Ceramic and glass business news of the week for September 28, 2020

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Guardian Glass launches new float line at Czestochowa, Poland plant

Guardian Glass completed its first ribbon pull at its second float glass facility in Częstochowa, Poland, to help meet the growing demand for high performance coated and fabricated glass products in Poland and throughout Eastern Europe.

ASTRO America proposes additive manufacturing hypersonic missile production facility

ASTRO America completed a DARPA-commissioned study to accelerate the production of hypersonic missiles. The research details design plans for a Hypersonic Production Accelerator Facility, one that consolidates a hypersonics government customer and leading manufacturers at every tier under one roof.

CETY signs agreement to launch Asia headquarters in Meishan California Smart City

California-based Clean Energy Technologies, Inc., a global innovator in clean energy generation and sustainability-focused technologies, signed an agreement to launch its Asia headquarters in Meishan California Smart City, which is located in the Tianfu New Area of Sichuan Province.

Steinbach AG expands its machine park with additional Lithoz 3D printers

With the acquisition of the CeraFab System S65, Steinbach is meeting the growing demands for additive-manufactured components made of high-performance ceramics. The CeraFab System S65 can be expanded to up to four production units to meet the needs of industrial series production.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Altona Energy to acquire 70% interest in Nankoma Rare Earth Project 

Altona Energy signed a nonbinding Heads of Agreement to acquire a 70% interest in the Nankoma Rare Earth Project, a greenfield mining project in Uganda. Should a binding agreement be entered into, Altona will be responsible for 100% of agreed budgeted costs to complete a feasibility study.

Sustainable AM: Nedcam, RoyalDSM announce FGF printing partnership

Dutch companies Nedcam and RoyalDSM announced a sustainable additive manufacturing partnership that leverages Nedcam’s new Flexbot robotic 3D printer and Royal’s pellet materials. The partnership continues both companies’ interest in sustainable manufacturing via circular designs and processes.

OTHER STORIES

International Year of Glass 2022 gathers momentum

Representatives for an International Year of Glass 2022 will outline their proposal to the United Nations in a virtual presentation presented via YouTube this November. The presentation will be broadcast in New York and Geneva simultaneously and will be downloadable worldwide.

Webinar: How glassmakers can save energy and costs in the glass making process

The next Glass International webinar, provided by Turboden, will focus on latest techniques in glass manufacturing. The webinar takes place Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. ET.

FM Global updates loss prevention guidelines for glass industry

Commercial insurance company FM Global recently updated data sheet 7-26, loss prevention guidelines for the glass industry. The updates include radar-based technology among a list of minimum activities recommended for an asset integrity program, found in section 2.5.13-D.

French government considers cutting pre-2011 FITs

French financial newspaper Les Echos claimed the Ministry of Economy and Finance is considering retroactively renegotiating feed-in tariffs awarded by the government to solar energy projects before 2011 because the French Court of Auditors ruled the historic tariffs too generous in 2018.

Made in Space is sending the first ceramic manufacturing facility in space to the ISS

On a Northrop Grumman International Space Station resupply mission set for Tuesday, in-space manufacturing company Made in Space will include their Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing Module, a commercial ceramic turbine blisk manufacturing device that uses 3D printing technology.

Goodfellow launches informational resources blog for materials science

Research materials supplier Goodfellow launched a new informational resource blog for the materials science industry. With the aim of sharing knowledge and advice, the blog will feature STEM insights, information on the usage of Goodfellow materials, and wider industry innovations.

New Japan trade deal set to spark major growth for international technology firm Lucideon

International technology company Lucideon is set to benefit from seven-figure growth from the free trade agreement between the UK and Japan. Earlier this month the UK agreed in principle to its first trade deal since leaving the European Union with Japan in a ‘historic’ move, which the government estimates will increase trade by £15.2m.

MARKET TRENDS

Australia to invest $13 billion in energy technology to cut emissions

Australia plans to invest A$18 billion ($13 billion) over the next 10 years in technologies to cut carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, the country’s energy minister said last week. It stops short of proposing a net zero emissions target by 2050 or a carbon price.

Medallion launches comparative study of rare earth element separation technologies

Medallion Resources Ltd. announced the initiation of a comprehensive comparative technical and commercial review of existing and emerging rare earth element separation technologies. They engaged Dag Øistein Eriksen, an independent European chemist, to review and compare data from the various REE separation technologies.

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics market set to grow to $64 billion by 2030

In a new report, Lux Research outlines the major challenges and opportunities that carbon fibers and carbon fiber reinforced plastics face and how standardization and recycling are enabling the latter market to grow to a $64 billion industry by 2030.

German glass manufacturing industry output better than expected

Latest manufacturing figures from the Federal Association of the German Glass Industry (BV Glas) show that while sales in the first half of 2020 fell, economic indicators suggest an upturn has already started across all segments.

NEW PRODUCTS

NaS battery enables megawatt-hour energy storage

NGK Insulators, Ltd. developed a sodium sulfur battery that realizes a stable supply of renewable energy. Featuring a large capacity, high energy density, and long life, it boasts a compact size about one-third of lead batteries.

First-ever UL listed sodium-ion battery

Natron Energy announced that it has achieved an Underwriters Laboratories listing for its BlueTray™ 4000 battery. It is the first-ever sodium-ion battery to achieve a 1973 certification from UL, the definitive third-party evaluation of battery product safety.

Tool for estimating 3D printing costs

Industrial, engineering, and technical solutions specialist Etteplan developed a new, free online tool to calculate the production costs of an object manufactured using a well-established metal 3D printing method quickly, without risk, and at no cost.