Economy & Market

The systems we design are energy-efficient by nature

Published

1 year ago

December 24, 2024

Roshna

Rahul Rajgor, Managing Director, Fives Combustion Systems, discusses their focus on innovation, energy efficiency and sustainability, emphasising the role of customer collaboration in developing tailored solutions.

Tell us about the innovations and solutions you are providing to the cement industry?
At our company, innovation is not just a concept—it is the cornerstone of our operations. We see ourselves as pioneers within the cement industry, and this mindset extends across all sectors we serve. We truly believe that the best innovations come directly from our customers. Their needs and feedback drive the improvements and new ideas we bring to market. Every year, we make it a priority to introduce fresh innovations, not only within the cement industry but across other industries as well. Our approach to innovation is deeply rooted in collaboration with customers, which we consider partners, and this partnership is essential to our success. We are always ready to take on challenges and tackle the most complex issues in the industry.

How are your solutions aimed at improving energy efficiency in the cement industry?
Energy efficiency and sustainability are at the core of our philosophy. We understand that reducing energy consumption is essential for the future of our planet, and it is something we focus on in every solution we offer. The systems we design are energy-efficient by nature, and we do everything we can to ensure that each system is optimised for maximum performance. Through extensive in-house calculations and analysis, we continually improve our technologies to meet and exceed energy-efficiency standards. Our commitment to the energy sector has been long-standing, and as pioneers in this field, we specialise in providing highly efficient burners and combustion solutions that are specifically designed to reduce CO2 emissions. By doing so, we help cement plants significantly lower their carbon footprints and contribute to global sustainability efforts.

Could you share some of the sustainability or decarbonisation initiatives that your organisation has implemented?
Sustainability is a key priority for us, and we have been actively engaged in decarbonisation efforts for many years. We launched our sustainability program five years ago, with a clear focus on reducing the environmental impact of our operations. Over time, we have become leaders in this space, particularly with the advent of hydrogen technology. We were one of the pioneers in the hydrogen sector, not only in developing hydrogen combustion solutions but also in the liquefaction of hydrogen for use in various industrial applications. In fact, we were the first company in India to sell a hydrogen burner, which was used for a 52-megawatt boiler application. Beyond hydrogen, we are also focused on finding alternative solid fuels for cement manufacturing. We are currently working on developing hybrid technologies that combine hydrogen, alternative solid fuels, and fossil fuels. This combination is crucial for reducing the carbon footprint in the cement industry. We are continuously investing in research and development to create innovative solutions that can accelerate the global shift toward decarbonisation.

How do you tailor your innovative solutions to meet the unique needs of the cement industry?
One of the fundamental aspects of our innovation process is our close partnership with customers. Innovation does not exist in a vacuum—it is driven by the real needs and challenges faced by our customers. We firmly believe that innovation often arises from even the smallest ideas proposed by users. We make it a point to listen carefully to our customers, as their feedback is invaluable. For instance, one of the key innovations we developed—a custom-made burner—was created in collaboration with our customer Holcim Europe. We tailored this burner specifically to meet their needs, which illustrates how we approach innovation: our solutions are not one-size-fits-all. We provide bespoke solutions that are customised to each customer’s specific requirements, making sure that every solution we offer is the best possible fit for the individual circumstances of the customer. This is a significant differentiator for us in a market where many competitors offer generic solutions.

You mentioned a burner developed with the help of your customers. Could you tell us more about it?
Yes, we have developed several advanced technologies in collaboration with Holcim Europe, one of our key partners. A perfect example of this is the custom-built burner we designed together. It was created specifically to meet the unique requirements of Holcim’s operations, ensuring that it delivered optimal performance for their systems. This burner, like all of our innovations, is a result of close collaboration between our engineering teams and the customer. It serves as a reminder that the best solutions often come from understanding the specific needs of the customer and working together to design a tailored solution that achieves the desired results.

