Molins links 991.000 t valorised to CBAM/ETS pressure

Molins has reported a circular-economy milestone that must be read with a precise boundary: the figures refer to its industrial network in Spain and, specifically for carbon performance, to the Sant Vicenç dels Horts cement plant. They are not operational figures for Uruguay, even though the move belongs to the same group covered in this editorial cell.

Molins’ circular data point

According to the corporate release, Molins’ circular-economy plants have treated and valorised 991.000 t of waste since 2022. In 2025 alone, that network treated more than 248.000 t and converted it into alternative raw materials, alternative fuels or recycled materials for cement and construction solutions.

The relevant issue is not only the accumulated volume. Molins describes a network of 7 installations with complementary roles: some prepare materials that replace natural resources, others produce alternative fuels, and others recycle construction and demolition waste or industrial by-products. The industrial reading is that decarbonisation advances when waste logistics, material quality and kiln demand are coordinated as one system.

Sant Vicenç and the cost of emissions

The Sant Vicenç dels Horts plant is where circularity directly meets carbon performance. Molins says that in 2025 the plant avoided 118.113 t of CO2: 101.764 t linked to energy recovery and 16.349 t to material valorisation.

Under frameworks such as CBAM/ETS, that documented reduction matters because it separates two different levers. Energy recovery reduces fossil-fuel use, while material valorisation lowers the need for natural inputs and can change the footprint of the mix. For a group with an international presence, including Uruguay, the editorial limit is essential: the published case is about Spain, not an automatic transfer to every market.

The Knergy Angle

Molins’ progress shows why alternative fuels are not solved merely by sourcing waste: the kiln needs thermal stability, available oxygen and sufficiently reactive combustion to accept more complex blends without penalising clinker. In that space, on-site H2/O2 injection into the pyroprocess can become a complementary lever, provided it is sized against the kiln’s real chemistry. H2 creates a more reactive flame zone and local O2 helps burn less homogeneous fuels more completely; together, they can widen the AFR operating window, protect clinker output and sustain quality when waste variability rises. In KNERGY documents, the 30–70 kcal/kg range is treated as a conditional technical reference, not as a historical Molins result. The question a cement-engineering team must answer is concrete: how much additional AFR can Sant Vicenç, or any analogous plant, absorb before sulphur, temperature and reactivity limit the benefit? That answer requires a heat balance, fuel analysis, CFD and a controlled trial.

Reading this from Uruguay

The editorial reservation is linked to Uruguay because the regional coverage matrix follows the group and the country. The news, however, does not authorise claims about investments, treated tonnes or CO2 reductions in Uruguay. Its local value is strategic: if CBAM/ETS raises the cost of embedded carbon in export chains or corporate matrices, groups with verifiable circularity learning will have stronger arguments for prioritising kilns where waste supply, regulation and carbon price align.