Ceramic and glass business news of the week for December 19, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

With Tesla battery packs and hydrogen tank, Panasonic tests a factory of the future

A Panasonic test site near Kyoto, Japan, is using solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, and Tesla Megapack storage batteries to generate renewable energy for manufacturing. An AI-equipped energy management system automatically controls on-site power generation to minimize the electricity purchased from the local grid.

Hotwork International installs photovoltaic system at Filipino subsidiary

Hotwork International completed its investment into a photovoltaic system at its subsidiary in the Philippines. The system has an integrated battery storage and off grid availability and can generate twice as much electricity; annually, up to 200% per year.

Albemarle to build $180m lithium materials research facility in North Carolina

Albemarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals industry, acquired a location in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it will invest at least $180 million to establish the Albemarle Technology Park, a world-class facility designed for novel materials research, advanced process development, and acceleration of next-gen lithium products to market.

CEMEX introduces hydrogen tech to reduce CO₂ emissions in four Mexican cement plants

CEMEX will implement hydrogen injection at four cement plants in Mexico to increase the use of alternative fuels and reduce the use of fossil fuels. In September 2022, CEMEX reached an all-time-high 34% alternative fuels substitution rate.

Saint-Gobain launches glass circular economy program at two facilities in California

Saint-Gobain North America, through its automotive glass subsidiary Saint-Gobain Sekurit and its building products subsidiary CertainTeed Insulation, started a recycling program at two locations in California, where windshield glass scraps are recycled and reused in the production of insulation.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

HarbisonWalker International announces acquisition by Platinum Equity

The Board of Directors of HarbisonWalker International signed an agreement to be acquired by Platinum Equity, a global investment firm operating companies in a broad range of business markets.

Dalmia Bharat unit to buy Jaiprakash cement, power assets for $687m

Indian conglomerate Dalmia Bharat’s unit will acquire the cement and power businesses of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. for 56.66 billion rupees (US$686.70 million), including debt, as it looks to expand its footprint into the country’s central region.

Saint-Gobain divests its distribution business in the UK

Following a competitive sale process, Saint-Gobain signed a binding agreement for the sale of all its merchanting brands in the United Kingdom—including the builders and timber merchant Jewson—to the Stark group.

EU launches industry-wide solar photovoltaic manufacturing alliance

The European Commission officially launched the block’s Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, seeking to scale up domestic photovoltaic manufacturing and lower supply risks by commercializing “Made in Europe” products. The alliance promotes a goal of 30 GW of European production capacity by 2025.

Encirc and Diageo partner to create hydrogen powered furnace

Encirc and Diageo, a beer and spirits producer, will partner to create the world’s first net zero glass bottles at scale by 2030 through use of a new ultralow carbon hybrid glass furnace. Hydrogen used to power the furnace will come from Vertex Hydrogen, a partner of the government-backed industrial decarbonization project HyNet North West cluster.

Vedanta inks pacts with 30 Japanese firms to develop Indian semiconductor ecosystem

Vedanta Group signed pacts with 30 Japanese technology companies to develop an Indian semiconductor and glass display manufacturing ecosystem. Vedanta Ltd. is one of the world’s leading oil and gas and metals companies with operations in oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, steel and aluminum, and power.

OTHER STORIES

Graphenea launches specialty chemical spin-off KIVORO

Graphene producer Graphenea S.A. launched a spin-off company called KIVORO, which is a specialty chemicals company focused on creating solutions for industrial challenges.

House bill a first in decades effort to modernize satellite license rules

House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders introduced two bills—the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and the Secure Space Act—to legislatively modernize the Federal Communication Commission’s satellite licensing rules for the first time in decades.

MARKET TRENDS

GPI releases poll showing consumers value glass’s sustainability

A new survey by the Glass Packaging Institute found that U.S. consumers prefer glass packaging due to its environmental benefits and are inclined to shape their purchasing behavior accordingly.

NEW PRODUCTS

Corning and LG Electronics announce sustainable glass solution for display system

Corning Inc. announced its continued collaboration with global technology and vehicle component solutions innovator LG Electronics to provide sustainable glass solutions for innovative, curved automotive interior displays.

Stratasys and 3Shape introduce automated digital color workflow for dental 3D printing

Stratasys announced a new automated 3D printing color workflow using 3Shape’s Dental System software and the Stratasys J5 DentaJet 3D printer. Through the use of an intraoral scanner and 3Shape’s software, dental labs can now capture both color and geometric information of a patient’s mouth.

Mott and Conflux bring 3D-printed heat exchangers to the U.S. market

Mott and Conflux, two leading advanced manufacturing companies in the United States and Australia, respectively, announced a partnership to bring Conflux’s 3D-printed heat exchangers to the North American market.

Mechnano launches new carbon nanotube-based Tough ESD 3D-printing resin

Arizona-based 3D-printing startup Mechnano brought a tough new electrostatic dissipative (ESD) photopolymer to market. Formulated using Mechnano’s carbon nanotube technology, Tough ESD is designed to yield vat polymerization 3D-printed parts with enhanced impact resistance and isotropic ESD properties.