Ceramic and glass business news of the week for February 5, 2024

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Hawaii’s last coal-powered plant replaced with giant battery

The new Kapolei Energy Storage facility in Oahu, Hawaii, which uses 158 Tesla Megapacks containing lithium iron phosphate batteries to store renewable energy, plays a vital role in replacing the grid capacity formerly provided by an AES coal power plant, which closed in September 2022.

How a rare earth facility in Canada wants to clean up the dirty side of green energy

A $70-million-plus project run by the Saskatchewan Research Council will attempt to transform minerals containing rare earth elements into specialized metal alloys that can be used to make the kinds of permanent magnets found in smartphones, hard drives, wind turbines, and electric vehicle motors.

University of St Andrews secures £2 million grant for Green Hydrogen Accelerator

The University of St. Andrews was awarded a £2 million grant by the Wolfson Foundation to establish a facility to develop green hydrogen technologies. The Green Hydrogen Accelerator will consist of an innovation hall, laboratory space, and fenced compound housing a large-scale electrolyzer for green hydrogen production and carbon capture units.

Vetropack starts Czech Republic glass furnace

European glass manufacturer Vetropack completed a furnace and forming equipment investment at its site in Kyjov, Czech Republic. The Czech site celebrated its 140^th anniversary last year.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Hyundai acquires stake in German PV recycling specialist Flaxres

South Korea’s Hyundai acquired an unspecified minority stake in German photovoltaic module recycler Flaxres. Flaxres says it will leverage Hyundai’s capabilities to expand its business outside of Germany.

Lamborghini licenses MIT’s battery tech for EVs

Lamborghini licensed a novel lithium-ion battery developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers for their electric vehicles. The battery uses an organic cathode, eliminating the need for cobalt or nickel metals. Lamborghini’s involvement in the project began about six years ago when they provided funding to develop this battery.

Ardagh secures wind energy deal for European glass operations

Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe entered a 10-year power purchase agreement with Renewable Power Capital’s 161-MW Vitberget wind project in Sweden to supply about 40% of AGP-Europe’s power load and help offset its scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.

Lumus and SCHOTT strengthen manufacturing partnership for optical AR glasses

Lumus, developer of reflective waveguide technology for augmented reality eyewear, is expanding its five-year long partnership with SCHOTT to meet the growing worldwide demand for optical AR glasses.

BASF and Envision Energy enter a collaboration to drive sustainable energy solutions

BASF, a provider of innovative catalyst technology, announced a new collaboration with Envision Energy, a green technology provider of comprehensive net-zero solutions, to further develop the conversion of green hydrogen and CO₂ into e-methanol through an advanced, dynamic process design.

Idaho National Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines expand research partnership

Idaho National Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on projects involving energy storage, high-temperature fuel cells, geothermal energy systems, nuclear fuel cycle and reactor engineering, environmental science, and next-generation mining science and engineering.

OTHER STORIES

GMIC receives funding to help decarbonize the US industrial sector

The Glass Manufacturing Industry Council was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive $3 million in funding to research advanced electric melting in glass manufacturing. The research is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help move the nation toward a net-zero economy.

Norwegian parliament defends deep-sea mining to break rare earths stronghold

In a January 2024 vote that attracted cross-party support, Norway’s parliament voted 80–20 to approve a government proposal to open a vast ocean area for commercial-scale deep-sea mining. Parliament members say their controversial decision is a necessary step to help break China and Russia’s rare earths dominance.

MARKET TRENDS

Crash tests indicate nation’s guardrail system cannot handle heavy electric vehicles

Electric vehicles that typically weigh more than gasoline-powered cars can easily crash through steel highway guardrails that are not designed to withstand the extra force, raising concerns about the nation’s roadside safety system, according to crash test data released by the University of Nebraska.

NEW PRODUCTS

Saint-Gobain Glass: first glass products to be C2C Certified V4.0 in all five categories

Saint-Gobain Glass achieved the Cradle to Cradle Certified certification at Bronze level for its float and coated glass products. Saint-Gobain Glass products are the first building glass products certified with the latest version 4.0 of the standard in all five Cradle to Cradle Certified categories.

ROSS VMC-100-gallon VersaMix multishaft mixer for viscous formulations

Capable of processing viscous solutions, dispersions, suspensions, and emulsions with viscosities in the hundreds of thousands of centipoise, the ROSS line of VersaMix multishaft mixers is built for longevity, speed, and efficiency.