Ireland's traditional cement industry is being challenged by a company that plans to start producing the first Irish-made pollution-free cement at an ultra-modern plant in Dublin Port this autumn.
Ecocem Ireland will be producing cement from GGBS (ground granulated blast-furnace slag), a coarse sand-like substance which is a by-product of steel manufacturing. It is both technically superior and more environment-friendly than standard cement.
The €10 million plant on Pigeon House Road - topped out earlier this month by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, can produce up to 300,000 tonnes of cement annually and save almost as much in climate-changing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
"This is an impressive development, the first of its kind in Ireland, which will have a positive impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has a significant role to play in the promotion of environmental protection," said Mr McDowell.
The manufacture of every tonne of traditional Portland cement by crushing limestone into powder involves emitting up to one tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere, in addition to noxious gases such as sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.
By contrast, the manufacture of GGBS produces near-white concrete of acknowledged strength and durability, while emitting only a small amount of CO2 and no noxious gases. It also has no impact on the landscape as it does not require quarrying.
The land area needed for a traditional cement plant is also much larger, on average, 50 acres for the plant itself and a further 100 acres for the limestone quarry to supply its raw materials. By contrast, the Ecocem plant occupies a site of 1.5 acres.
Mr Donal O'Riain, managing director of its Paris-based parent company, Ecocem Materials, concedes that by going into competition with Irish Cement it is not unlike David taking on Goliath.
Of the State's annual output of some 3.5 million tonnes, Irish Cement accounts for more than two million tonnes, while the Sean Quinn Group produces just over a million tonnes and Lagan Cement - newest entrant to the market - some 600,000 tonnes.
Up to 60 per cent of the cement used in Northern Ireland is supplied by the Republic, which is good for exports but leaves us with the CO2 emissions.
And under the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, this could cost us dearly in penalties from 2008 onwards. Ireland must cap its greenhouse gas emissions at 13 per cent above the 1990 levels by 2012, but this could be exceeded by a factor of three unless firm measures are taken. EU directives also require a 50 per cent cut in SO2 and NOx emissions by 2010.
"The cement industry in Europe is mounting a very determined PR campaign to be treated as a special case under Kyoto," Mr O'Riain says. "They argue that they must use limestone and, therefore, there's nothing they can do about process emissions."
Traditional cement manufacturing is also very profitable. According to Mr O'Riain, the marginal cost of producing one tonne of cement is €15 for a product that sells for €75 per tonne.
"What we're saying is that alternative technologies are available." GGBS is 10 to 15 per cent cheaper per tonne than ordinary cement. Ecocem believes it can capture at least 7 per cent of the Irish cement market, providing 20 new jobs in the process.
Ecocem Materials is a European leader in the production of GGBS. The company was founded in 2000 by Mr O'Riain and already operates a manufacturing plant in the Netherlands and plans to build another facility in France.
