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Bringing About a Green Change

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VN Balasubramanian, Director – Head BU Polysius India, thyssenkrupp Industries India (tkII), discusses the various factors challenging Indian cement sector’s fight against carbon emissions and the role technology partners play in the larger scheme of things.

BU Polysius has been in existence for over 150 years and has grown from a family-owned brand to a conglomerate. The philosophy of the Polysius group has always centred on quality, reliability and performance. India is a very price sensitive market, but as a group, thyssenkrupp Polysius is driven by the quality and ruggedness of German machinery. Their products may not be the cheapest in terms of price, but are amongst the best in quality. They do not believe in slashing their prices and compromising quality.
Major cement players from the Indian cement industry have relied on thyssenkrupp Polysius and have added multiple lines over the years. In addition, several new customers have also placed orders on Polysius in the recent past. Between 2010 and 2020, tkII Polysius have built 22 Pyro lines, which is a testimony to the reliability, quality of the equipment and service focus for the customer.

Reducing Carbon Footprint
Carbon footprint reduction in the Indian cement industry is not yet a mandatory norm like in the west but the mandates are round the corner. The Indian cement industry has strict guidelines on noise and dust emissions, which they have admirably complied with. There are guidelines on SOx and NOx emissions but no penalties yet for carbon emissions. But the awareness has surely increased. Outside India, BU Polysius have come up with a lot of green technology initiatives for reduction in use of fossil fuels, utilisation of activated clay etc. There are plants in Europe operating on 100 per cent alternative fuel and raw materials (AFR) with equipment supplied by BU Polysius. This has twin advantages of reduction of carbon emissions as well as operational cost advantages to the customers. Polysius offers a complete solution for AFR handling from the collection point to feeding in the calciner with assurance of total substitution rate (TSR) and throughput. The solution is field proven, with several operating references and highly beneficial to the customer and of course, the environment in the larger scheme of things.
In India, the AFR usage is around 15-25 per cent and is very fragmented. The main hurdle in achieving higher TSR rates is the supply chain to ensure continued availability of the waste of the right quality. Secondly, many plants are not AFR ready. However, this trend is changing for the better now with customers insisting on designing AFR-ready plants.
Apart from the standard ISO specifications that they adhere to and following the DIN standards for designs that are based out of Germany, all their equipment are initially designed in Germany and horizontally deployed in India. Hence, the thyssenkrupp India team does not copy, only improvise/ modify to match Indian conditions, get their approvals for BU Polysius and move forward. The vetting is a mandatory process for maintaining standards and reason for higher costs of their products. Every big and small equipment is DIN standard specified and over a period they are vetted. tkII workshops are approved by BU Polysius Germany Quality experts, who also carry out periodic inspections to ensure quality standards.
Customer Complaints at tKII are accorded top priority and resolution within a fixed period is an absolute must. They have a standard four-eyed principle for offer and design submission, vetted by a minimum of two people to avoid any errors.
thyssenkrupp BU Polysius India Global Engineering Centre is one of the two centres in the world, catering to plant design for BU Polysius Germany for their global projects. It comprises handpicked designers trained by Polysius Germany to deliver top class quality on rigid timelines. To maintain the high standards, German experts constantly evaluate and upgrade the skills of the team.

