logo
Leading Irish building materials supplier pilots new cement technology in UK

Leading Irish building materials supplier pilots new cement technology in UK

Irish Post17-07-2025
AN Irish firm which is a leading global building materials supplier is piloting new technology at its UK operations which could decarbonise the cement production process.
Dublin headquartered CRH, which has offices around the globe, is partnering with Material Evolution, a leader in advanced materials science, to pilot its alkali fusion technology in cement production.
'At the core of this innovation is MevoCem – a next-generation cement technology created through a unique mechano-chemical process,' the firm explains.
'Unlike traditional methods, this approach requires no heat as part of the cement production process,' they explain.
'Instead, it uses alkali fusion to activate non-reactive and less-reactive materials such as various industrial byproducts.
'With the addition of water, these materials behave like traditional cement."
CRH will pilot the new technology at its UK-based firm Tarmac (Pic: CRH)
CRH will pilot the use of MevoCem at its UK-based firm, Tarmac – which provides building materials to projecgts across the country.
'The project aims to demonstrate MevoCem's performance under a new set of performance-based guidelines developed by the British Standards Institution with the objective of making it simpler to use advanced cement technologies like MevoCem in everyday construction projects.' A CRH spokesperson said.
The firm claims their innovation has the potential to offer a 'range of benefits for the cement industry'.
These include turning underutilised materials into high-performance cements, simplying the cement production process and 'giving new life to materials previously considered as waste'.
'What's more, by eliminating heat, the process reduces the production of carbon emissions by up to 85 per cent compared to traditional Portland cement," the firm adds.
See More: CRH, Cement, Mevocem, Tarmac
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Irish consumers missed out on €66.7m in uncashed bottle deposit returns last year
Irish consumers missed out on €66.7m in uncashed bottle deposit returns last year

Irish Times

time2 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Irish consumers missed out on €66.7m in uncashed bottle deposit returns last year

Irish consumers missed out on €66.7 million last year when they failed to cash in their deposits for soft drink containers through the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Re-turn's 2024 annual report shows the failure to redeem these depositswas the chief reason behind the State-backed firm recording a pretax surplus of €51.3 million last year. Established by the Government, Re-Turn began its DRS operations on February 1st, 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. Last year, 877.85 million containers were returned, made up of 433.2 million plastic bottles and 444.6 million cans. READ MORE Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4 million in 2024. This included the €66.7 million in unredeemed deposits and €47.7 million made up of €17.2 million from the sale of material and €30.5 million from 'producer fees'. The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2 million, made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5 million and administrative expenses of €15.7 million, which included a spend of €4.6 million on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. Influencers beware, Revenue is on the prowl Listen | 48:38 The report says 'unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits'. The report for the not-for-profit states, 'the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways'. These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs, infrastructure development, consumer education campaigns and contributing to its legally required contingency reserve. Income from unredeemed deposits 'is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90 per cent in the coming years'. Re-turn chief executive Ciarán Foley said: 'Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66 per cent post-transition period recycling rate. 'The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75 per cent. Every 1 per cent increase equates to around 19 million containers.'

Lotto bosses reveal where in Ireland huge six-figure sum won as they urge players to ‘double check' their tickets
Lotto bosses reveal where in Ireland huge six-figure sum won as they urge players to ‘double check' their tickets

The Irish Sun

time7 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

Lotto bosses reveal where in Ireland huge six-figure sum won as they urge players to ‘double check' their tickets

A LUCKY player is celebrating after bagging a huge sum in last night's Lotto EuroMillions Plus draw. The Lotto player managed to scoop a whopping €500,000 after matching all five numbers. 1 A lotto player has bagged their huge prize in last night's draw Credit: Getty Images - Getty The winning ticket was purchased on Thursday, August 7, from the Gala Express store at the Courtown Harbour in Co Wexford. The winning numbers in last night's draw were 5, 21, 26, 27 and 40. And 58 players managed to match four numbers, bagging themselves €2,000 each. Announcing the location where the winning ticket was purchase, Darragh O'Dwyer from National Lottery said: "The seaside town of Courtown in Ireland's sunny South East has produced a top prize winner in the EuroMillions Plus draw worth an astounding €500,000. "If you bought your ticket in Courtown, now's the time to double check, you could be Ireland's newest big winner." Players in Co Wexford are urged to double-check their tickets and ensure that the numbers match. The winner has been urged to check their clips carefully, sign them immediately and keep them safe if it's the winning ticket. They have been advised to make contact with the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@ They will make arrangements for the lucky winner to claim their prize at Lotto Headquarters. While there was no winner of the main EuroMillions draw with the jackpot worth an eye-watering €197,504,622, in total, over 68,000 players won prizes in both draws. Exact location of winning €250 million ticket revealed And 32 Irish players managed to match four numbers and one star in the main draw, winning themselves €101 each. The numbers for the Ireland-only raffle were revealed, with winning players bagging themselves a whopping €5,000. The winning numbers were: I-SMQ-01702, I-SMV-00970, I-SMV-54055, I-SMV-97615, I-SMW-18348, I-SMX-69359, I-SMX-77679, I-SMZ-39213, I-SNC-29677 and I-SND-20499. LIFE-ENHANCING PRIZE Earlier this week, a lotto player celebrated after bagging a life-enhancing €60,394 on August 3. The winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased on the day of the draw from Tesco, Athenry Shopping, Athenry, Co. Galway. The punter matched five numbers and the bonus on Saturday night. And the lucky numbers in last night's Lotto draw were: 2, 3, 6, 9, 24, 39 and the bonus was 34. While there was no winner of the Lotto jackpot worth €13,704,859. In total over 109,000 players won prizes in the Lotto & Lotto Plus draws. National Lottery spokesperson, Darragh O'Dwyer, said: 'What a fantastic night for one player in Galway who has claimed a life-enhancing €60,394 after matching 5 numbers and the bonus in last night's main Lotto draw. "If you bought your ticket in Galway, now's the time to double-check, you could be Ireland's newest big winner.'

