Ceramic and glass business news of the week for March 27, 2023

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Portuguese glass producer to invest €1 billion over next five years

BA Glass, the largest producer of glass packaging and bottles in Portugal and the only glass packaging manufacturer in Romania, is to invest over €1 billion in its 12 factories in the next five years, €150 million of which will go to facilities in Romania, according to data released by the State Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade.

Swiss firm to rebuild Ukraine glass-making plant

Swiss company Vetropack says it will rebuild a destroyed glass bottle making facility in Gostomel, near to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The production plant could be running again by the end of this year, according to company boss Johann Reiter.

Time Bicycles unveils plans for US carbon fiber manufacturing site in South Carolina

Time Bicycles announced plans for the U.S.’s largest carbon fiber bicycle manufacturing facility after acquiring a 140,000-square-foot factory in nearby Landrum, S.C. The first Time products should be coming from South Carolina by the end of 2023, with a paint shop being the first service established.

South Korea’s LGES revives Arizona battery factory with $5.6 bln investment

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd said it would resume a stalled U.S. battery project with a $5.6 billion investment in Arizona to qualify for federal incentives rolled out under the Inflation Reduction Act.

An Arizona plant will pull CO₂ from the air and trap it in concrete

Block-Lite, a family-owned masonry business, announced plans to produce concrete by combining CarbonBuilt’s alternative-cement process with Aircapture’s technology that removes carbon dioxide from the sky. The three partners received a $150,000 grant from the 4 Corners Carbon Coalition to design the first-of-its-kind manufacturing facility.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Holcim acquires Polish precast concrete producer

Holcim acquired HM Factory, a provider of precast concrete solutions that supplies Polish construction projects as well as exporting to Scandinavian markets. With Holcim, HM Factory aims to capitalize on innovative construction trends, such as 3D-printing technology, to drive smart design.

AGI Greenpac approved for glass packaging supplier acquisition

Indian glass producer AGI Greenpac received approval from the Honourable Competition Commission of India for the proposed acquisition of Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd., a key player in India’s container glass industry.

Viritech and Haydale to extend cooperation in hydrogen pressure vessels

Viritech, a developer of high-performance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive industry, extended its cooperation with Haydale, a global technology solutions company and leader in functionalized graphene-enhanced nanomaterials, regarding solutions for hydrogen pressure vessels for the automotive industry.

Owens Corning partners up for asphalt shingle recycling pilot

Owens Corning plans to recycle 2 million tons of shingles per year in the U.S. by 2030. The company partnered with ASR Systems and CRS Reprocessing Services for this project. Several proprietary, patented processes for deconstructing post-consumer and post-industrial shingles will be used to extract/reuse individual parts as raw materials.

Germany, Japan vow to deepen ties on defense, raw materials

Japan and Germany vowed to deepen cooperation on defense and climate protection and work more closely together to reduce excessive dependencies in critical areas, such as raw materials.

US, Indonesia announce partnership on SMRs

The United States and Indonesia announced a strategic partnership to help Indonesia develop its nuclear energy program, supporting Indonesia’s interest in deploying small modular reactor technology to meet its energy security and climate goals.

OTHER STORIES

Ambiq captures two wins in the 2023 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards

Ambiq, developer of ultralow-power semiconductor solutions, won two 2023 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards by Business Intelligence Group. It was recognized for its neuralSPOT, an open-source developer-focused AI feature software development kit and toolkit designed for Ambiq’s latest Apollo4 Plus system-on-chip family.

US Treasury to release EV battery sourcing rules

The U.S. Treasury Department said it will soon release guidance on sourcing requirements for electric vehicle battery tax subsidies under President Joe Biden’s climate change law, the first in a string of highly anticipated rules to determine how broadly the credits can be used.

Tech makers must provide repairs for up to 10 years under proposed EU law

The European Commission adopted a proposal that would implement long-term repair requirements on electronics makers if approved by the European Parliament and Council. The EU already requires vendors to repair or replace products within two years of purchase for free if the product is defective. The new regulation requires companies to provide a free repair if doing so would be the same price or cheaper than replacing it.

MARKET TRENDS

Chipmakers fight spread of US crackdowns on ‘forever chemicals’

Intel and other semiconductor companies have joined together with industrial materials businesses to fight U.S. clampdowns on “forever chemicals.” The pushback in the US echoes a dispute in Europe, where chipmakers have warned that a proposed ban on PFAS will disrupt semiconductor supplies.

Taiwan foundries see surge in orders transferred from China

The U.S.’s escalation of the chip war with China has prompted companies to shift their orders to Taiwan-based pure-play foundries. But contract prices provided by TSMC and other Taiwanese foundries for orders transferred from Chinese counterparts are stiff, with many requesting long-term contracts, a specific scale, and even “designation fees.”

US and China wage war beneath the waves—over internet cables

Subsea cables, which carry the world’s data, are now central to the U.S.–China tech war. Washington, fearful of Beijing’s spies, has thwarted Chinese projects abroad and choked Big Tech’s cable routes to Hong Kong, as reported by Reuters.

NEW PRODUCTS

Patent issued for new bioactive glass adhesive to treat malaligned teeth

Researchers from Banaras Hindu University and the Indian Institute of Technology were granted a patent by the Indian government for a new bioactive glass adhesive to treat malaligned teeth. The patent has been granted for a duration of 20 years.

La Bouche Rouge launches upcycled, natural, and refillable fragrances

Known for its luxurious plastic-free makeup products, the La Bouche Rouge brand is launching its very first collection of perfumes with a major challenge: to show that luxury can be resource efficient. The brand announced a line of five fragrances, all packaged in glass bottles that can be refilled with 100% aluminum tubes.