Role of Automation and Technology
Operating costs are constantly on the rise. The goal is to reduce the production cost to the best possible extent for the customers. In the former days, there used to be about 800 people working in a cement plant and today it has been reduced to less than 250 in India. Similar plants overseas operate with less than 100 personnel. This has been possible largely due to digitalisation and automation. The trend is gradually gaining pace in the Indian cement industry as well. Manual intervention in inspection and operation not only increases the cost but also the probability of errors. Today automation is not just a buzzword but the need of the day.
For example, their R&D Centre in Germany can evaluate the real time performance of a Polysius plant in India or any corner in the world without physically visiting. It, of course, comes at a price but with proper planning in the early stages of the project, the cost is negligible. It is possible even in operating plants of any make. The cost incurred vis-à-vis advantages of an automated solution is a no brainer.
Developing a digitalised solution for improving operational efficiency is a challenge, and there are many players in the market but with thyssenkrupp Polysius, the added advantage is the knowledge
of process technology that comes along. Thus, the output from their automation solutions are more precise and accurate, which are accompanied by precise recommendations.
Regarding polab® laboratory automation, Polab stands for POLYSIUS Laboratory. It is one of the most automated and reliable products in the market today. It is a step towards the future where it cuts out personal and human intervention. With the POLAB, samples are collected automatically from every stage of the production line, transported to the lab and results delivered within a few minutes and correction is carried out online.
Earlier cement plant laboratories used to have 6-8 people in a shift and at least 10-12 in the lab for the physical and chemical testing. Now, the POLAB carries out the tests automatically with a robot that does all the testing, and usually operates with just one person per shift to oversee the operation. The total design and supply of crucial components are from Germany. Another USP is the assembly and trial of the entire system in our R&D centre in Germany before being shipped out to the plant location. thyssenkrupp BU Polysius specialises in this kind of automation.
In India, Wonder Cement has four pyro processing lines from BU Polysius through tkII. The association started with the first line and with each new Pyro line, modules added subsequently. The entire system is fully integrated and operational. The key components in all lines are manufactured and assembled in Germany. The quality control at every stage is excellent and very precise. It contributes to the image of Wonder cement. The return on investment is high in this scenario. There are other players also in the market but very few bring with them the technology that is akin to BU Polysius.
polab® is yet another equipment that the company is proud of. They are thinking of steps to further indigenise some components to optimise costs and work on the lines of ‘Make in India’ initiative so that over a period of time, it becomes more affordable for all cement players in India, without any compromise on quality. For the past two years, India has been one of the most fiercely expanding economies and top of the order in terms of capex investments in the cement sector.
A few years ago, thyssenkrupp India used to execute 2-3 pyro lines in a financial year. But in the past couple of years, they are executing on at least five pyro lines with 10-12 raw grinding units simultaneously without any big-time increase in headcount. This has been possible due to the proactive support from the parent organisation in Germany and excellent work of the young and exuberant team in the BU Polysius India. It would not have been possible without them.
With the tremendous thrust on infrastructure in the recent budgets, the Government of India has opened floodgates of opportunity for the cement sector. Hence, the bullish trend should continue for a few more years but will continue to be severely price competitive. Hence, the key lies in optimising design and cost without compromising quality. Indian cement plants are amongst the most efficient worldwide in terms of fuel and power consumption but we are not yet there in terms of emissions and cost competitiveness.
The Government of India and the cement industry are putting efforts in that direction. But, given the size of India and its diversities, the task is daunting. They are optimistic that change will happen soon and tkII BU Polysius with the technology back up is prepared to partner the cement makers to bring this green change to cement manufacturing, which will not only help the current generation but also the future generations.

