Last October 3, representatives of the General Directorate of Industry of the Generalitat and Ciment Català met to discuss the current situation of the cement sector in Catalonia and its main concerns, largely related to the decarbonisation of the sector and its Roadmap 2050 to achieve it.
On behalf of the Generalitat, the general director of Industry, Oriol Alcoba, and the project coordinator of the General Directorate, Albert Ballbé, attended. As for Ciment Català, it was headed by the president, Salvador Fernández Capo and included representatives of the four companies that operate in Catalonia, Cemex, Ciments Molins, Cementos Portland Valderrivas and Holcim.
The meeting began with a presentation of the situation of the cement sector in Catalonia, including statistical data. Then, apart from the topic of decarbonisation of the sector, focusing in particular on the use of alternative fuels, their importance, and the existing practical difficulties, the meeting focused on regulatory aspects particularly relevant to the sector. One of them was the Plan for the closure and dismantling of incinerators, which must put an end to the current moratorium on processing files for new construction or expansion of recovery infrastructures or the possible new tax on emissions CO2 from economic activities provided for in the eleventh Final Provision of Law 16/2017 on Climate Change, which can be very harmful for the sector, apart from implying double taxation.
The current deficit of investment in infrastructure, necessary to have a sustainable and competitive country, was another of the problems that were put on the table. Data were shared on the consumption of cement in Catalonia compared to the total in Spain and in comparison, per capita, to that of developed European countries, which showed that the ones here are clearly insufficient for a country that wants to be a leader in Europe and the World.
Waste recovery figures were also compared with those of other European countries. The conclusion is that Catalonia has a limited capacity for valorization due to the small variety of waste authorized for valorization. An example is waste categorized as hazardous, such as used oils and solvents, which are indeed authorized in other autonomous communities and countries.
Finally, Ciment Català undertook to transmit to the General Directorate of Industry all the information available about the decarbonisation of the sector and, specifically, the technologies for the capture, use, transport and storage of CO2. Likewise, both parties agreed to keep in touch on a regular basis to be aware of possible news or topics of interest.