Ceramic and glass business news of the week for May 24, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

DuPont invests in R&D and manufacturing resources in Europe

DuPont Mobility & Materials announced it is investing $5 million in capital and operating resources at its manufacturing facilities in Germany and Switzerland to increase capacity for its high-performance automotive adhesives. The investment will expand capacity to support growing demand for advanced mobility solutions for vehicle electrification.

Rolls-Royce expanding R&D for CMC parts, processes

Rolls-Royce of North America is planning a $30-million expansion of its R&D capabilities in Southern California, and will build a new research center in Cyprus, Calif., to research ceramic-matrix composite materials and production processes. The goal is to develop new products and technologies for manufacturing jet-engine components.

Interlink Electronics cuts the ribbon on its new materials science and R&D center

Interlink Electronics, Inc., a technology company that specializes in manufacturing sensors used in electronic portable devices, announced the official opening of its new materials science and research & development lab in Camarillo, Calif. Previously based in Singapore, Interlink’s new U.S. center aims to facilitate greater communication and collaboration.

RWE to set up test site for airborne wind energy tech in Ireland

RWE AG secured planning permission to build an airborne wind energy test facility in County Mayo, Ireland. The facility will demonstrate a 150-kW system consisting of a ground-based winch generator, a launch and land platform, and an aircraft-shaped device.

American Rare Earths secures another high-grade US project in Nevada

American Rare Earths Ltd. secured 100% of the Searchlight Rare Earth Elements Project, which is made up of 80 contiguous unpatented lode mining claims and covers 1,620 acres in Nevada. This new high-grade rare earth elements exploration project is near Mountain Pass, the only operating rare earth mine in the U.S.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

SkySpecs acquires two European wind energy technology companies

SkySpecs, a global leader in wind energy technology, acquired two of Europe’s premier wind energy companies: Fincovi, a leader in financial asset management, and Vertikal AI, a pioneer in predictive maintenance for wind energy.

SparkCognition acquires Ensemble Energy to accelerate renewable energy growth

SparkCognition, an artificial intelligence company, acquired Ensemble Energy, a leading provider of software products and services for the renewable energy industry. Through this acquisition, SparkCognition is offering the world’s first AI-enabled asset management platform for clean energy.

RHI Magnesita’s two Indian businesses merge into Orient Refractories Limited

The National Company Law Tribunal approved the merging of RHI Magnesita’s two Indian subsidiaries, RHI Clasil and RHI India, into the public listed entity Orient Refractories Ltd.

Allied teams up with NREL on project to collect and store unused renewable energy

Allied Mineral Products teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on the ENDURING project, which focuses on long-duration energy storage using heated particles. Allied is providing insight and knowledge of refractories for efficient heat containment.

Project to help decarbonize precast concrete in construction

A United Kingdom team launched the Decarbonising Precast Concrete project to research and develop processes to decarbonize precast concrete in construction. The project consists of three stages: design solution optimization, material development and testing, and production and logistics review.

Toyota Research Institute commits funding for materials design with university partners

Toyota Research Institute announced that it is committing another $36 million to its Accelerated Materials Design and Discovery collaborative university research program over the next four years.

Glass Technology Services and Rockfield agree to new partnership

Glass Technology Services agreed to a collaborative partnership with Rockfield developed to give brand owners and manufacturers greater confidence in container glass design. The partnership will offer an extensive service package including design assessments, finite element analysis modeling and simulations, and physical testing following pilot trials.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Nitride quantum light sources

Physics World is hosting a live webinar exploring nitride quantum light sources at 9 a.m. Eastern on June 16. The speaker is Rachel Oliver, director of the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride.

Symposium: Innovation in measurement science

ACS Publications, in partnership with the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, will host a virtual symposium on innovation in measurement science from June 22–25. The four-day event will be free to attend and will cover work on in vivo sensors, virus diagnostics, proteomics, advances in mass spectrometry technologies, and more.

