Decarb in Dubai

On average the cohort reduced clinker by 1.3 per cent in 2022, to reach a clinker/cement ratio of 75.2 per cent, versus a target of 65-70 by 2030. More investment in secondary materials will be required to stay on top of this target.

Mr O’Brien argued that by leveraging existing technologies, the industry is on track to reach the 2030 target of bringing net emissions below 500kg CO₂/t.

There were plenty of networking opportunities at the busy exhibition (© Cemtech)

Debating the issues

The meeting was energised by a series of popular panel sessions, skilfully moderated by Peter Hoddinott, independent consultant (UK), and Amr Nader, CEO, A³&Co®, each tackling different aspects of the decarbonisation technology pathway.

What was clear from the discussions is that the Middle East and Africa cement sector is motivated and ambitious in its intent to tackle decarbonisation. Mr Hoddinott’s audience poll revealed that most participants expect the MEA to have a carbon price by 2040. Moreover, 65 per cent of the audience believed that the carbon emissions price in the MEA region would be in the range of US$50-100/t CO₂, making it a highly significant driver of future decarbonisation.

 Through the panel discussions, a consensus was reached that plants in the MEA region can already make meaningful and rapid decarbonisation advances by prioritising easy wins. Operators must first secure the low-hanging fruit, such as using best available technology to optimise operations, leveraging digital technologies to optimise processes, maintenance and energy efficiency.

Secondly, adopting AFs, particularly biomass, offers the best bang-for-buck in accelerating decarbonisation efforts in the medium term. 

Speaking on behalf of Arabian Cement Co, Egypt, Maged Moustafa shared the experience of AFs in Egypt, where a removal of the fuel subsidy combined with the high cost of importing fossil fuels has supported the introduction of AFs, in spite of poor waste management infrastructure. ACC began burning AFs in 2013 and has now reached a 16 per cent TSR for its 6500tpd kiln, burning around 70,000tpa, using the FLSmidth Hot Disc combustion chamber.

Matthias Mersmann, KHD (Germany), spoke persuasively on the potential for existing, proven technologies – including the roller press for energy efficient grinding and Pyrorotor combustion chamber to maximise AFs – to offer immediate decarbonisation solutions for the industry. However, complete decarbonisation, he argued, would require new carbon capture technologies. 

Overall, in the view of most delegates, as revealed by another audience poll, clinker reduction and the wider use of supplementary cementitious materials will have the biggest decarbonisation impact, offering producers major opportunities through the use of traditional materials like slag and fly ash, as well as through the adoption of calcined clay.

Kiranmai Sanagavarapu, FLSmidth (Denmark), argued that calcined clay offered a means to eliminate up to 40 per cent carbon emissions during cement production through clinker substitution. In terms of progress in this area, she pointed to new projects such as the 1200tpd calcined clay line by CBI Ghana Ltd set to come online in Accra, Ghana, by the 3Q24. FLSmidth estimates a further 5-10 per cent CO₂ reduction through efficiency improvements and 10-15 per cent through fuel substitution, leaving the remaining 30-40 per cent to be avoided through the adoption of new CCUS technologies.

Carbon capture will inevitably play a vital role in eliminating the final unabated portion of emissions, but the technology is expensive and still maturing. Claude Loréa, technical director at the Global Cement & Concrete Association, reported on its initiatives to support innovation in carbon capture, including through the recently launched INNOVANDI challenge. But she emphasised that ALL technologies needed to be deployed, right across the value chain, if there was a hope to meet the net zero targets.

Markus Sauer, thyssenKrupp Polysius (Germany), highlighted the potential for newly-commercialised pure oxyfuel carbon capture technologies, which are already being adopted by the cement industry in Europe. These projects receive the support of EU carbon taxes, which are now helping to fund eight large-scale projects in the cement sector, such as the new pure oxyfuel kiln line at Holcim Lägerdorf (Germany).

A Lebanese cement producer asked how carbon reduction could be achieved in countries where barriers to AF utilisation or quarrying of new materials were high. Input was needed from environmental ministries, he argued, to create a more supportive operating environment.

Hugo Losada, CEO, Arkan (UAE): “The job of the

CEO today is to belobbying governments:the only

way to reach the goals is to change the standards,

and create regulatory frameworks that

can support decarbonisation.” (© Cemtech)

Hugo Losada, CEO, Arkan, concurred that efforts to decarbonise can only happen with the correct regulatory frameworks, industrial policy and government incentives to support investment into low-carbon technologies. However, he argued that to make it happen, CEOs needed to take the initiative and proactively lobby their government to shape a supportive landscape going forward. Standards, he added, were a big barrier to the production of new, low-carbon cements. Therefore, CEOs need to commit themselves to working closely with governments to push for performance-based standards that will accommodate new materials. 

In conclusion, Mr Hoddinott presented a detailed study showing the cost (or financial benefit) of abating 1t of CO₂ by a range of decarbonisation strategies from biomass AF to various SCMs to CCS/U. Overall, the analysis shows that there are highly cash generative levers which become supercharged when carbon pricing is introduced. The presentation also suggests that this offers a route to far greater profitability than the capital markets believe, and that the recent derating of cement and concrete company stocks may have been greatly overdone.

All in all, the conference delivered a positive message that the industry is moving in the right direction, although continued effort will be required to meet the net zero target by 2050.

Cemtech MEA24 concluded with a fabulous Gala Dinner, with generous hospitality and entertainment bringing the event to a joyous close.

A plant tour to Sharjah Cement Factory saw 50 delegates visit the plant.

Delegates visited Sharjah Cement Factory, a 4.27Mta facility equipped with a 9MW waste heat

Cemtech MEA was sponsored by KHD Humbolt (Germany), Limak Cement (Turkey), CemAI (USA) and supported by Knowledge Partner A³&Co®.