Consumers miss out on €66.7m from failing to cash in on Deposit Return Scheme
Consumers miss out on €66.7m from failing to cash in on Deposit Return Scheme

The Journal

time8 hours ago

  • The Journal

Consumers miss out on €66.7m from failing to cash in on Deposit Return Scheme

IRISH CONSUMERS LAST year turned their back on €66.7 million when they failed to cash in their deposits for soft drink containers through the Deposit Return Scheme. That is according to the 2024 annual report for Re-turn which shows that the failure by consumers to redeem the €66 million worth in deposits for their soft drink containers was the chief reason behind the State backed firm to record a pre-tax surplus of €51.3 million for 2024. Re-Turn went live with its Deposit Return Scheme operations on 1 February 2024 with the aim to significantly increase the recycling rates of bottles and cans. The annual report shows Re-turn recorded revenues of €114.4 million in 2024. This included the €66.7 million in unredeemed deposits and €47.7 million made up of €17.2 million from the sale of material and €30.5 million from 'producer fees'. The annual report discloses that the income from unredeemed deposits has resulted in a VAT settlement by Re-turn of €23.7 million. The company's 2024 costs totalled €62.2 million made up of direct collection and recycling costs of €46.5 million and administrative expenses of €1.5.7 million which included a spend of €4.6 million on 'marketing, communications, and public awareness'. The report states that the €66.7 million reflects the recognition of unredeemed deposits for the financial year and 'this is after a €36.5 million estimate of deposits expected to be returned post year end'. The report states that 'unredeemed deposits are an expected and routine scenario for deposit return schemes and it was anticipated that in the initial transition period redemptions would be low and therefore there would be a high level of unredeemed deposits. Advertisement The report states that 'as a not-for-profit organisation, in the early stages of our maturity, the fees from unredeemed containers are being reinvested in a number of ways'. These include paying off initial scheme set-up costs; infrastructure development; consumer education campaigns and contributing to our legally required contingency reserve. The report adds that income from unredeemed deposits 'is expected to significantly reduce as the scheme reaches its targeted redemptions of 90% in the coming years'. The report states that 'in the long term, should unredeemed deposits be higher than forecast, we would support initiatives that drive increased adoption of the scheme as well as investing in broader innovative projects designed to further the country's circular economy strategy'. The report states that Re-turn closed the year with a cash balance of €89.8m. The report states that this cash figure will reduce significantly in 2025 when several significant draw-downs are scheduled and after accounting for these factors the adjusted cash balance would reduce to approximately €32m. The significant draw-downs include a VAT settlement on unredeemed deposits of €23.7 million; a provision of €13.8 million for Re-turn's contingency reserve fund; a settlement of the remaining €11.7 million balance of the facility agreement with Bank of Ireland grant settlement of c.€3.2 million to retailers in respect of 2024 and a provision of €5.4 million for corporation tax arising on surplus in the scheme. In comments attached to the report, ceo of Re-turn, Ciaran Foley has stated: 'Thanks to the incredible buy-in and adoption from the Irish public, 877 million containers were returned through DRS in 2024, equating to an average 66% post transition period recycling rate10. He said: 'The seasonality of the soft drinks market was reflected in some even higher months, such as in August when the return rate reached 75%. Every 1% increase equates to around 19 million containers, and we recorded some daily returns of over 5 million products over the Christmas period. Chair of Re-turn, Tony Keohane stated that the launch of Ireland's Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in February 2024 marked a defining milestone in the country's journey toward a more sustainable future. He said: 'From a standing start in Autumn 2022, the scheme collected more than 877 million drinks containers in its first 11 months. In that short time, we've seen Irish consumers recycle more bottles and cans than ever before and do so in a way that produces high quality recyclate, helping build a truly circular economy.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store