Given the level of innovation, what challenges do you face, particularly in the Indian market?
In the Indian market, one of the biggest challenges we face relates to the shortage of sorted waste for use as Alternative Solid Fuel (ASF) or Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF). While we have some of the best technology available for utilising ASF, the issue lies in the lack of a comprehensive waste-sorting infrastructure. In developed nations, waste segregation is well-established, but in India, we are still behind in this regard. For example, industries and communities have yet to fully embrace the importance of sorting waste, which is essential for ASF to be viable as a sustainable fuel alternative. Without proper waste segregation, the potential of ASF remains untapped. To address this, we need to educate not just the industry, but society as a whole, about the importance of waste sorting. This is an area where we see a significant opportunity to improve.

How do you envision the journey toward achieving net-zero emissions, and what role will the cement industry play in it?
The journey toward net-zero emissions is undoubtedly one of the most critical challenges for the cement industry, and the role of combustion solutions is key. The cement industry relies heavily on combustion processes, so as a provider of combustion technologies, we play an integral part in helping the industry meet its net-zero targets. We are heavily involved in research and development to ensure that we are contributing to reducing emissions.
However, it is important to recognise that achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 is a formidable challenge, especially in a country like India, where the cement industry still depends on fossil fuels. The widespread adoption of hydrogen, natural gas and alternative solid fuels will help us significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the cement industry.
While the journey is long, we are confident that, through continuous innovation and collaboration, we will make meaningful progress toward achieving net-zero emissions.

– Kanika Mathur

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TSR Will Define Which Cement Companies Win India’s Net-Zero Race

Published

1 week ago

April 27, 2026

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Jignesh Kundaria, Director and CEO, Fornnax Technology

India is simultaneously grappling with two crises: a mounting waste emergency and an urgent need to decarbonise its most carbon-intensive industries. The cement sector, the second-largest in the world and the backbone of the nation’s infrastructure ambitions, sits at the centre of both. It consumes enormous quantities of fossil fuel, and it has the technical capacity to consume something else entirely: the waste our cities cannot get rid of.

According to CPCB and NITI Aayog projections, India generates approximately 62.4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with that figure expected to reach 165 million tonnes by 2030. Much of this waste is energy-rich and non-recyclable. At the same time, cement kilns operate at material temperatures of approximately 1,450 degrees Celsius, with gas temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees. This high-temperature environment is ideal for co-processing, ensuring the complete thermal destruction of organic compounds without generating toxic residues. The physics are in our favour. The infrastructure is not.

Pre-processing is not the support act for co-processing. It is the main event. Get the particle size wrong, get the moisture wrong, get the calorific value wrong and your kiln thermal stability will suffer the consequences.

The Regulatory Push Is Real

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2026 mandate that cement plants progressively replace solid fossil fuels with Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), starting at a 5 per cent baseline and scaling to 15 per cent within six years. NITI Aayog’s 2026 Roadmap for Cement Sector Decarbonisation targets 20 to 25 per cent Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) by 2030. Beyond compliance, every tonne of coal replaced by RDF generates measurable carbon reductions which is monetisable under India’s emerging Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). TSR is no longer a sustainability metric. It is a financial lever.

Yet our own field assessments across multiple Indian cement plants reveal a sobering reality: the primary barrier to scaling AFR adoption is not waste availability. It is the fragmented and under-engineered pre-processing ecosystem that sits between the waste and the kiln.

Why Indian Waste Is a Different Engineering Problem

Indian municipal solid waste is not the material that imported shredding equipment was designed for. Our waste streams frequently exceed 40 per cent to 50 per cent moisture content, particularly during monsoon cycles, saturated with abrasive inerts including sand, glass, and stone. Plants relying on imported OEM equipment face months of downtime awaiting proprietary spare parts. Machines built for segregated, low-moisture waste fail quickly and disrupt the entire pre-processing operation in Indian conditions.

