Holcim Australia and New Zealand has committed to construct and operate a facility which imports and distributes low-carbon cement replacement products in Auckland.
The site will have a nameplate capacity of 100,000 tonnes of low-carbon cement, located adjacent to Holcim’s existing cement import terminal at Ports of Auckland.
Holcim stated this was equivalent to removing 78,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air, or about 40,000 cars.
Holcim chief executive officer for Australia and New Zealand George Agriogiannis said the facility would benefit multiple industries.
“Once operational, the site will enable reduction of carbon emissions via a cement replacement which can be used for applications such as infrastructure, commercial and residential projects,” he said.
“This initiative is a positive step toward the New Zealand Government’s zero carbon ambitions and Holcim’s net zero climate pledge.”
Construction of the facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 before it ramps up to peak operational capacity in 2023.
New Zealand currently produces around 1.6 million tonnes of traditional cement each year for an embodied carbon content of 1.3 million tonnes.
The new facility will help Holcim to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions goals, which is has been very public about.
In 2021, the multinational construction materials company smashed one of its checkpoints when it ticked off Strategy 2022 one year in advance.
The company also achieved record sales of its ECOPact low-carbon concrete, reaching one million tonnes for the first time in 2021.
This represented just 2 per cent of the company’s ready-mix concrete sales in 2021. However by 2025, Holcim aims to have ECOPact making up 25 per cent of its ready-mix concrete range.
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