Smart?

Dear Readers, When smart technologies or industries of the future are reported on TV or in other media, the cement industry is probably not the first one that comes to mind. Yet it is precisely in this industry that entire research departments are working on how the manufacturing process can be made more energy-efficient and, above all, how the carbon footprint can be significantly reduced. Many projects are being carried out together with renowned research institutes. And maybe the cement industry is not connected with the term smart in the first place, but one thing is for sure, also in the future we will want to build our houses, our infrastructure or dams etc. and for this we will continue to need cement.

Read more about this topic in this issue. The article “Modernization at the HeidelbergCement plant in Ennigerloh” (p. 26) shows a highly advanced control room containing two ergonomic workstations and flexible-use technology. The article by Dr. Joachim Harder (p. 32) presents “Latest market trends for FGD gypsum”. FGD gypsum will become rare, so that other gypsum sources such as recycled gypsum will have to be developed.

A very current topic is “Making the cement industry climate neutral via carbon capture and utilization (CCU)” (p. 18), whereby utilization in particular is a very exciting field also as a carbon source for the chemical industry.

Many other exciting topics await you in this issue. Have a good time!

Dr. Petra Strunk
Editor-in-Chief