ENERGY: Hima Cement makes bold switch to renewable biomass

Hima Cement achieves 50% biomass fuel useKampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |Hima Cement has announced that over 50% of its fuel for cement production now comes from renewable biomass — a bold shift from fossil-heavy inputs like Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).“Five and a half sums of energy now replace the HFO we used to rely on. We have been big on biomass,” said David Mugagga, Hima Cement’s Head of Regulatory Affairs whilespeaking during a panel at the ongoing Uganda Chamber of Energy and Minerals (UCEM) Energy Convention in Kampala.Mugagga said this is a major milestone in Uganda’s industrial decarbonization efforts, and attributed the success to an integrated sustainability model that places local communities and circular energy systems at the heart of industrial operations.He explained that, “We think about coffee husks, palm kernels, rice husks, sawdust — all that biomass is sourced by our department and used to fire our kilns.”Contractors and government bodies have been using Hima Cement f...