CGBN

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

ACWA Power unveils Saudi Arabia’s first renewable energy project

Saudi Arabian energy company ACWA Power announced the opening of a utility-scale solar renewable energy project in the country. The 300MW Sakaka PV independent power producer, which was built with an investment of SAR1.2bn ($319m), was inaugurated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Construction begins on the largest solar facility in Texas

Rosendin Electric’s Renewable Energy Group has begun building the largest solar power project in Texas. The 500MWac/631MWdc Aktina Renewable Power Project calls for the installation of 1.4 million solar modules across 4,000 acres. The complete project should be online in the first half of 2022.

Project explores design for large floating wind power installations

U.S.-based engineering company Bechtel will be working with Swedish floating windfarm developer Hexicon to design and develop the construction feasibility for large-scale floating power generation technologies.

EME completes advanced batch plant upgrade at Techpack Solutions in South Korea

EME completed a complex batch plant upgraded at Techpack Solutions in South Korea. In addition to modernizing the batch material dosing and weighing section, EME exchanged the high-duty pan mixer and upgraded the cullet dosing, weighing, and addition from a container scale system to a highly sophisticated modern belt scale system.

Visy in $35 million glass recycling investment

Visy Industries is to invest in a $35 million upgrade of its Laverton glass recycling center in Australia. It will double the center’s recycling capacity from 100,000 tonnes of glass each year to 200,000.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Glasswerks acquires assets of CCBP Glass Manufacturing and J.E. Berkowitz

Glasswerks, a full-service fabricator of architectural glass headquartered in South Gate, Calif., announced it has acquired the glass manufacturing assets of Columbia Commercial Building Products in Rockwall, Texas, and J.E. Berkowitz in Pedricktown, N.J. Both companies were previously part of Consolidated Glass Holdings.

BEAMIT Group acquires 3T Additive Manufacturing

The BEAMIT Group (Fornovo di Taro, Italy) has acquired additive manufacturing service provider 3T Additive Manufacturing (Newbury, UK) from AM Global Holding GmbH. This follows the acquisition by Sandvik of a large stake in the BEAMIT Group in 2019, which established a strong industrial partnership across the AM valuechain.

Megawatt completes acquisition of Australian nickel-cobalt-scandium-rare earth projects

Megawatt Lithium and Battery Metals Corp. completed acquisition of all issued and outstanding securities of 1260945 B.C. Ltd., pursuant to the terms of a share exchange agreement. It also indirectly acquired a 100% interest in and to certain mining tenements in Northern Territory and New South Wales Australia.

Piramal Glass renamed to PGP Glass

Indian container glass manufacturer Piramal Glass was renamed as PGP Glass as part of its takeover by Blackstone financial group. Blackstone acquired the company from the Piramal Group for a valuation of $1 billion in late 2020—the largest ever transaction for a packaging company in India.

Arfona, Dentulu, Impress3D partnership expands access to affordable tooth replacement

Arfona formed a partnership with Dentulu and Impress3D to provide patients with greater access to better and more affordable tooth replacement options. The partnership combines Arfona’s additive manufacturing technology with Impress3D’s online laboratory services and Dentulu’s teledentistry software and services.

Two South Korean firms reach US electric vehicle battery deal

LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation settled a long-running trade dispute. The companies said in a joint statement that SK will provide LG Energy with a total of $1.8 billion and an undisclosed royalty. They agreed to withdraw all pending trade disputes in the U.S. and South Korea and not assert new claims for 10 years.

Total, Siemens Energy partner up to cut LNG-related emissions

French energy major Total and Siemens Energy signed a technical collaboration agreement to study sustainable solutions for CO2 emissions reduction. The collaboration will focus on natural gas liquefaction facilities and associated power generation.

Kyocera signs with ExpertVoice to build community of advocates for its ceramic cutlery

Kyocera announced that its U.S. consumer products group has enlisted ExpertVoice, an advocacy marketing platform, to introduce the company’s ceramic knives, kitchen tools, and cookware to a variety of experts.

