Gypsum industry news

France: Etex subsidiary Siniat plans to install a new boiler, fired by either solid recovered fuel (SRF) or waste wood, at its Auneuil gypsum wallboard plant in Oise Department. The producer expects this to reduce the plant's gas consumption by 20%. The L'Usine Nouvelle newspaper has reported that the project is part of a planned Euro30m sustainability overhaul of equipment at the plant before 2026. Siniat recently brought the Auneuil plant back online following the installation of a new Euro15m dryer in early 2023, which increased wallboard drying times by 10% and reduced gas consumption by 20%. The producer said that this has eliminated 5900t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

From the remaining Euro3m of its allotted budget for sustainability upgrades, Siniat will build a gypsum recycling plant at the Auneuil gypsum wallboard plant. It currently receives its recycled gypsum from Ritleng Revalorisations' gypsum recycling plant in Rohr, Bas-Rhin Department. Currently, natural gypsum from the Le Pin-Villeparisis and Montmorency mines accounts for 40 - 60% of the Auneuil plant' gypsum consumption.

Japan: Chiyoda-Ute is preparing to launch a gypsum board product, Chiyoda Circular Gypsum Board, from June 2023 that uses 100% recycled gypsum. The company says it is the first product of its kind in the world to use 100% waste gypsum board collected from construction sites. Manufacturing will also be carbon neutral through the use of wood chips to heat the plant’s boiler and electricity supplied from renewable sources.

Norway: Saint-Gobain has started producing net zero CO₂ gypsum wallboard at its Fredrikstad plant. This was made possible by switching the power supply for the unit to hydroelectric power from natural gas previously. It worked with state-owned sustainable energy agency Enova on the Euro25m upgrade project. Following the completion of work at the site it will now avoid emitting 23,000t/yr of CO₂. Improved heat recovery and process efficiency will reduce energy consumption by 30%. Plus, the company says that the plant’s production capacity has been increased by 40%.

The group says that this is the world's first carbon-neutral wallboard plant and it will enable it to launch a range of products with the lowest carbon footprint on the market in 2023. It added that the this initiative was a clear indication of the company’s commitment to reduce its scope one and two CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017, with a commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050

Canada: CertainTeed Canada’s Delta wallboard plant in Vancouver has recycled over 1Mt of gypsum. The unit achieved this breakthrough in collaboration with New West Gypsum Recycling (NWGR). CertainTeed Canada chief executive officer Julie Bonamy Racine, Delta Plant Manager Richard Sebastianelli and NWGR Vice President Richard McCamley all attended a celebration event held at the plant.

Bonamy said, “Surpassing 1Mt of recycled gypsum returned to production is an important milestone, which demonstrates Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Canada’s commitment to sustainability and minimising our environmental footprint.” She added “Thank you to the provincial government of British Columbia and NWGR for your important partnerships and congratulations to our entire Vancouver team for your hard work to make this accomplishment a reality.”

Belgium: Etex's sales were Euro3.74bn in 2022, up by 25% year-on-year from 2021 levels. Its building performance division, which includes gypsum wallboard, recorded revenues of Euro2.43m, 65% of the group total. Etex said that the division’s market positions and results 'evolved positively,' and 'demonstrated leadership' in the face of raw materials price rises. The group's recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) totalled Euro645m, up by 13%.

During the year, Etex's Romania-based subsidiary Siniat commissioned its new Euro1m gypsum drying and micronisation plant at its Aghiresu gypsum wallboard plant in Cluj. The market yielded turnover growth of 17% year-on-year for Siniat, to Euro72.5m

Etex recycled 54% more gypsum than in 2018 across its operations, making it 'the most advanced gypsum recycler in Europe,' according to the company. Its absolute CO₂ emissions fell by 20% over the same period.

US: Advanced materials producer Xeriant plans to enter trial production of its recycled plastic-based gypsum wallboard alternative, NEXBOARD. Plastic products company TMF Corporation will support production by agglomerating post-industrial plastic waste and densifying it, along with different eco-friendly flame retardants, for use as feedstock.

US: USG says that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved its 2030 emission reduction targets. The subsidiary of Germany-based Knauf said that it was one of just a few companies in the US building-product sector that has signed onto SBTi. The company has agreed to reduce its carbon emissions from manufacturing (Scope 1 and 2) at the WB-2°C (well below 2°C) level, which equates to a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. USG has also committed to reducing carbon emissions associated with purchased raw materials and services, transportation and waste generation (Scope 3) by 15% within the same period.

UK/Ireland: Knauf UK and Ireland’s haulage contractor Nicholls has switched to using renewably generated liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power its trucks. The transition should reduce Knauf’s Scope 3 emissions generated by transporting its raw materials and products. Knauf’s emissions from deliveries represent roughly 23% of all Scope 3 emissions for the UK business.

Nicholls started trialling LNG powered trucks in 2018 and then built a local refuelling site. It currently uses 29 trucks that run on LNG. The haulage company still uses diesel power vehicles for some routes depending on distance and infrastructure.

Spain: France-based Saint-Gobain has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Endesa. The 11-year agreement will start in 2024 and will cover around 55% of Saint-Gobain’s local electricity requirements. Endesa will supply 150GWh/yr of renewable energy. This agreement will enable a reduction in CO₂ emissions of roughly 39,000t/yr. This is the second renewable energy supply agreement signed by Saint-Gobain in Spain. Together, the two agreements will cover 65% of the group’s electricity needs in Spain.

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales grew by 14.5% on a like-for-like basis to Euro38.4bn in the first nine months of 2022 compared to Euro32.9bn in the same period in 2021. Strong sales growth was reported in all business lines although sales were driven in particular by the group’s High Performance Solutions business and its Asia-Pacific and North America regions.

The group noted that raw materials, freight and energy costs were growing, especially in Europe. It said that it had hedged around 80% of its natural gas and electricity purchasing needs for 2022 and around 60% for 2023. It has also been preparing continuity plans for its gas-consuming plants in Europe to ensure the flexibility of production to operate with less or alternative energy. The group said that its gypsum wallboard and construction chemicals production lines were “extremely flexible.”

By region the group said it had started the world’s first zero-carbon wallboard production at its Balsta plant in Sweden powered by biogas and ‘green’ electricity. In France it produced and marketed its Placo Infini 13 product, which is said is the first wallboard made from over 50% recycled gypsum.