Ceramic and glass business news of the week for November 21, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Brazilian developer working on world’s largest PV project

Brazil-based Omega Energia is developing what is set to become the world’s largest solar project. The project will cover 7.8 thousand hectares of unused farmland in the Brazilian state of Ceará. The environmental council of Ceará postponed its final decision on the project’s environmental license until December 1.

SolarDuck to build offshore solar at Kust West VII

Solar energy company SolarDuck was awarded the world’s largest hybrid offshore floating solar power plant at the offshore wind park Hollandse Kust West VII in the Netherlands. The company will build a 5-MW demonstrator with innovative integrated energy storage solutions. The project is due to become operational in 2026.

Sohar Titanium lays foundation stone for $111m plant in Oman

Sohar Titanium, a major subsidiary of Minerals Development Oman, laid the foundation stone for a major production plant in Sohar Freezone being set up at an investment of RO43 million ($111 million). The facility, which will cover 120,000 square meters, will boast a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide.

Cisco launches semiconductor design center in Spain

Cisco announced plans to launch a center for the design of next-gen semiconductor devices in Spain. It will be co-located with the Cisco Innovation Center in Barcelona.

Cemen Tech expansion includes training facility to build workforce

Cemen Tech announced the completion of an expansion of its headquarters in Indianola, Iowa, including the addition of space for Cemen Tech University to develop employees with specialized skills. Cemen Tech makes volumetric mixers that enable contractors to mix concrete on the job site to exact specifications for the job at hand.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

IDEX Corporation completes acquisition of Muon Group

IDEX Corporation completed its previously announced acquisition of microprecision technology manufacturing company Muon B.V. and its subsidiaries. Based in the Netherlands, Muon Group manufactures highly precise flow paths in a variety of materials that enable the movement of various liquids and gases in critical applications.

Momentive Technologies completes acquisition of CoorsTek’s crucibles business

Momentive Technologies, a global provider of advanced materials, completed the acquisition of CoorsTek’s crucibles business. This acquisition enables Momentive Technologies to provide semiconductor wafer and fabrication customers with a full range of crucible sizes to meet their advanced materials needs.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps map critical mineral resources in Nevada and Oregon

The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with Nevada and Oregon officials, announced more than $1.45 million was awarded to conduct geologic mapping, airborne geophysical surveying, and geochemical sampling in support of critical mineral resource studies.

OTHER STORIES

California commission overhauls rooftop solar proposal

The California Public Utilities Commission released a long-awaited overhaul of its proposal to regulate rooftop solar installations, removing an unpopular new fee but reducing how much utilities would pay homeowners for supplying power to the grid.

Italy announces 9.1-bln-euro aid package to counter soaring energy prices

The Italian government unveiled a 9.1-billion-euro (US$9.4-billion) package aimed at helping businesses and struggling families deal with skyrocketing energy costs. According to provisional data from Italy’s National Statistics Institute, energy costs in the country in October were 73.2% higher than a year earlier.

glasstec under new management

Lars Wismer will become the director of glasstec, a leading trade fair for the glass sector, as of Dec. 1, 2022. As director, Wismer will be responsible for the international Glass Technologies portfolio with the glasspex and glasspro trade fairs for the Indian market. He will also be in charge of the international Occupational Safety & Health portfolio.

Safeguarding Science toolkit launched to help researchers defend scientific integrity

The Safeguarding Science toolkit, designed by several federal and university partners, provides research stakeholders with a single location to access security best practices from across government and academia, plus select tools tailored for their needs.

MARKET TRENDS

France to require all large car parks to have solar rooftops by law

The French Senate approved new legislation that will boost the deployment of renewables in France, with the requirement that outdoor car parks with more than 80 places be covered with solar panels. This law could add between 6.7 to 11GW of solar capacity in the coming years.

Punjab makes mandatory to use 20% straw pellets as fuel for brick kilns

The Punjab government in India announced that brick kilns across the state must use 20% of straw pellets as fuel. Brick kiln owners were given six months to prepare for this new management.

How Australia became the world’s greatest lithium supplier

As demand soars for electric vehicles and clean energy storage, Australia is rising to meet much of the world’s demand for lithium. A BBC article looks at if and how we can source lithium sustainably.

NEW PRODUCTS

Sişecam produces Turkey’s lightest mineral water bottle

The production of Şişecam’s 110 grams ultralight-weight mineral water bottle features 15% less production-based carbon dioxide concentration compared to a 130-gram standard mineral water bottle.

East African Portland Cement launches Green Triangle Cement

East African Portland Cement launched its Green Triangle Cement, which is standardized under the Kenya Bureau of Standards strength standardization category of 22.5, enabling it to be applied in a wide variety of construction projects and phases.

Ambiq accelerates development of optimized AI features with neuralSPOT

Ambiq, a technology pioneer in ultralow-power semiconductor products and solutions, introduces neuralSPOT, an open-source AI developer-focused software development kit designed for Ambiq’s latest Apollo4 Plus system-on-chip family.