The two most common failures we observe are what I call the biting teeth problem and the chewing teeth problem. Plants relying solely on a primary shredder reduce bulk waste to large fractions, but the output remains too coarse for stable kiln combustion. Others attempt to use a secondary shredder as a standalone unit without a primary stage to pre-size the feed, leading to catastrophic mechanical failure. When both stages are present but mismatched in throughput capacity, the system becomes a bottleneck. Achieving the 40 to 70 tonnes per hour required for meaningful coal displacement demands a precisely coordinated two-stage process.

Engineering a Made-in-India Answer

At Fornnax, our response to these challenges is grounded in one principle: Indian waste demands Indian engineering. Our systems are built around feedstock homogeneity, the holy grail of kiln stability. Consistent particle size and predictable calorific value are the foundation of stable kiln combustion. Without them, no TSR target is achievable at scale.

Our SR-MAX2500 Dual Shaft Primary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive) processes raw, baled, or loosely mixed MSW, C&I waste, bulky waste, and plastics, reducing them to approximately 150 mm fractions at throughputs of up to 40 tonnes per hour. The R-MAX 3300 Single Shaft Secondary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive), introduced in 2025, takes that primary output and produces RDF fractions in the 30 to 80 mm range at up to 30 tonnes per hour, specifically optimised for consistent kiln feeding. We have also introduced electric drive configurations under the SR-100 HD series, with capacities between 5 and 40 tonnes per hour, already operational at a leading Indian waste-processing facility.

Looking ahead, Fornnax is expanding its portfolio with the upcoming SR-MAX3600 Hydraulic Drive primary shredder at up to 70 tonnes per hour and the R-MAX2100 Hydraulic drive secondary shredder at up to 20 tonnes per hour, designed specifically for the large-scale throughput that higher TSR ambitions require.

The Investment Case Is Now

The 2070 Net-Zero target is not a distant goal for India’s cement sector. It starts today, with decisions being made on the plant floor.

The SWM Rules 2026 are already in effect, requiring cement plants to replace coal with RDF. Carbon credit markets are opening up, and coal prices are not going to get cheaper. Every tonne of coal a cement plant replaces with waste-derived fuel saves money on one side and generates carbon credit revenue on the other. Pre-processing infrastructure is no longer just a compliance requirement. It is a business investment with a measurable return.

The good news is that nothing is missing. The technology works. The waste is available in every Indian city. The government has provided the policy direction. The only thing standing between where the industry is today and where it needs to be is the commitment to build the right infrastructure.

The cement companies that move now will not just meet the regulations. They will be ahead of every competitor that waits.

About The Author

Jignesh Kundaria is the Director and CEO of Fornnax Technology. Over an experience spanning more than two decades in the recycling industry, he has established himself as one of India’s foremost voices on waste-to-fuel technology and alternative fuel infrastructure.

Concrete

WCA Welcomes SiloConnect as associate corporate member

Published

3 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

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The World Cement Association (WCA) has announced SiloConnect as its newest associate corporate member, expanding its network of technology providers supporting digitalisation in the cement industry. SiloConnect offers smart sensor technology that provides real-time visibility of cement inventory levels at customer silos, enabling producers to monitor stock remotely and plan deliveries more efficiently. The solution helps companies move from reactive to proactive logistics, improving delivery planning, operational efficiency and safety by reducing manual inspections. The technology is already used by major cement producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Heidelberg Materials and is deployed across more than 30 countries worldwide.

Concrete

TotalEnergies and Holcim Launch Floating Solar Plant in Belgium

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TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a floating solar power plant in Obourg, Belgium, built on a rehabilitated former chalk quarry that has been converted into a lake. The project has a generation capacity of 31 MW and produces around 30 GWh of renewable electricity annually, which will be used to power Holcim’s nearby industrial operations. The project is currently the largest floating solar installation in Europe dedicated entirely to industrial self-consumption. To ensure minimal impact on the surrounding landscape, more than 700 metres of horizontal directional drilling were used to connect the solar installation to the electrical substation. The project reflects ongoing collaboration between the two companies to support industrial decarbonisation through renewable energy solutions and innovative infrastructure development.