Kyocera licenses TactoTek injection molded structural electronics

TactoTek Oy, the Finland-based company that develops and licenses injection molded structural electronics (IMSE) technology, announced that Kyocera has licensed their IMSE technology. Kyocera will design, develop, and produce IMSE parts in Japan.


OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Dilatometry, a tool to identify and quantify nonequilibrium phase transformations

The Gleeble Webinar Series resumes starting Thursday, April 22, at 8 a.m. Eastern. This upcoming webinar will focus on using dilatometry to identify and quantity nonequilibrium phase transformations in advanced high strength steels.

Webinar: Dental implant 3D printing & surface characterization

Spectra Research Corporation is hosting a webinar on dental implant 3D printing & surface characterization on April 27 at 11 a.m. Eastern. Speakers at the webinar include Peter Durcan, vice president of sales for North America at 3DCeram Sinto, and Natalia Bermejo, product specialist at Sensofar.

CelSian to present training course on electric melting

CelSian is to run an “Electric systems for glass melting—Introductory training” course online over four sessions in June. The course will cover all basic requirements for companies to use electric melting during four online afternoon sessions (2–6 PM CET), from June 15–18.

ASCC releases guide for the design and construction of concrete toppings

The American Society of Concrete Contractors’ Education, Research & Development Foundation has published Guide to the Design and Construction of Concrete Toppings for Buildings. It is the intent that this book be used as a guide to project teams when toppings are needed.

China’s Ganzhou to launch rare earth waste recycling projects

Ganzhou city in south China’s Jiangxi province announced plans to develop demonstration projects for rare earths waste recycling, aiming to solve the key issues of waste disposal and comprehensive utilization of resources in the rare earth supply chain. The project is led by Southern Rare Earth, one of China’s six state-controlled rare earths groups.

DOE announces $162 million to decarbonize cars and trucks

The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled two funding opportunities totaling more than $162 million to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions among cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles. The funding will support the next stage of the SuperTruck initiatives, which is aimed at electrifying freight trucking.

Senators pump brakes on Endless Frontier Act

An FYI article detailed the debates taking place in the U.S. Senate concerning the Endless Frontier Act, which proposes adding a new technology directorate to the National Science Foundation. While many senators agree with increased funding for NSF, they express reservations in how the Endless Frontier Act proposes to do so.


MARKET TRENDS

BIA reports emerging 2021 brick trends

The Brick Industry Association reports 2021 trends for residential and commercial exteriors and interiors. For residential, top colors include whites, off-whites, white blends, grays, dark neutrals, and earth tones. For commercial, top colors show surging blacks—especially gloss finishes—hot whites, grays, whites with dark accents, and browns with range.

Sixty-week delay on router orders shows scale of chip crisis

Broadband providers are seeing delays of more than a year when ordering internet routers, with quoted order times as long as 60 weeks. A Bloomberg article details how this shortage plays into the larger chip shortages choking global supply chains.

The versatility of colloidal silica coatings comes to the fore in packaging potato chips

Colloidal silica is a highly versatile material that can enhance the properties of many coatings—including those used for chip packaging. A C&EN ebook looks at the use of colloidal silica in this application, from improving ink absorption to enhancing oxygen barrier properties.


NEW PRODUCTS

CeraFab Lab L30: New entry-level ceramic 3D printer

Lithoz GmbH launched a new 3D printer called the CeraFab Lab L30. This 3D printer is an entry-level machine that contains the full manufacturing power of the CeraFab 7500, Lithoz’s original 3D printer. This latest addition facilitates entry into the ceramic 3D printing market for companies who may not yet have any prior ceramic experience.

LEDtronics next-generation LED Cobrahead Luminaire for efficient roadway illumination

The new LEDtronics LED street light fixture follows the traditional cobrahead design, but it delivers an energy-efficient, high-lumen output with 146 lm per watt performance. The latest cobrahead series consumes minimal watts, but it replaces metal-halide/HPS luminaires 150W up to 250 watts.

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