Gypsum industry news

Canada: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CertainTeed has concluded a year-long trial to increase the efficiency of CertainTeed 5/8 Type X gypsum wallboard production at its Winnipeg plant through recipe optimisation and technology upgrades. The producer adjusted its water-to-stucco ratio and replaced the line’s existing magnetic flow meters with Coriolis flow meters. It cut water usage by 1.09 million litres (3%), energy consumption by 25,000MWhr and CO₂ emissions by 5.6t year-on-year, while also increasing productivity by 5% year-on-year.

The producer now plans to roll out other water management initiatives based on the case study of the Winnipeg plant across its plants in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

UK: Adaptavate has formed a strategic partnership with lime producer SigmaRoc to industrially scale production of its Breathaboard calcium carbonate-based wallboard, with 4kg/m²-reduced CO₂ emissions. The partners will collaborate on the establishment of a supply chain throughout Europe. Additionally, they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for an upcoming industrial demonstrator plant project.

Adaptavate concluded its €3.16m pre-Series A funding round on 23 April 2025, with investments from SigmaRoc via its venture capital platform Skreenhouse Ventures.

UK: Adaptavate has partnered with British Land, Royal London Asset Management Property and office refurbishment company Overbury to test its Breathaboard 50% reduced-CO₂ alternative wallboard at the 1 Triton Square mixed-use development in Camden, London. This is the product’s first large-scale commercial application.

Adaptavate produces Breathaboard from renewable agricultural feedstocks as a scalable, CO₂-sequestering alternative to conventional gypsum wallboard. It offers net reduction of 4kg/m³ of CO₂.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has applied for a patent for a method of combining alkali metal hydroxide solutions with CO₂ to produce alkali metal salts that react with gypsum to produce calcium carbonate. Energy Weekly News has reported that the developers used gypsum from recycled gypsum wallboard to demonstrate the process.

Spain: Paper products specialist Alier has begun construction of a new €40m gypsum wallboard recycling plant in Zaragoza’s López Soriano Recycling Technology Park. The plant will recycle gypsum wallboards powered by a solar plant and biomass plant, generating net zero CO₂ emissions. The Heraldo de Aragón newspaper has reported that the plant will create 130 direct jobs and an estimated 390 indirect jobs.

France: Saint-Gobain Placo has installed a heat and water recovery system in its Val-de-Cognac gypsum wallboard plant. In a post to LinkedIn, the company said that the new system has reduced the plant’s CO₂ emissions by 14%, its energy consumption by 11% and its water consumption by 10% compared to 2019 levels.

Canada: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CertainTeed Canada has announced the upcoming launch of BasCarbone, a new range of 60% reduced-CO₂ gypsum wallboard. The company will produce BasCarbone wallboard at its carbon-neutral Montreal plant in Quebec.

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has completed construction of a new 1730-panel solar power plant at its Turda gypsum wallboard plant in Cluj County. Electronics retailer Visual Fan supported the project, which will contribute ‘significantly’ to meeting the plant’s energy consumption. When commissioned, it will reduce the Turda plant’s CO₂ emissions by 238t/yr. Romania’s government partly funded the installation under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Saint-Gobain Romania CEO Ovidiu Păscuțiu said “This project represents an important step for Saint-Gobain in the direction of adopting renewable energy and reinforcing our commitment to the environment. It is a concrete example of investments made to optimise our production processes by reducing internal energy consumption. We have an ambitious sustainability goal – net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We will achieve this by investing in innovation, new technologies and a portfolio of solutions that pave the way for lightweight and sustainable construction.”

Australia: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CSR plans to expand its Welshpool gypsum wallboard plant in Western Australia. The producer plans to upgrade the plant’s production line and expand warehouses that serve it and the neighbouring Bradford building materials plant. CSR said that the upgrade to the Welshpool wallboard plant will reduce its consumption of natural gas and electricity and facilitate its transition to alternative fuels or electricity.

CEO Paul Dalton said "This significant investment will make Welshpool safer and more sustainable, increase capacity and improve productivity and cost efficiency, all while removing risk from our supply chain.”

US: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is receiving public comment on its revised 2021 Climate Protection Program, under which natural gas users, including gypsum wallboard producers, will face tighter emissions regulations. The programme will enable plants to buy credits for emissions above regulation level, with the money raised primarily going to fund community-based projects. Local press has reported that the revised rules aim to help realise a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2035 and a 90% reduction by 2050. The latest revision also shortens companies’ compliance period from three years to two.