Ceramic and glass business news of the week for January 1, 2024

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

SCHOTT Pharma invests in new production facility in Serbia

SCHOTT Pharma is investing in a double-digit million euro amount in a new production site for pharma drug containment solutions and delivery systems in Jagodina, central Serbia.

Form Energy launching 5-MW, 100-hour project in California with US$30 million grant

Iron-air battery technology firm Form Energy won a US$30 million grant for a new 5MW/500MWh energy storage project in California, which will deploy at a substation in Mendocino County run by utility PG&E. The project is expected to come online in 2025.

C-Capture launches flat glass carbon capture trial

C-Capture, a U.K.-based carbon dioxide removal company, launched Europe’s first flat glass carbon capture trial at a Pilkington plant in St. Helens, U.K.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Life Med-U Project explores lead-free electroceramics for medical ultrasound application

Ferroperm Piezoceramics, Entekno Global, and others are partnering on the Life Med-U Project to develop new lead-free electroceramic solutions for medical ultrasound applications. The project was awarded a Eurostars research grant.

Sphinx Glass partners with DFI in Egypt under exclusive distribution agreement

Sphinx Glass, a float glass manufacturer headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, jointly announced with DFI the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement to introduce Diamon-Fusion glass coating technology in Egypt and the Mediterranean North African region.

SINTEF launches new carbon capture research project

SINTEF, one of Europe’s most prominent independent research organizations, launched the largest research and innovation project in carbon capture and storage ever funded by a European program. The initiative is a combined effort of more than 40 partners, all representing different stakeholders in the carbon capture value chain.

OTHER STORIES

International Conference on Sintering: Aug. 31–Sept. 3, 2026

The next International Conference on Sintering will be held in Aachen, Germany, from Aug. 31–Sept. 3, 2026. The technical program will cover all aspects of sintering through invited and contributed talks plus poster presentations.

Calderys demonstrates commitment to Americas growth

In less than a year, Calderys member HWI is fulfilling its commitment to invest in its operations with consequential upgrades at numerous North American manufacturing facilities. Additional investment projects are planned for 2024.

US Department of Energy announces Early Career Research Program for FY 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy is accepting applications for the 2024 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program, which will support more than 80 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions, DOE national laboratories, and Office of Science user facilities. Mandatory pre-applications are due by Tuesday, Jan. 30.

China bans export of rare earths processing tech over national security

China banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets on Dec. 21, 2023, adding it to a ban already in place on technology to extract and separate critical materials.

MARKET TRENDS

North America is fastest-growing region for battery factories

By the end of 2022, North America had become the fastest-growing regional market for planned new battery cell manufacturing plants, according to a report by Clean Energy Associates. The report attributes much of this growth to incentives provided by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.

Arab region punching above its weight for solar and wind energy research

Arab scientists are punching above their weight for research on solar and wind energy, according to research published in the UNESCO Science Report (2021).

Australia and Japan must recast their energy relationship

Australia must confront tensions between its current status as one of the world’s largest fossil fuel exporters and its ambitions to become a renewable energy superpower. Recent green energy policies in Australia have been met with unease in Japan, which relies on Australia for about 70% of its coal needs and about 40% of its liquified natural gas.

Failed US nuclear project raised cost concerns for Canadian SMR development

The abrupt failure of the leading small modular nuclear reactor project in the United States shone light on public subsidies that might keep similar technology under development in Canada, even if it is prone to the same cost overruns that scuttled NuScale Power Corporation’s Carbon Free Power Project in Utah.

NEW PRODUCTS

AMT expands engineering services portfolio with Ignition program

Applied Manufacturing Technologies expanded its engineering services portfolio to include Ignition by Inductive Automation, a powerful tool for advanced HMI and SCADA solutions, to address the growing need for digital transformation in manufacturing industries.

GE Aerospace successfully tests ultraefficient hypersonic ramjet engine

GE Aerospace demonstrated a novel hypersonic dual-mode ramjet rig test that uses detonation waves to combust fuel. This process enables higher thrust generation more efficiently, requiring a smaller engine size and less weight.

POLFLAM launches world’s first low-carbon fire-resistant glass

Collaborating with Pilkington, POLFLAM launched the new Gaia low-carbon fire-resistant glass, which offers up to 65% less embodied carbon compared to regular fire-resistant glass products.

CEA-Leti develops new gallium nitride/silicon process technology

CEA-Leti developed a 200-mm gallium nitride/silicon process technology compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor cleanrooms.