Gypsum industry news

Saudi Arabia: Canada-based Gyptech has won a contract to carry out an expansion project at a gypsum wallboard plant belonging to United Mining Industries. The project is scheduled to conclude 18 months after its commencement date. Reuters has reported the value of the contract as Euro12.3m.

North America: Saint-Gobain has signed a 100MW solar power purchase agreement (PPA), called Danish Fields, with TotalEnergies. The Danish Fields PPA will supply Saint-Gobain North America with solar energy for 15 years, commencing in 2024. Saint-Gobain says that it expects the PPA to eliminate 90,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions across its operations. This is the group’s third deal of its kind.

Saint-Gobain North America CEO Mark Rayfield said “With this agreement, Saint-Gobain North America will further reduce its CO₂ emissions, demonstrating how fast the manufacturing industry can transform when long term solutions are at hand. This renewable energy project is a new milestone on the way to meeting Saint-Gobain’s commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.”

Bosnia & Herzegovina: The economy ministry of Central Bosnia Canton says it has extended a contract by 10 years granting mining rights of a gypsum deposit to Rudnici Gipsa. The deal covers the Elezovac quarry in the Donji Vakuf municipality, according to SeeNews. The original contract had a duration of 25 years and was set to expire in 2024. Rudnici Gipsa produces raw gypsum as well as asphalt, concrete and aggregates.

UK: XPO Logistics, a leading global provider of freight transportation services, has been awarded a multi-year contract renewal by Etex. XPO distributes several hundred thousand tonnes of products for Etex each year in the UK. It uses a dedicated fleet to deliver gypsum wallboard to builders’ merchants and building sites from Etex's manufacturing plants in Bristol and Ferrybridge. It also supports distribution centres in Basildon and Grangemouth. The customised network is managed by XPO teams on-site, and draws on XPO’s wider resources for transport and storage as needed to supplement seasonal fluctuations in demand. Under the new agreement, XPO will remain a single-source provider for transport and on-site logistics management, and will collaborate with Etex to prepare for higher distribution volumes. Etex’s planned significant investment in the Bristol site will increase production and warehousing capacity to support the company’s expansion in the UK.

UK: Etex has awarded a contract for construction of its new Euro167m Bristol gypsum wallboard plant in North Somerset to McLaughlin & Harvey. The plant will include a post-consumer gypsum recycling facility and is scheduled for commissioning in 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: State-owned power company RiTE Ugljevik has agreed to supply 250,000t/yr of gypsum for Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM)’s upcoming Ugljevik gypsum wallboard plant in Semberija Region. The power supplier produced 300,000t of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum in 2022.

US: Saint-Gobain in the US has entered into a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Invenergy, a leading privately held global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, for 120MW of the 250MW Blooming Grove Wind Farm capacity in McLean County, Illinois, which recently began operations.

This agreement is the largest renewable energy deal to date for Saint-Gobain and is a key milestone in supporting the group's target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The associated Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS) represents 40% of the Group's CO₂ emissions from electricity in the US, resulting in a 21% reduction of Saint-Gobain's overall carbon footprint (scope 1 and 2) in the US.

With this agreement and other ongoing projects, the share of renewable electricity within Saint- Gobain's worldwide electricity consumption, will double in 2021, from 18.9% in 2020.

Indonesia: Semen Baturaja has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huadian Buket Asam Power. Under the agreement, Semen Baturaja will supply the power company with limestone for its flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) process in exchange for gypsum, fly ash and bottom ash. The agreement will last for two years until March 2023.

The cement producer’s managing director Sumsal Saifudin said “This collaboration is a form of synergy between the two companies to improve competitiveness, which is much-needed in facing an increasingly competitive industrial environment, by taking advantage of opportunities for the creation of new revenue streams and cost transformation.”

US: France-based Saint-Gobain has announced a 120MW wind power supply deal with Blooming Grove Wind Farm, the largest renewable energy contract in the gypsum wallboard producer’s history. The 12-year contract, which secures 120MW of the available 250MW of power for Saint-Gobain from the wind farm in Illinois, will reduce the company’s US carbon footprint by 21%, it says. “This makes North America a significant contributor in our global network towards helping meet Saint-Gobain’s sustainability goal of net-zero CO_² emissions by 2050,” said Saint-Gobain North America president and CEO Mark Rayfield.

China: Mainland China's leading cement producer Conch Cement has announced that it is seeking bidders for a gypsum supply contract. The contract will cover the supply of synthetic gypsum produced by flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) between 1 February 2020 and 31 July 2020.