EDE Report For the Quarter Ended 31 March 2020
Highlights:
INDIA · A number of advanced trials with potentially significant customers, of lower cost, stronger concrete, continued during the first part of the quarter, but were delayed later in the quarter by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
DETAILS
INDIA A number of advanced trials with potentially significant customers, of lower cost, stronger concrete, continued during the first part of the quarter, but further work was delayed later in the quarter by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Within a relatively short period after these restrictions are lifted, Eden is hopeful of receiving its maiden Indian EdenCrete® order from a significant construction company that has essentially completed its testing programme. Background to Indian Concrete market Indian Fly Ash Supply In April 2018, the Indian Ministry of Coal estimated that India had approximately 319 Billion tonnes of Geological Resources of coal, of which 280 Billion tonnes are classified as non-coking coal, including approximately 129 Billion tonnes of non-coking coal that are classified as “Proved/ Measured”. 1. Indian non-coking coal is mainly used in coal fired thermal power stations to generate electricity, fertiliser plants, cement furnaces and brick kilns. Much of this non-coking coal contains high levels of silica, that when burnt produces a significant percentage (by weight) of fly ash. To minimise air pollution, the fly ash is largely captured in the smoke stacks of the furnaces, generating very large quantities of fly ash that is sold at very low prices or in some cases given away free of charge. In consequence, it is hoped that the addition of EdenCrete® products to concrete mixes may enable the percentage of the low cost fly ash to be increased, thereby potentially strengthening the concrete as well as perhaps reducing its cost whilst also reducing its Greenhouse Gas footprint due to the fly ash itself being a waste by-product. Indian Concrete Market In India, a rapidly developing nation with a population of nearly 1.3 billion people, the concrete market for all industrial, commercial and infrastructure applications, whilst already being large by global standards, is growing rapidly. India is the second largest cement manufacturer in the world. To put this in context, in 2017, India’s annual cement consumption reached 270 Million tonnes. As commercial concrete mixes often contains up to or more than 20-30% (by weight) of cement, this is estimated to have resulted in the annual consumption of between approximately 800 Million tonnes – 1.3 Billion tonnes of concrete, or approximately 347 Million cubic metres - 565 Million cubic metres of concrete. Coupled with the election commitment in May 2019 to allocate US.2 trillion towards infrastructure by re-elected Prime Minister Modi, India is a very high priority target for EdenCrete® for infrastructure and construction projects. Relevantly, during the past four years, the Indian Federal Minister for Transport and Roads (and who was re-appointed to the same portfolio after the recent election), is reported to have pushed the increase in the rate at which new Federal highways and roads were built (including a significant amount built using concrete), from two kilometres per day to thirty kilometres per day, and he has recently indicated he would like to again double that rate to sixty kilometres per day during the next four years. Many of the concrete mixes that have been trialled in India with EdenCrete® to date delivered reasonable improvements in performance, opening the way for EdenCrete® products to potentially deliver cheaper, better concrete that has significantly lower Greenhouse Gas footprint. If these early positive outcomes can be delivered on a broader scale, India is considered likely to become a major market for EdenCrete® products. 1. https://coal.nic.in/content/coal-reserves 2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269322/cement-consumption-in-indiasince- 2004/
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