Holcim Philippines investing P210-M to reduce fuel consumption, carbon emission

MANILA, Philippines — Holcim Philippines Inc. is spending P210 million on projects meant to raise the efficiency of its cement factories by reducing both fuel consumption and carbon footprint.

The new investment would benefit Holcim’s plants in Bacnotan, La Union and Lugait, Misamis Oriental, the listed cement manufacturer told the stock exchange on Thursday. Horia Adrian, company president and chief executive, said the projects would contribute to Holcim’s goal of “making operations more sustainable”.

For its multimillion peso plan, Holcim hired Sinoma CBMIPH Construction Corp. — the local unit of China-based Sinoma CBMI — to install a drying facility in its La Union plant that would reuse hot gases from operations to dry materials instead of a separate equipment, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

Sinoma CBMIPH would also install another drying facility in Holcim’s Misamis Oriental factory reduce moisture of raw materials to improve grinding operations. In turn, the plant can now increase the use of less energy-intensive materials like mineral additives when manufacturing cement products.

Cement production is a carbon-intensive process that consumes considerable amount of resources and energy. It is during the production of clinker, the main component of cement, when most carbon emissions occur.

By replacing the clinker in final cement products with alternative mineral components, the company can cut the carbon intensity of operations.

“More efficient operations will help us deliver better financial results and improve our environmental footprint,” Adrian said.

The project in Holcim’s La Union factory is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2022 while that in Misamis Oriental is set to be finished in October this year.

In January, Holcim Philippines started projects worth P121.5 million to raise the efficiency of converting qualified waste materials to alternative fuels of its cement plant in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Shares in Holcim rallied 4.18% on Thursday to close at P7.48 apiece, bucking a downtrend in the main index.