Low Carbon Cement Developed

Limestone Calcinated Clay Cement (LC3)

India with an installed cement capacity of 289 MTPA, is poised to grow by leaps and bounds as the country embarks on a $1 trillion infrastructure development plan. With this in mind, Indian and Swiss researchers have developed LC3, a low carbon cement.

Karen Scrivener, Full Professor, Construction Material Laboratory at Ecole Polytechique Federale De Lausan (EPFL), a leading technology institute in Switzerland has stated that Limestone Calcinated Clay Cement (LC3) can help reduce CO2 emissions by about 30 per cent and is made using limestone and low-grade clays. It is also cost-effective and does not require intensive modifications to existing plants to adapt to production of the new type of cement. She goes on to say that concrete is responsible for 5-10 per cent of man-made CO2 emissions. But this is remarkably low considering that it makes up about 50 per cent of everything we produce. It is the only material which can satisfy the growing demand for construction.

India specific, she says that the demand for cement is increasing hugely in the fast- growing Indian economy and it is imperative that the growth is synergised with ecologically sustainable material and technology. She notes that the Indian government has said there is immediate potential for investments totalling $1 trillion to build infrastructure. It also has plans for 100 smart cities to give a fillip to urbanisation.

The research partners in the project funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, include IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and Delhi-based Technology and Action for Rural Development.

Cement Industry Outlook For Q2

Cement Companies To Perform Better in September 2015 Quarter

With the recent hikes in retail cement prices in the north cement markets, and the continued good retail prices elsewhere, particularly in the south, cement companies are expected to put up a better show in the coming Q2 results though cement industry analysts, expect sales growth in the three months ending September to also remain subdued because of the monsoon season.

Some other aspects to be considered while arriving at better projections for the September quarter are that, while raw material costs as a percentage of net sales remained stable at around 17.8%, power and fuel costs were the lowest in around five years because of a decline in overall prices of cement industry consumables pet coke and coal. Moreover, with prices of key raw materials such as crude dropping sharply, margin recovery will be seen in the September quarter.