Ceramic and glass business news of the week for September 26, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Meeka Metals extends mineralized zone at Circle Valley Rare Earth Project

Meeka Metals Ltd. fielded the highest-grade rare earth element assays to date from the Circle Valley Project in Western Australia, as near-surface mineralized zones continue to expand with consistently high-value magnetic rare earth elements of up to 31%.

Yaan Xinkuang plans to invest in a rare earth refinery

Yaan Xinkuang, a Chinese mineral development company, has entered into a funding agreement for an existing rare earth refinery in Southeast Asia. The refinery is based on technology and procedures that have previously been established and are in use at a dozen other rare earth processing plants.

Siemens commissions one of the biggest green hydrogen production plants in Germany

A green hydrogen generation plant described as one of the largest in Germany is open, with Siemens saying it will produce 1,350 tons of hydrogen every year using wind and solar power from the Wunsiedel Energy Park in Upper Franconia. Following its commissioning, Siemens said a handover of the plant to WUN H2, its operator, had taken place.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

India’s Ambuja Cements touches record high on Adani deal

Shares of India’s Ambuja Cements jumped over 10% to an all-time high last week, as the company said it would raise 200 billion Indian rupees (US$2.51 billion) through an issue of convertible warrants to an Adani Group company.

Robur acquires glass furnace inspection specialist

Glass furnace inspection company Franke Industrieofen Service joined the Munich-based industry service specialist Robur. It will now offer its furnace inspection and monitoring services under its new branding FIOS.

American Semiconductor Innovation Coalition expands to entire chipmaking supply chain

The American Semiconductor Innovation Coalition announced its expansion to include members representing all stages of the chipmaking supply chain, enabling the coalition to stand up semiconductor R&D facilities in as little as six months.

Mitsubishi spinout and Roland DG launch binder jet 3D printing joint venture in China

Mitsubishi spinout AGC Ceramics Co., Ltd. and Roland DG Corporation established a joint venture company dedicated to ceramic binder jet 3D printing in China. The new business, called Cerawei Technology Co., Ltd, was created in Jingdezhen with the help of Chinese tech firm AMSKY and Jingdezhen Changnan New Area Zhongxi Investment Partnership.

Nigeria commits to clean energy goals with corporate partners

The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed a letter of intent between the Nigerian government and seven companies to support the clean energy transition by working to procure clean energy in Nigeria. Many of these companies are already working with their supply chain partners in Nigeria.

Research collaboration brings more reliable electricity to Puerto Rican microgrids

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is partnering with local organizations, nonprofits, and universities to build resilience into independent microgrids in Puerto Rico. The laboratory researchers are developing a technology that will manage groups of small microgrids as a cluster, enhancing their reliability even when damaged.

Equinix and NUS partner to advance hydrogen technologies for data centers

Equinix, Inc. partnered with the Center for Energy Research & Technology under the National University of Singapore’s College of Design and Engineering to explore technologies that enable the use of hydrogen as a green fuel source for mission-critical data center infrastructure.

Emhart and Vertech form digital glass manufacturing partnership

Bucher Emhart Glass and Vertech agreed on a cooperation to take data collection and usage in the glass plant to the next level. The cooperation will benefit customers with single point data access to the complete line data from batch to palletizer including all relevant forming parameters collected from and around the IS machine.

Smirnoff works toward a sustainable future by partnering with new recycling program

Smirnoff plans to develop more sustainable packaging and systems by 2030. It will partner with the Don’t Trash Glass campaign, a combined effort with the Glass Packaging Institute and GlassKing Recovery & Recycling, to work with more than 300 Chicago bars, restaurants, and local businesses to gather used and discarded glass bottles.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: The role of engineering to address climate change

The Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable, an initiative of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, will convene a webinar to discuss a recent report on the role of engineering to address climate change by the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance. The webinar takes place September 29 at 1 p.m. ET.

World Cement Association to host its global conference in Dubai

The World Cement Association announced its fifth annual conference and exhibition will take place Sept. 25–28, 2022, at the Emirates Towers in Dubai. This first conference in the MENA region will focus on practical steps that can be taken today to reduce both carbon footprint and costs.

glasstec 2022: successful restart

glasstec 2022 took place September 20–23 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The 936 exhibitors from 47 countries impressively demonstrated to 30,000 visitors from 119 countries the operational excellence of the glass industry.

