Concrete

Waste Heat Recovery System is a key area for cement producers

Published

3 years ago

June 12, 2023

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Guilherme Mendonca, Head Energy Business, Siemens, elaborates about co-creating innovative technology solutions for the cement industry.

What are the key features of your Waste Heat Recovery System that make it an eco-friendly solution for cement manufacturing?
Steam turbines are the heart of every power plant. In waste heat recovery (WHR), steam turbines act as an essential piece of the whole system. Our modular design concept ensures high flexibility, availability, and efficiency, playing a significant role in many industrial plants for waste heat recovery and cogeneration application. In India different technologies exist to convert thermal heat into power like Steam Rankine Cycle (SRC), Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycle (sCO2). However, only SRC and ORC are fully commercialised with SRC being a more popular technology with decades of proven results. Through efficient use of our steam turbines our customers can extract high power output with the available waste heat, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint. Siemens Energy WHR solutions are capable of meeting all these requirements which are specific to the Indian
cement industry.

How does your system help reduce carbon emissions during the cement production process?
Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) is a key area for cement producers to improve plant efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint by utilising the waste heat from the cement manufacturing process. Siemens Energy’ waste heat recovery system is highly efficient with Heat ReCycle Power Plants offsetting the emissions when compared to other technology that is typically used to generate equivalent power, like diesel generators and reciprocating engines or small coal fired power plants. This results in overall reduced emissions and reduction in dependability on fossil fuels.

What are the estimated energy savings that can be achieved by installing your system in a cement plant?
These plants are highly customised solutions and savings can vary depending upon various factors such as source of upstream power generation, plant configuration and degree of waste heat available. Given ideal conditions, waste heat recovery power plants can offset approximately 30 per cent of total electricity requirement of a typical cement plant in India. In 2012, the Rohrdorf cement works in Germany commissioned the first waste heat and gas power plant in Europe. The plant produced over 30 per cent of the site’s power while saving 12,000 tpa of fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions by 30,000tpa. We have come a long way since then in terms of technology adoption and benefits. In practical applications, plants that have implemented waste heat recovery systems have been proven to reduce carbon intensity by as much as 25kg/t of clinker produced.

How long does it take for the system to pay for itself through energy savings?
The pay-off is faster than conventional grid-connected power plants by up to 40 per cent in an ideal situation. This return-on-investment calculation considers 30 per cent electricity offset and variations in energy prices as well as carbon credits and cost of decarbonisation.

What is the expected lifespan of the system, and what maintenance is required to keep it functioning optimally?
Generally, the operating lifespan of steam-based WHRS is 20 years. Typically, it works for 8,000 operating hours per year. The availability and adoption of digital solutions such as remote diagnostic services that allow proactive, predictive maintenance and minimises forced outages.

Can your system be customised to meet the specific needs of different cement plants?
Yes. This is a fully customised solution taking into account all the cement plant constraints and available waste heat sources and quality of waste heat.

What are the major challenges of a WHRS when installed in a cement plant?
Some key challenges of installing WHRS are design limitations due to available technologies and constraints such as source of heat, space available and integration. With these being mostly brownfield projects, the integration with minimum downtime and minimum process disruption also add to the challenges. However, this can be planned and mitigated with efficient project management from Siemens Energy.

How do you envision your collaboration with the cement industry in the decade to come?
We envision a strong collaboration with the cement industry in the decade to come, which is primarily driven by a shared commitment to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions with WHRS at the centre. We see WHRS as a key technology that can help cement manufacturers achieve their sustainability goals while also providing energy savings and cost reductions. Looking to the future, our collaboration with the cement industry will continue to be focused on co-creating innovative technology solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of individual cement plants in India.

–Kanika Mathur

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Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

20 hours ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

4 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

5 days ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.