Ceramic and glass business news of the week for November 8, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Huber Engineered Materials plant solar array switch turned on

J.M. Huber Corporation and SolAmerica Energy announced the completion of a 1.8 megawatt, ground-mounted solar array located at the Huber Engineered Materials Fire Retardant Additives Marblehead facility in Quincy, Illinois. The plant is now receiving more than 60% of its power from the array during daylight hours.

Purdue University composites center opens large-scale additive lab

On October 28, Purdue University’s Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center hosted a ribbon cutting event for its Thermwood LSAM Research Laboratory at Purdue University, and the university also announced its Composites Additive Manufacturing & Simulation Consortium.

Cristalerías de Chile plots construction of third glass production facility

CristalChile plans to build a third glass manufacturing facility. The Chilean container glass manufacturer said the expansion, combined with modernizations at its two other facilities, would allow it to increase capacity by 50% compared to 2019.

Beatson Clark invests £1 million into on-site recycling facility

Glass packaging manufacturer Beatson Clark is investing a further £1 million to expand its onsite recycling plant in South Yorkshire. The company partnered with Redwave to complete a turnkey plant expansion and install more efficient equipment. Throughput at the recycling plant is expected to increase by an average of 50% over the year.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Mkango closes acquisition of Songwe Hill and Maginito

Mkango Resources received final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange to acquire a 49% interest of Talaxis in Lancaster Exploration, which owns the Songwe Hill Rare Earths Project in Malawi, and Talaxis’ 24.5% interest in Maginito, which holds a 25% interest in rare earth magnet recycler HyProMag.

Siemens Gamesa signs $400 million wind gear agreement with Vietnam’s BCG Energy

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy signed a preliminary agreement to supply wind turbine gear worth up to $400 million to Vietnam’s BCG Energy. The memorandum of understanding is part of the Vietnamese firm’s move to develop wind turbines with capacity of over 500 megawatts.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Energy storage for social equity

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories are holding a webinar to introduce the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative (ES4SE), sponsored by the Office of Electricity Energy Storage Program. The webinar will take place November 8 at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Mentorship matters: Supporting the careers of women in STEM

The National Academies is hosting a webinar that will provide an overview of research from a 2019 National Academies report on the science of effective mentorship and explore the first-hand mentorship experiences of a distinguished group of early-career women researchers. The webinar takes place November 16.

Prince International exploring sale of its porcelain enamel and glass coatings business

Prince International Corporation, a portfolio company of American Securities LLC, announced that it is exploring a sale of its porcelain enamel and glass coatings business in the U.S. and Europe in connection with efforts to obtain regulatory clearance for its previously announced transaction with Ferro Corporation.

EESC report on Glass in Europe approved in plenary

The European Economic and Social Committee called for more action to be taken to protect the European glass industry. They adopted the report “Glass in Europe at a crossroads” on Oct. 20, 2021, following recommendations from its Consultative Commission on Industrial Change. The report was approved in plenary the following day.

MARKET TRENDS

COP26 aims to banish coal—Asia is building hundreds of power plants to burn it

A Reuters article looks at the plans in many Asian countries to build coal-fired power stations in the coming years, in contrast to the many industrialized countries that have been shutting down coal plants for years to reduce emissions.

Recycling could account for 25% of rare earths market in 10 years

Recycled material could potentially account for as much as 25% of the rare earths magnets market, but it may take some 10 years to achieve this level, according to the CEO of Mkango Resources, a rare earths mine project developer.

Wind and solar could power the world’s major countries most of the time

A study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine determined that most of the current electricity demand in advanced, industrialized nations can be met by some combination of wind and solar power. But that positive finding comes with the caveat that extra efforts are going to be necessary to completely satisfy the countries’ requirements.

NEW PRODUCTS

3D-printed continuous fiber dental reinforcements enter clinical trial

Dental reinforcement brand Hi-Fiber and Malo Clinic, a company known for its oral rehabilitation and dental aesthetics, established a partnership that includes clinical trial cases using Hi-Fiber’s metal-free dental reinforcement structures, which are 3D printed using the company’s patented continuous fiber manufacturing technology.

ROSS: Convenient powder induction in large mixing tanks

ROSS VersaMix Multi-Shaft Mixers with solids/liquid injection manifold technology enable fast and efficient large-scale powder dispersion into low-viscosity liquids including resins, oils, melted waxes, emulsions, and aqueous solutions.