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Green Transition

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FLSmidth Cement has launched a new website as it is transforming into a leaner pure play company, focussing on what is needed to achieve sustainable growth. In conversation with Christopher Ashworth, the new President of FLSmidth Cement.

“FLSmidth began with a focus on cement, building our first plant back in 1887,” Ashworth began. “Our mining and mineral processing business is a much more recent development in comparison. Over the past few years, the market outlook for these two industries has diverged significantly. We therefore came to the view that keeping them together benefitted neither and so made the decision to go forward on a pure play basis.”
A quick look at the market context for cement and mining makes the case. Demand for metals and minerals is expanding and will continue to do so – in large part due to the green transition. Cement faces a more complex outlook. It undoubtedly remains a critical building material with a key role in delivering both the green transition and sustainable development goals. Yet overall demand is unlikely to grow significantly. The industry must also vastly reduce the around 7 per cent of global CO2 emissions for which it is currently responsible.
Ashworth is not one to be daunted by such challenges, having been instrumental in several transformations over his career, most recently as Managing Director of Eurotherm, a supplier of process automation and power control systems to the glass industry. Here he successfully positioned the company for sustainable growth through the dynamics of green industrial transformation in glass manufacturing.
“FLSmidth made its name as a full flowsheet provider of cement plants,” he continued. “It is a history that we value and will continue to build on. But today’s cement market is a vastly different world with vastly different challenges than what has gone before. It therefore requires a different operating paradigm that moves away from a projects-based approach to focus on specific products and services. The pure play strategy thus frees us to adapt to the specific market challenges facing the cement industry by prioritising the supply of our core solutions to facilitate sustainable growth within the context of the green transition.”
It is a strategy that will play out in three distinct ways. Existing equipment will be upgraded and optimised to raise efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce emissions. “We will bring past installations into the future,” said Ashworth. “Meanwhile, new CAPEX installations will focus on our core line of products and emerging green technologies such as calcined clay and our FUELFLEX® Pyrolyzer. The third element is future facing. Our R&D department will continue to work with external partners to deliver the next generation of
green technologies.”

Greening the existing fleet
We might live in a throwaway society – but a cement plant is anything but that. These are assets that represent significant long-term investments. One of the key challenges when it comes to reducing the cement industry’s carbon footprint is thus what to do with existing plants, many of which have decades of operating life left in them. “These plants want to be green!” said Ashworth. “Our job is thus to support them on that journey with a range of services and upgrades that improve operational performance and reduce environmental footprint.”
A good example of this approach is the FEEDflex™ upgrade for Pfister DRW rotor weighfeeders. By allowing a much lower minimum feed rate (down from 1 tph to just 60 kg/h) of coal through the weighfeeder, with no change to the upper limit, plants can maximise their use of alternative fuels without impacting their fallback ability to use coal when circumstances require.
Our automation and plant control systems also illustrate how technology must evolve, sometimes dramatically, at existing sites. Way back in 1969, we pioneered the use of software to optimise cement production and today continue to introduce the latest functionality as evidenced in our launch of ECS/ProcessExpert® V9.0 advanced process control software. We are committed to invest and advance our technology so that existing installations can also maximise their participation.
“We now have our own digital leadership team free to focus on delivering cement-specific smart and connected services to our clients,” continued Ashworth. “But we are also embracing the latest digital solutions internally to deliver a more efficient manufacturing and supply chain with greater visibility on procurement and operations.”
Beyond equipment and digital solutions, services such as the company’s reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) services play a key role when it comes to achieving the most from existing assets.

CAPEX today for a greener future
Upgrades and services to existing installations only provide part of the cement industry’s decarbonisation journey, however; new CAPEX in the latest green technologies will also be necessary. FLSmidth Cement offers a number of emerging solutions that will help deliver substantial reductions in carbon emissions. Solutions like
our calcined clay technology or the innovative FUELFLEX pyrolyzer, which allows plants to burn up to 100 per cent alternative fuels in the calciner, while also reducing NOx emissions, are two key examples.
“There is growing interest from the industry in these types of innovative technologies,” said Ashworth. “The first FUELFLEX is already operational at the Mannok Cement plant in Ireland, with a second installation expected to come online later in the United States. Furthermore, we are eagerly looking forward to the commissioning of the two calcined clay lines at the Ciment Vicat Xeuilley plant in France and CBI-Ghana, both orders having been announced previously.”
The focus on emerging technologies complements and enhances the company’s core product lines: from its efficient and flexible OK™ vertical roller mills to its industry-leading pyroprocessing equipment and successful Ventomatic® bagging and packaging lines. “The pure play approach is guided by the market and thus prioritises those product lines where we see strong future demand and can offer competitive advantage,” concluded Ashworth. “Importantly, these also tend to be those that have a strong sustainability narrative.”
The focus on core products also resulted in the realisation that some existing product lines would be “better served elsewhere, just as we – as FLSmidth Cement – are served better as a pure play cement company,” explained Ashworth. This has led to the divestment of both Airtech air filtration and MAAG Gears businesses. “Divestment will allow these great businesses to thrive and grow in directions that simply weren’t possible when they were part of our organisation; it also allows us to simplify our business and focus our time and investment on our core priorities.”

Creating the green technologies
The final foundation of the new FLSmidth Cement organisation looks beyond what is possible now to innovate the green technologies of the future. A key part of this will be collaboration with external partners, as is already occurring
with projects such as the DETOCS research consortium. Here FLSmidth Cement is working with a number of academic institutions to use digitalisation and advanced predictive modelling to maximise the use of SCMs in cement. Other current partnerships focus on the development of new SCMs, electric clay calcination, oxyfuel technologies, concrete waste upcycling, and the next-generation FUELFLEX.
“R&D remains an integral part of who we are, FLSmidth Cement,” said Ashworth. “We are committed to delivering the next generation of green cement technologies. We will continue to work both with external research institutions and funding organisations to see these technologies come to commercial realisation.”

It is always about the people
Ashworth saved his final remarks for the heart of any business: the people. “Many organisations going through significant change struggle with enthusiasm. But that does not describe my experience of FLSmidth Cement and that is all down to the quality of people we have here! My job is to nurture that to create a company that remains adaptable and fit for the future of the cement industry. Pure play makes that possible: it provides the best framework for success. But it is the people that will achieve it.”

(Communication by the management of the company)

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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Concrete

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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