Kanika Mathur

Concrete

India Sets Up First Carbon Capture Testbeds for Cement Industry

Five CCU testbeds launched to decarbonise cement production

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The Department of Science and Technology (DST) recently unveiled a pioneering national initiative: five Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) testbeds in the cement sector, forming a first-of-its-kind research and innovation cluster to combat industrial carbon emissions.
This is a significant step towards India’s Climate Action for fostering National Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets and to achieve net zero decarbonisation pathways for Industry Transition., towards the Government’s goal to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2070.
Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) holds significant importance in hard-to-abate sectors like Cement, Steel, Power, Oil &Natural Gas, Chemicals & Fertilizers in reducing emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and converting it to value add products such as synthetic fuels, Urea, Soda, Ash, chemicals, food grade CO2 or concrete aggregates. CCU provides a feasible pathway for these tough to decarbonise industries to lower their carbon footprint and move towards achieving Net Zero Goals while continuing their operations efficiently. DST has taken major strides in fostering R&D in the CCUS domain.
Concrete is vital for India’s economy and the Cement industry being one of the main hard-to-abate sectors, is committed to align with the national decarbonisation commitments. New technologies to decarbonise emission intensity of the cement sector would play a key role in achieving of national net zero targets.
Recognizing the critical need for decarbonising the Cement sector, the Energy and Sustainable Technology (CEST) Division of Department launched a unique call for mobilising Academia-Industry Consortia proposals for deployment of Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) in Cement Sector. This Special call envisaged to develop and deploy innovative CCU Test bed in Cement Sector with thrust on Developing CO2 capture + CO2 Utilisation integrated unit in an Industrial set up through an innovative Public Private Partnership (PPP) funding model.
As a unique initiative and one of its first kind in India, DST has approved setting up of five CCU testbeds for translational R&D, to be set up in Academia-Industry collaboration under this significant initiative of DST in PPP mode, engaging with premier research laboratories as knowledge partners and top Cement companies as the industry partner.
On the occasion of National Technology Day celebrations, on May 11, 2025 the 5 CCU Cement Test beds were announced and grants had been handed over to the Test bed teams by the Chief Guest, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in the presence of Secretary DST Prof. Abhay Karandikar.
The five testbeds are not just academic experiments — they are collaborative industrial pilot projects bringing together India’s top research institutions and leading cement manufacturers under a unique Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Each testbed addresses a different facet of CCU, from cutting-edge catalysis to vacuum-based gas separation.
The outcomes of this innovative initiative will not only showcase the pathways of decarbonisation towards Net zero goals through CCU route in cement sector, but should also be a critical confidence building measure for potential stakeholders to uptake the deployed CCU technology for further scale up and commercialisation.
It is envisioned that through continuous research and innovation under these test beds in developing innovative catalysts, materials, electrolyser technology, reactors, and electronics, the cost of Green Cement via the deployed CCU technology in Cement Sector may considerably be made more sustainable.
Secretary DBT Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Dr Ajai Choudhary, Co-Founder HCL, Dr. Rajesh Pathak, Secretary, TDB, Dr Anita Gupta Head CEST, DST and Dr Neelima Alam, Associate Head, DST were also present at the programme organized at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

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Concrete

JK Lakshmi Adopts EVs to Cut Emissions in Logistics

Electric vehicles deployed between JK Puram and Kalol units

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JK Lakshmi Cement, a key player in the Indian cement industry, has announced the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) in its logistics operations. This move, made in partnership with SwitchLabs Automobiles, will see EVs transporting goods between the JK Puram Plant in Sirohi, Rajasthan, and the Kalol Grinding Unit in Gujarat.
The announcement follows a successful pilot project that showcased measurable reductions in carbon emissions while maintaining efficiency. Building on this, the company is scaling up EV integration to enhance sustainability across its supply chain.
“Sustainability is integral to our vision at JK Lakshmi Cement. Our collaboration with SwitchLabs Automobiles reflects our continued focus on driving innovation in our logistics operations while taking responsibility for our environmental footprint. This initiative positions us as a leader in transforming the cement sector’s logistics landscape,” said Arun Shukla, President & Director, JK Lakshmi Cement.
This deployment marks a significant step in aligning with India’s push for greener transport infrastructure. By embracing clean mobility, JK Lakshmi Cement is setting an example for the industry, demonstrating that environmental responsibility can go hand in hand with operational efficiency.
The company continues to embed sustainability into its operations as part of a broader goal to reduce its carbon footprint. This initiative adds to its vision of building a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.
JK Lakshmi Cement, part of the 135-year-old JK Organisation, began operations in 1982 and has grown to become a recognised name in Indian cement. With a presence across Northern, Western, and Eastern India, the company has a cement capacity of 16.5 MTPA, with a target to reach 30 MT by 2030. Its product range includes ready-mix concrete, gypsum plaster, wall putty, and autoclaved aerated fly ash blocks.

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Holcim UK drives sustainable construction

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Holcim UK has released a report titled ‘Making Sustainable Construction a Reality,’ outlining its five-fold commitment to a greener future. The company aims to focus on decarbonisation, circular economy principles, smarter building methods, community engagement, and integrating nature. Based on a survey of 2,000 people, only 41 per cent felt urban spaces in the UK are sustainably built. A significant majority (82 per cent) advocated for more green spaces, 69 per cent called for government leadership in sustainability, and 54 per cent saw businesses as key players. Additionally, 80 per cent of respondents stressed the need for greater transparency from companies regarding their environmental practices.

Image source:holcim

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