Registration open for Hydrogen in Glass conference

Registration is now open for next month’s Hydrogen in Glass conference.  The two-day digital conference, which takes place on June 15 and 16, will include 16 speakers such as Heineken, Shell, Linde, Steklarna Hrastnik, Sorg, and Glass Service.

United Nations approves 2022 as the International Year of Glass

The United Nations General Assembly approved the formal resolution to have 2022 declared the International Year of Glass on May 18. Nineteen countries acted as co-sponsors, with a special thanks to the Spanish Mission for leading the process.

Consol Glass launches campaign to clean ocean pollution

South African container glass manufacturer Consol Glass launched a multifaceted campaign to raise awareness around the pollution of the world’s oceans and encourage a switch from single-use to reusable packaging.

New competition will seek to decarbonize the concrete and cement industry

The Global Cement and Concrete Association launched an open competition that calls on start-ups to pitch solutions and ideas for decarbonizing the concrete and cement industry. Challenge areas include carbon capture technologies, calcination technologies, carbon use in the construction supply chain, and improved recycling of concrete.

Recycling project of concrete waste in Kentucky will be big savings

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 office in Paducah started a project that is expected to save taxpayers $1 million over the next six to eight years by recycling concrete waste material to produce three of the most common types of rock used by highway crews to repair and maintain roadways.

DOE’s Lighting Prize (L-Prize) strives to reshape the future of lighting

The U.S. Department of Energy launched a new Lighting Prize (L-Prize), designed to spur ground-breaking innovation, domestic manufacturing, and the benefits of an inclusive clean energy economy for next-generation lighting solutions in commercial buildings.

What laser optics designers need to know about high-LIDT optics fabrication

A LaserFocusWorld article details the techniques used before, during, and after optical fabrication to ensure consistently high laser-induced damage thresholds for custom reflective, transmissive, and absorbing laser optics.

MARKET TRENDS

Cape Town fights for energy independence

Last year, Cape Town announced plans to purchase its own power from independent renewable-power producers. The falling cost and exponential growth of renewable-energy technology have made this possible. Learn the difficulties that cities face to win the right to purchase their own electricity.

Geopolitical impact of long-distance transport of electricity and hydrogen

In an interview with pv magazine, Indra Overland, the head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how long-distance electricity and hydrogen transport differs from that of fossil fuels.

National Consortium unveils offshore wind supply chain roadmap

The National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium unveiled a comprehensive U.S. offshore wind supply chain project. The purpose of the Supply Chain Roadmap is to present the collective benefits of a domestic supply chain and facilitate the acceleration of the offshore wind industry in the U.S.

All those electric vehicles pose a problem for building roads

Gas taxes are the largest source of funding for highway construction and maintenance. As the Ford F-150 Lightning and other vehicles increasingly plug in, that revenue is shrinking. This Wired article takes a look at the situation.

North Korea’s cement industry

Several articles on the website 38 North offer insights into North Korea’s cement industry, both historically and in the present day. Check out the articles here, here, and here.

Titanium dioxide unsafe in food, EU panel says

In an updated assessment, an expert panel of the European Food Safety Authority concludes the whitening agent titanium dioxide is not safe for use as a food additive. The new evaluation replaces a 2016 assessment and paves the way for a ban on titanium dioxide in food in the European Union.

NEW PRODUCTS

Bulk bag discharger with dual flexible screw conveyors

A new Flexicon bulk bag unloader with dual flexible screw conveyors feeds two downstream processes dust-free. The flexible screws are the only moving parts contacting material. The system is available in carbon steel with durable industrial coating, or stainless steel finished to industrial, food, dairy, or pharmaceutical standards.

Bifacial glass-glass panels with half-cell design

Germany-based PV module manufacturer Solarwatt launched two bifacial glass-glass panels with half-cell architecture and M6 format: Solarwatt Vision Pure panel, with aluminum frame; and Solarwatt Vision Style panel, with transparent backsheet.

In development: Magnet-free electric motor that does not require rare earth elements

German car parts company Mahle is in the process of developing a magnet-free electric motor that does not require rare earth elements. Company officials note the design allows for tuning and changing rotor parameters, which in turn allows for improving efficiency.