Ceramic and glass business news of the week for July 19, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Lithoz further expands production with opening of a second base in Austria

Lithoz GmbH opened their newest location in the form of a secondary site in Vienna, Austria. After only recently launching their new Lithoz China headquarters in Shanghai, this fourth location will allow the company to greatly expand their production capabilities.

Searchlight Resources acquires additional rare earth claims by staking

Searchlight Resources Inc. completed staking on three rare earth projects in Northern Saskatchewan, including the expansion of the Kulyk Lake and Bear Lake projects, and the initial staking of a new target at Miller Lake.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Xaar acquires leading print system integrator FFEI

Xaar completed the acquisition of print systems and printbar specialist FFEI Limited. The deal will accelerate the company’s existing growth strategy and will enable Xaar to capture additional opportunities in vertically integrated solutions.

Sandvik to acquire metrology and automation company DWFritz Automation

Sandvik signed an agreement to acquire U.S.-based DWFritz Automation Inc., a global provider of precision metrology, inspection, and assembly solutions for advanced manufacturing. The company will be reported in the Metrology division, within the business area Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions.

Ardagh creates new partnership to expand North American mold capacity

Global container glass manufacturer Ardagh Group agreed to partner with Japanese consultancy firm JGC Consulting. The two companies will work together to expand Ardagh’s mold engineering capacity in North America.

AI-enabled CSP provider Heliogen to merge with Athena in $2bn deal

Heliogen, a renewable energy technology company, has agreed to merge with Athena Technology Acquisition in a deal that values the combined firm at around $2 billion. The deal with the special purpose acquisition company will enable Heliogen to become a publicly listed firm that will trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

BRICS countries agree to Innovation Cooperation Action Plan proposed by India

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa all agreed to the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)-led BRICS Innovation Cooperation Action Plan (2021–24) proposed by India during the 12th meeting of the BRICS S&T Steering Committee.

Cero and Wattcrop partner to develop solar portfolio in Greece

U.K.-based solar energy company Cero Generation and Greek renewable energy developer Wattcrop partnered to develop a 750MW solar photovoltaic portfolio in Greece over the next four years.

Tesla Energy and partners eye Austin, Texas, as site for first ‘solar neighborhood’

Tesla Energy and some corporate partners announced they are planning the nation’s most sustainable residential neighborhood in Austin, Texas. The “SunHouse at Easton Park” plan will be built in phases and feature solar power and other alternative energy sources.

C-Crete Technologies, DOE to convert carbon ore to construction materials

C-Crete Technologies entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and commercialize a new class of building materials made from carbon ore. The materials could be used in both the precast and cast-in-place construction markets as a cementitious substitute for Portland cement.

US and Germany launch climate partnership

The United States and Germany launched a partnership to collaborate on climate issues. A fact sheet released by the White House said that the countries will work together to raise global climate ambition, collaborate on developing and deploying energy technologies, and boost clean energy in developing countries.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Focus on flexible & wearable electronics

MRS is hosting a panel discussion on flexible and wearable electronics. The webinar will showcase challenges and opportunities in this arena, including career prospects, entry points, and requisite skills. The webinar takes place July 21 at 12 p.m. Eastern.

Webinar: Combining machine learning, physics-based simulations for smart material design

C&EN will host a webinar on how the tradeoffs between accuracy and computational complexity lead to a natural synergy between physics-based modeling and machine learning methods, and it will showcase the ability to apply these methods successfully even in the absence of large datasets. The webinar takes place July 22 at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Webinar: Developing large-scale PV projects in Ukraine’s accelerating solar market

Solar Plaza is hosting a webinar on the challenges, risks, and opportunities that the Ukrainian solar market offers. The webinar takes place at 10 a.m. Eastern on July 27.

Webinar: Precious metals in glass manufacturing

A webinar hosted by ​​German technology group Heraeus will focus on the use of precious metals in the glass manufacturing process, specifically reducing rhodium content in platinum equipment for the glass making industry. The webinar takes place September 21 at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Precision Additive launches additive manufacturing service offering in the US

Colorado-based Precision Additive announced the launch of its industrial 3D printing service offering. The company opened its doors in June 2021, and it uses fused deposition modeling from Markforged and selective laser sintering technology from Formlabs.

US announces program to extract rare earth elements from domestic sources

The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced a program to extract rare earth elements from domestic sources using microbes, a process called “biomining.” The four-year program will address two technical areas and be divided into three phases.

MARKET TRENDS

How semiconductors are enabling the electric vehicle revolution

The Semiconductor Industry Association hosted a panel of industry experts for a conversation on how semiconductors are enabling the electric vehicle revolution. Panelists include Ray Cornyn (NXP Semiconductors), Michael Kultgen (Analog Devices), and Sayeed Ahmed (Infineon Technologies – Americas).

NEW PRODUCTS

DEA: Airless packaging solution in glass

Baralan, a consolidated player in primary packaging for the cosmetics and beauty industries, has introduced DEA—which stands for Developing the Evolution of Airless—a new series of products composed of glass airless containers designed for several applications. Unlike other airless systems, DEA has no internal plastic container.

Phenom Pharos G2—desktop field emission gun scanning electron microscope

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced the Thermo Scientific Phenom Pharos G2 Desktop Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope, designed to increase access to advanced nanomaterial research capabilities. The tabletop instrument can characterize size, shape, and chemical composition of a wide range of nanoparticles at high resolution.

VisionPlatform 7 for 3D-printed prescription lens production

Luxexcel, a specialist in 3D printed prescription lenses, launched VisionPlatform 7, a platform that enables manufacturers to integrate 3D-printed prescription lenses into the production of smart glasses.