Ceramic and glass business news of the week for October 18, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Turkish manufacturer plots construction of largest glass furnaces

Turkish glass manufacturer GCA plans to invest in its two largest glass furnaces ever. The furnaces, which will be built in Kütahya 1st Organised Industrial Zone, will produce flint and green colored glass packaging, and will each have a daily production capacity of 500 tons.

O-I to invest $178.8 million in Brazilian glass packaging facilities

Glass packaging manufacturer Owens-Illinois will invest BRZ990 million reais (US$178.8 million) in two new factories in Brazil. The investment is part of a $680 million package from the world’s largest container glass manufacturer between 2022 and 2024 to increase production in markets facing restricted supply.

Construction starts on first Saudi Arabian soda ash production plant

InoChem, a Saudi Joint Stock Company, is constructing the first soda ash manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia. Located in the Ras-Al- Khair Industrial area, the production facility will cover an area of 80,000 m².

Stevanato Group initiates construction on new US facility

Pharmaceutical glass manufacturer Stevanato Group will begin construction on a $145 million facility in Fishers, Indiana, later this month. The site, which is expected to be in operation in 2023, will let the company be closer to its North America pharmaceutical customers and provide an additional supply source for its mission critical products.

New £2m equipment will help physicists unlock potential of next-generation 2D materials

Loughborough University received a £2m Strategic Equipment Award from EPSRC to invest in a new state-of-art ‘thin film’ equipment, the first of its kind in the U.K. The hardware will allow physicists in the School of Science to develop cutting-edge functional nanodevices that use 2D materials such as graphene, metal dichalcogenides, and borophene.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Gentex opens new aerospace opportunities with technology from recent acquisition

Gentex Corp., a supplier of automatic dimming rearview mirrors and electronics for the automotive industry, purchased a new technology to create lightweight, ultrathin glass that is used for aircraft cabin partitions, mirrors, and wood veneer applications.

Convergent acquires 5 MW/20 MWh energy storage project in NYC

Convergent Energy + Power will acquire SMT Energy’s 5 MW/20 MWh battery energy storage opportunity on Staten Island, New York. The system would be connected to the ConEdison power grid as a distributed generation asset, and could come online in 2022.

RWE and PPC Renewables to develop solar projects in Greece

Germany-based energy company RWE and Greek energy utility PPC Renewables agreed to form a joint venture company to develop solar power projects in Greece. The projects will have almost 2GW of capacity and are intended to help expedite Greece’s energy transition.

OTHER STORIES

Battery storage webinar: Where is the tech going and what are practical applications?

The International District Energy Association is holding a webinar on where battery storage is successful today, what the future holds, and what will be the tipping point for deployment. The webinar takes place November 3 from 3–4 p.m. Eastern.

Global trove of rare earth metals found in Japan’s deep-sea mud

A “semi-infinite” supply of rare earth metals used in batteries, electric vehicles, and other green energy technologies was found in deep-sea mud about 1850 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal reports. Japanese researchers estimate the roughly 2,499-square-kilometer region of seabed holds more than 16 million tons of rare earth oxides.

NASA seeks input on planned diversity requirements

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is seeking input as it prepares to add inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility requirements to its Announcements of Opportunity, which the agency uses to solicit proposals for principal investigator-led space missions. Responses are due November 3.

MARKET TRENDS

Solar supply, demand, and a foreign policy shakeup

A PV InfoLink article looks at the solar market. Module use rates are reaching 70–85% as the solar market enters the busy season in September and October. However, structural shortages remain in the supply chain, with polysilicon supply running short in the face of high demand. Prices, which were expected to stabilize, rose again in the second half.

NEW PRODUCTS

Carbon fiber, additive manufacturing enhance Pleko spike shoe performance

Venetian middle-distance runner Miro Buroni created and developed Pleko, a customized athletic track shoe that was developed with 3D scanning support from Diadora and CRP Technology’s Windform SP carbon fiber-filled composite material and 3D printing process.