Ceramic and glass business news of the week for April 17, 2023

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Ucore to establish $75 million Louisiana rare earth separation, purification facility

Ucore North America, a subsidiary of Ucore Rare Metals Inc., will invest $75 million to establish North America’s first modern technology rare earth element separation and purification facility in Alexandria, La.

SLAC and Stanford launch new joint battery center

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University launched a new joint battery center at SLAC. It will bring together the resources and expertise of the national lab, the university, and Silicon Valley to accelerate the deployment of batteries and other energy storage solutions.

Pilkington to invest $86 million in US float glass facility

Pilkington North America will invest more than $86.8 million in its operations in Scotland County, N. C. The project includes rebuilding one of its two float glass lines, expansion of existing coating capabilities, and other building and equipment improvements at the company’s float glass facility, which will create 20 jobs in Laurinburg.

Sheffield Uni launches first UK clearing house for certifying new sustainable aviation fuels

The University of Sheffield was chosen to be the home of the U.K.’s first Sustainable Aviation Fuel Clearing House—part of the government’s new investment plan to help decarbonize transport. The Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield will have a central hub to coordinate the testing and certification of new sustainable aviation fuels.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Aramsco announces acquisition of EZ Concrete Supply

Aramsco, Inc. announced the acquisition of EZ Concrete Supply, located in Lima, Ohio. EZ Concrete Supply is a distributor of decorative concrete supplies and equipment to specialty contractors across the United States.

Haydale and Saint-Gobain collaborate on boron nitride

Carmarthenshire-based advanced materials group Haydale Graphene Industries signed a collaboration agreement with French construction products manufacturer Saint-Gobain to facilitate the further development of boron nitride powder.

YTL Cement signs MoU to tackle standards and sustainability

YTL Cement Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding with Construction Research Institute Malaysia to promote sustainability within the country’s construction sector. The MoU will focus on three key areas: human resources development, research and development, and support of the construction industry’s transition to sustainability.

Discovery Group announces Defense Metals as new member company

Discovery Group announced that Defense Metals Corp. joined the group’s alliance of public companies. Defense Metals is an exploration company focused on the advancement of the Wicheeda Rare Earth Element Property and the acquisition of mineral deposits containing rare earth elements.

Italy to announce Africa energy cooperation plan in October

Italy’s government will announce a plan focused on energy cooperation with Africa in October. The so-called “Mattei plan,” named after Enrico Mattei, founder of Italian energy group Eni, aims to turn Italy into a major energy hub, distributing gas from North Africa and the Mediterranean to the rest of Europe.

OTHER STORIES

NSF Spectrum Week: April 24–28, 2023

The National Science Foundation is hosting its first-ever “Spectrum Week,” a series of research and policy discussions at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va. This in-person gathering, which will take place April 24–28, includes three related events.

SCHOTT North America to supply infrared glass for US Army air defense systems

SCHOTT was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract from a leading defense contractor for infrared glass. The order supplies glass for launch tube windows, a critical component of air defense systems provided to the U.S. Army. The specialty glass will be manufactured in SCHOTT’s Duryea, Pa., facility.

Apple plans to use more recycled materials by 2025

Apple announced that it plans on using 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries and 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating for all Apple-designed circuit boards by 2025. The company also said it plans for all magnets in Apple devices to be made from recycled rare earth elements by then, too.

House Science Committee begins work to update weather research law

House Science Committee members called for expanding the use of commercial weather data and improving data assimilation at a recent hearing kicking off an effort to update policy for weather research.

MARKET TRENDS

Record amounts of renewables await interconnection

More than 2 terawatts of wind, solar, and energy storage projects are awaiting grid connection at the end of 2022, according to new research unveiled by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Brazil aims to make a global impact on clean energy innovation

Long a major player in hydropower and biofuel technologies, Brazil is now seeking to expand into hydrogen and other low-emissions solutions, according to a report by the International Energy Agency.

EPA’s new pro-EV emission standards: lawmakers and carmakers respond

On April 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards designed to speed the transition to a fully electric vehicle auto industry. A Battery Technology article outlines what the proposals do and don’t include, and how carmakers have responded so far.

As material costs go rogue, will recycling old buildings go in vogue?

Could used building materials save the construction industry from increasingly high new material costs? The Hustle looks at how these high costs are driving some German businesses to try speeding up the adoption of recycled materials into the construction mainstream.

NEW PRODUCTS

NKG aims to introduce hydrogen combustion firing furnaces for ceramics

NGK Insulators installed a hydrogen firing furnace developed in-house for a mass production demonstration that will begin in June 2023. The goal is to establish hydrogen combustion technology for mass production by 2025, so that it can be introduced at domestic and overseas mass production facilities from 2030.

FKG Dentaire expands its obturation portfolio with new bioceramic products

FKG Dentaire introduced BC Universal Sealer (an injectable calcium aluminosilicate paste) and BC Universal RRM (a capsule containing premixed calcium aluminosilicate paste) to complement its endodontic obturation portfolio in the European Union, the U.K., and Israel.

Nokia expands industrial edge applications to accelerate transition to Industry 4.0

Nokia launched four third-party applications for MX Industrial Edge, which help enterprises connect, collect, and analyze data from operational technology assets on a robust and secure on-premises edge.

Sarcos Technology and Robotics announce autonomous robot that installs solar panels

Sarcos Technology and Robotics plans to commercially launch its autonomous robot that installs solar panels in 2024 after achieving final validation from the U.S. Department of Energy. The project, officially called the Outdoor Autonomous Manipulation of Photovoltaic Panels (O-AMPP), was awarded $1.9 million from DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office.