US encourages Mexico to join semiconductor industry investments

The United States has invited Mexico to take advantage of massive U.S. investment in the semiconductor industry, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said after talks between high-ranking officials from the two countries.

NCC launches UK initiative to industrialize continuous carbon fiber reclamation

The National Composites Center launched an initiative to industrialize continuous carbon fiber reclamation in the U.K. The three-year innovation program will see a team of composites specialists refine and scale the industrial processes needed to establish a commercial market for reclaimed continuous carbon fiber.

Samsung vows to produce net zero carbon emissions by 2050

Samsung made a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions for the whole company by 2050 and will spend KRW 7 trillion (US$5 billion) over the next seven-and-a-half years to make that happen.

DOE sets goals for offshore wind energy in latest ‘Earthshot’

The Department of Energy announced that it is launching a Floating Offshore Wind Shot initiative that will seek to lower the cost of energy generated by floating offshore wind turbines by at least 70% to $45 per megawatt-hour by 2035. It is the fifth in DOE’s series of “Energy Earthshots.”

MARKET TRENDS

The next big thing in wine? Concrete tanks, Japanese firm hopes

Aizawa Concrete will soon launch proving tests pitting its concrete wine tanks with conventional stainless-steel tanks in wineries in Hokkaido, Yamanashi, and Nagano prefectures. Each of the tanks, which have a 500-liter capacity, will ferment the same varieties of grapes starting with this fall’s harvest.

Research reveals embodied carbon reductions now a top priority in concrete construction

New research by Dodge Construction Network shows the building industry is actively seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete construction. The data shows that 81% of structural engineers and 69% of contractors working with concrete are tracking the embodied carbon on their projects, and about one third are already actively reducing it.

Millions of Indian laborers to be affected by brick producers’ strike

A staggering hike in the goods and service tax on bricks has agitated brick kiln owners across India. A section of brick manufacturers in Uttar Pradesh threatened to shut shops from Oct. 1, 2022, to September 2023, which is expected to affect millions of laborers across the country.

South Korea scrambles to challenge Biden’s made-in-America EV policy

When the U.S. announced that the Inflation Reduction Act would exclude Hyundai and Kia from the new tax credits on electric vehicles, the South Korean auto industry was blindsided. Currently, Hyundai and Kia are the second-biggest EV sellers in the U.S.

US decides against national security tariffs on rare earth magnets from China, Japan, EU

President Joe Biden decided against restricting imports of neodymium magnets, which come primarily from China and are used in a variety of tech and defense applications. Biden’s decision is based on the results of a 270-day Commerce Department investigation, which found U.S. reliance on imports of these magnets threatens U.S. national security.

NEW PRODUCTS

Optical fiber that resists effects of ultraviolet solar radiation introduced by Armadillo SIA

Armadillo SIA introduced the Optran UV NSS Fiber to provide deep-ultraviolet solarization resistance. The optical fiber features a hermetic carbon layer, low numerical aperture expansion, and superior optical stability while operating in the UVC spectral range from 190–1,200 nm.

Raise3D releases 32 new industrial filaments for carbon fiber 3D printer

Raise3D (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), a global provider of additive manufacturing solutions, announced 32 new industrial filaments for the E2CF 3D printer, a model which is specifically intended for fiber-reinforced filaments.

Siemens and sustamize collaborate to add carbon emissions data to Siemens Xcelerator

The new Teamcenter Carbon Footprint Calculator software, part of the Teamcenter product cost management solution from the Siemens Xcelerator platform, enables organizations to measure, simulate, reduce, and track their product carbon footprint early in the product development phase.

Eirich presents new AI-based technology for optimizing the quality of granulates

At this year’s POWTECH, a trade fair for the bulk solids and process engineering industry, Eirich celebrated the global premiere of its Qualimaster VC1, a camera-based system for precise optical quality assessment of granulates. The system combines state-of-the-art camera technology with AI-based intelligent analysis software.

L&L GHH3350 high-temperature box furnace

The L&L GHH3350 has an effective work zone of 32” wide by 30” high by 50” deep. The furnace, which is heated with molybdenum disilicide elements located on the walls, is capable of reaching temperatures up to 1,700°C under partial atmospheric pressure. There is also a vacuum pump to help remove oxygen prior to beginning the thermal cycle.