Ceramic and glass business news of the week for January 3, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Vetropack appoints Zippe for its greenfield Italian facility

Zippe Industrieanlagen received an order from the Swiss Vetropack Group for a batch plant and two cullet return systems at the Boffalora project in Milan, Italy. A modern glass factory is to be constructed, which will replace the existing plant in Trezzano in 2023.

Nabaltec expands production capacities at Schwandorf site

Nabaltec AG is expanding its production capacities for boehmite at the Schwandorf site from 10,000 to 25,000 tons per year. Commissioning is slated for the second half of 2023. Boehmite is an important component for the coating of separator films in lithium ion batteries and serves as a thermostabilizer, among other things.

‘World’s biggest offshore wind farm’ produces first power, passing key milestone

The Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm produced its first power, Danish energy firm Orsted said, with the announcement representing a significant milestone in the facility’s development. Spread across an area of 462 km², the wind farm will use 165 turbines from Siemens Gamesa and boast a capacity of more than 1.3 gigawatts.

Huge floating wind farms are being planned off the coast of Australia

Plans for three major offshore wind developments in Australia were announced, with two of them set to incorporate floating wind technology. Madrid-headquartered BlueFloat Energy is looking to develop the projects with advisory firm Energy Estate, which has a presence in the Australian cities of Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide.

China builds fusion energy research facility

China is building a research facility to incubate core technologies used in power generation of fusion energy. The facility, called the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology, is a platform on which engineers develop and test fusion energy reactor’s key components. It is expected to be finished around 2024.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Berlin Packaging acquires French wine packager Gerfran

Berlin Packaging acquired French glass packaging group Gerfran, a family-owned supplier which specializes in the wine and beverage end markets. Gerfran will be the eighteenth acquisition by Berlin Packaging within Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since 2016 and the eighth acquisition within these territories during 2021.

Mexico’s Cemex to sell Costa Rica, El Salvador operations for $335 million

Mexican building materials company Cemex plans to sell its operations in Costa Rica and El Salvador to Cementos Progreso Holdings, S.L. for $335 million. Assets being sold include one fully integrated cement plant, a grinding station, seven ready-mix plants, an aggregate quarry, and a distribution center in Costa Rica, and a distribution center in El Salvador.

Teknor Apex, Hyperlight Energy partner to create affordable concentrated solar power

Teknor Apex partnered with California-based Hyperlight Energy to develop a concentrated solar power system that would sustainably and affordably decarbonize oil recovery.

Heliogen announces collaboration with CarbonCapture Inc.

Heliogen, Inc., a leading provider of AI-enabled, modular concentrated solar energy systems, announced plans to collaborate with CarbonCapture Inc. to develop sustainably-powered direct air capture facilities.

OTHER STORIES

Saint-Gobain exits UK plumbing market

Saint-Gobain agreed to the sale of three of its remaining four U.K. distribution brands specialized in plumbing, heating, and sanitaryware products. Wolseley UK is expected to complete the acquisition of Neville Lumb, DHS, and Bassetts in early 2022.

SINTX Technologies announces transition of its scientific director

SINTX Technologies, Inc., an original equipment manufacturer of advanced ceramics, announced that its scientific director, Bryan J. McEntire, retired at the end of 2021 after 17 years with the company. McEntire will continue to support SINTX Technologies in the role of Chief Scientist Emeritus.

DOE establishes new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the establishment of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, which will support clean energy technology demonstration projects in areas including clean hydrogen, carbon capture, grid-scale energy storage, small modular reactors, and more.

FYI: Science policymakers’ required reading

On the inaugural episode of the podcast The Ongoing Transformation, Mitch Ambrose and Will Thomas of AIP’s science policy publication FYI discuss the challenges involved in understanding science policy as it becomes intertwined with matters as varied as foreign policy, telecommunications policy, and the workings of the federal criminal justice system.

MARKET TRENDS

Japan to limit rare-earth mining to protect offshore deposits

The Japanese government decided to restrict access to the nation’s rare-earth resources to a roster of approved miners to protect offshore deposits in its exclusive economic zone.

Residential solar’s installation pace increases in 2021

Global renewable energy installations broke industry trends in 2021 as residential solar outpaced commercial and industrial capacity additions for the first time and new onshore wind ones declined, Rystad Energy research shows.

PV and energy storage expected to comprise 62% of US capacity additions 2022–23

In its latest release of Electric Monthly Update, the Energy Information Administration projects 78 GW of generating capacity additions in 2022 through 2023. A majority of the additions will be large-scale solar and energy storage projects, forecast to add 62% of the total figure at 49 GW.

NEW PRODUCTS

3DCERAM SINTO: The state of technical ceramic materials for laser stereolithography

An article on the 3D Printing Media Network overviews the 10 materials in 3DCERAM SINTO’s ceramic materials portfolio.