and recycling to 40% and 25% respectively.

The European Commission (EC) noted Spain as a leading producer of minerals, including gypsum, among EU member states. 30,000 employees work in the extraction of €3.5bn-worth of minerals from Spanish mines annually. Nonetheless, the country lacks processing capacity, according to the EC. It said that ‘social resistance’ over possible environmental effects is the main obstacle to the development of critical minerals infrastructure.