CIMPOR received a visit from the Minister of Economy, Pedro Reis, at the Alhandra Production Centre to present the company’s strategic decarbonisation plan for the country, which represents a total of €360 million to be invested in the Alhandra, Souselas and Loulé plants.
This investment plan, which is already underway, aims to achieve carbon neutrality for CIMPOR by 2050, which will place the historic Portuguese company at the forefront of the environmentally sustainable transition and make it a technological benchmark in the cement sector.
The Alhandra Production Centre, given its turnover and strategic importance, is the production unit that is currently at the most advanced level of implementation of this plan. Among the projects underway is the investment in replacing fossil fuels with fuels derived from waste and hydrogen (an investment of €110M), the installation of heat recovery mechanisms, electricity production units using renewable energies and energy storage systems. There are also plans to replace one of the mills with a more energy-efficient one and also to replace the clinker cooler, which contributes to better heat recovery and greater thermal efficiency (both with an investment of €35m).
In Alhandra alone, CIMPOR will be able to reduce its emissions by around 190 000 t of CO2 per year and save 16 GWh of energy annually while increasing its self-consumption production from renewable sources to 84 GWh of energy per year.
At the same time, CIMPOR centres in the rest of the country have also made their way towards carbon neutrality. For example, at the Souselas Production Centre, the company is investing in the conversion of a kiln to produce calcined clays, a material with a lower carbon footprint that can partially replace clinker in cement production, allowing for a reduction of up to 70 000 t of CO2 per year.
In terms of its main packaging, cement sacks, the Group’s strategic plan includes an investment in Sacopor’s new production line, which aims to increase production capacity and improve operational efficiency. This project is crucial to ensuring the continued supply of innovative and sustainable products in line with the growing demands of the market. During the visit, the Minister of Economy was welcomed by Suat Çalbiyik, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CIMPOR Global Holdings, and Cevat Mert, CEO of CIMPOR Portugal and Cape Verde, who emphasised the importance of this investment for the national economy and for alignment with the government’s goals of carbon neutrality and technological innovation.
“This investment represents a milestone in our journey towards innovation and carbon neutrality. By modernising our operations and implementing advanced technologies, we are contributing not only to CIMPOR’s competitiveness, but also to Portugal’s sustainable future. Our partnership with the government and other entities is key to achieving decarbonisation goals and ensuring a more efficient and sustainable industrial sector,” comments Adrianno Arantes, Chief Operations Officer at CIMPOR.
“At CIMPOR Global Holdings we are committed to investing in Portugal for the environment, sustainability and technology and our projects are ongoing at full speed. Taking the opportunity, Mr. Minister, I would like to emphasize that government´s infrastructure investments, support and incentives particularly for the environment and sustainability need to gain further momentum and we trust in your support on prioritising this matter. I am confident that together we will continue to build a cement sector that Portugal can be proud of”, addressed Cevat Mert, CEO of CIMPOR for Portugal and Cape Verde to the Portuguese Minister of Economy.
“CIMPOR is one of our best companies in Portugal and carries with it a giant legacy, building a true brand of Portugal over 130 years. We are closely following its strategy and prioritising the sector, which has shown a great capacity to evolve and adapt to current challenges. Foreign investment in Portugal is very welcome and we want to continue to encourage it. After all, exports and internationalisation are the key to our economy,” stressed Economy Minister Pedro Reis. “Carbon neutrality, combined with energy efficiency, is crucial for the country’s re-industrialisation and is among the top priorities of our economic policy,” he added.
Openness to partnerships with other agents of change has therefore been one of the pillars of CIMPOR’s leadership. An example of this is CIMPOR’s project in collaboration with Vodafone to create a 5G Standalone network, which was recently inaugurated at the Alhandra plant. This network makes it possible to monitor its processes in real time, optimise predictive maintenance and reduce its environmental footprint, reinforcing its commitment to a more sustainable future. This technological project will be extended to the Souselas and Loulé plants in the coming months, promoting digital transformation in all the company’s factories.
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Publish date : 2024-10-31 03:02:00
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