Ceramic and glass business news of the week for December 14, 2020

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Pensana Rare Earths selects proposed site for UK facility

Pensana Rare Earths selected the Saltend Chemicals Park in Humber as the proposed site to build the U.K.’s first rare-earth processing facility. Pensana is aiming to establish the world’s first fully sustainable magnet metal supply chain, from mining right through to production.

Emerge Glass to start container glass production in India

Flat glass producing company Emerge Glass plans to commence commercial production of container glass with a designed capacity of 210 tonnes per day at Behror in the Western state of Rajasthan, India, in the first quarter of 2021.

Norway invests in new wind energy research center

The Norwegian government will invest NOK 120 million (EUR 11.3 million) in a new wind power research center, with offshore wind research being one of the main priorities for the new center. The research center, called NorthWind, will bring together over 50 partners from research institutions and industry all around the world.

CeramTec expands piezoceramic competence center

CeramTec, a manufacturer of complex electronic ceramic components, is expanding its existing piezoceramic center of excellence at the company’s Lauf site in Germany with two additional machinery units to meet rising demand for high-quality piezoelectric elements and materials.

Auburn University debuts $22 million state-of-the-art structural engineering laboratory

Auburn University opened the doors on a $22 million state-of-the-art laboratory to address the nation’s growing infrastructure issues. The 42,000-square-foot Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory includes wind testing capabilities that can replicate hurricane-level loads and a concrete materials research and testing laboratory, among other things.

TU Graz opens Christian Doppler Laboratory for Solid State Batteries

Graz University of Technology in Austria opened the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Solid State Batteries with the aim to make this energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications. Company partner AVL helped open the laboratory in November, and the budget of the laboratory with seven employees totals around two million euros.

Nutec Bickley secures multimillion dollar kiln order

Nutec Bickley’s Ceramics division secured a multimillion dollar contract for the design, manufacture, installation, and commissioning of five state-of-the-art, high-temperature kilns. Construction on all five has begun and they will be delivered in May next year, with full commissioning set to take place during summer 2021.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Piramal Glass sold to Blackstone for $1 billion

U.S.-based private equity major Blackstone Group Inc inked a deal to acquire Piramal Enterprises Ltd.’s glass unit for $1 billion. This transaction will be Piramal Group’s second billion-dollar deal this year, the first being when they sold U.S.-based DRG, a 100% subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises, to U.S.-based Clarivate Analytics.

ZEISS invests by acquiring majority stake in arivis AG

ZEISS is expanding its imaging technology capabilities with 3D and big image data software by acquiring a majority stake in the imaging business of arivis. Both companies have a long-standing collaboration and strategic partnership, as arivis has been an important development partner for ZEISS for more than seven years.

ANYWAVES working with 3DCERAM to develop small satellite antennas using ceramic AM

ANYWAVES, a spin-off of the French Space Agency, worked with 3D-AIM, 3DCERAM’s consulting service that specializes in the aerospace industry, to bring its ceramic antenna concepts and designs to life.

CBAK Energy, LEAD join hands to develop smart lithium battery automatic production line

Dalian CBAK Energy Technology Co., Ltd. signed a joint development agreement with Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. to design and develop the automatic production line for manufacturing tabless power lithium batteries with high efficiency, stability, and intelligence.

Baker Hughes, Aramco join to advance materials science in the energy sector

Aramco and Baker Hughes announced the formation of Novel, a 50/50 joint venture to develop and commercialize a range of nonmetallic products for applications in the energy sector.

Solvay partners with PrinterPrezz on 3D printing for medical devices

Solvay and PrinterPrezz announced they are collaborating to develop 3D printing and selective laser sintering solutions for implants and other medical devices. In addition to the collaboration, Solvay’s venture capital fund, Solvay Ventures, participated in PrinterPrezz’s recent $16 million equity financing round.

Siemens Energy, Duke Energy, Clemson University team up to study hydrogen use

Siemens Energy, Duke Energy, and Clemson University teamed up to study the use of hydrogen for energy storage and as a low- or no-carbon fuel source to produce energy at Duke Energy’s combined heat and power plant located at Clemson University in South Carolina.

OTHER STORIES

First showing of International Year of Glass video presentation

The International Commission on Glass broadcasted the first screening of its presentation to promote a United Nations International Year of Glass for 2022. The presentation underlined the technological, scientific and economic importance of glass and showed the importance of the material to meet the challenges of reducing global carbon emissions.

Russian government awards ‘megagrant’ to MIPT Center for Photonics and 2D Materials

The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Center for Photonics and 2D Materials was named among the winners of the eighth competition for megagrants from the Russian government. The funding will go toward research on advanced nanophotonics: quantum materials and artificial intelligence.

Irico Group subsidiary set to dispose of non-solar-glass businesses, focus on PV glass

Hong Kong-listed solar company Irico New Energy is preparing to shunt its non-solar-glass business units into Chinese state-controlled parent Irico Group so it can treble its photovoltaic glass production capacity in 2024 with the help of a four-line, $108 million manufacturing facility.

DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy launches new portal for funding opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy launched the EERE Program Information Center for funding opportunities. Organizations can use the Center to identify and respond to open opportunities, including funding opportunity announcements, requests for information, and notices of intent, among other things.

DOE announces $128 million for sustainable transportation research

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced up to $128 million in funding for research and development of sustainable transportation resources and technologies. The funding will be issued on behalf of EERE’s three transportation offices: Bioenergy, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell, and Vehicle Technologies Offices.

MARKET TRENDS

Rare earth producers aim to agree global environment standards in 2021

Producers of rare earths, under increasing pressure from their industrial buyers over longstanding pollution issues, are hammering out a single set of global environmental standards, according to the head of the global Rare Earth Industry Association.

Ecuador could achieve 400MW solar PV capacity by 2030

Data and analytics company GlobalData reports that Ecuador is laying the foundation for 15% solar photovoltaic growth over the coming decade. The 14.8MW Conolophus solar PV venture and the 200MW El Aromo PV plant, which will be the country’s largest, are set to come online in the coming years.

India imposes anti-dumping duty on imports of clear float glass from Malaysia

India has imposed antidumping duty on clear float glass, used in automobiles and refrigeration industries, from Malaysia for five years with an aim to guard domestic industry from cheap imports. The duty was imposed after a recommendation was made by the commerce ministry’s investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies.

NEW PRODUCTS

Terraçade ceramic façade system introduced to US market

The Terraçade Ceramic Façade System by Australian building materials manufacturer Brickworks is now available in the U.S. market, distributed through Brickworks’ U.S.-based Glen-Gery brand. The exterior/interior cladding system includes ceramic tiles offered in a range of colors and finishes as well as a wide array of accessories and system components.

Stoelzle Oberglas develops next generation pharma glass range

Stoelzle Pharma introduced its newly developed process for production of Type 2 Glass.  Antonia Karamat, deputy global sales director of BU Pharma, discusses the process in a Glass International article.

Dual shaft mixer designed for increased shear

The ROSS Dual-Shaft Mixer is designed for more intense shearing and homogenization requirements. Instead of a conventional high speed disperser blade, the rotor and slotted stator mixing head affords more advanced deagglomeration and emulsification capabilities. A two-wing anchor promotes bulk flow and uniform batch temperature.

Seven new digital conductive inks for solar, ceramic, glass, generic applications

PV Nano Cell Ltd., a provider of inkjet-based conductive digital printing solutions and producer of conductive digital inks, is making public a total of seven new digital conductive inks for solar, ceramic, glass, LIFT, and generic applications.