Ceramic and glass business news of the week for September 30, 2024

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Milan-based Ephos raises €7.6M to deliver glass-based quantum photonic chips

Ephos, a Europe-founded producer of glass-based photonic chips, announced a major expansion of its operations: a €7.6 million seed funding round and the opening of a state-of-the-art research and manufacturing facility in Milan, Italy, the world’s first dedicated to producing glass-based quantum photonic circuits.

Q Hydrogen set to launch world’s first renewable hydrogen energy power plant

Q Hydrogen is developing the world’s first renewable, economically viable hydrogen power plant, aiming to launch by year-end 2024. This plant will produce 100,000 kilograms of hydrogen fuel daily without relying on subsidies.

Indiana reports stellar clay rare earths grades in South Australia at Minos

Indiana Resources says assays from reverse circulation drilling at the Minos prospect within its Central Gawler Craton exploration project in South Australia returned up to 7428 ppm total rare earth oxide and up to 3643 ppm magnetic rare earth oxides.

Sika expands concrete admixtures production in Florida

Sika Corporation broke ground for a 29,000-sq.-ft. admixture production plant in Haines City, Fla., expected to be in operation in late 2025. The company says this investment could help drive a reduction of 7,822 tons of CO₂ by 2032.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Nano Dimension expands additive manufacturing portfolio with Markforged acquisition

Nano Dimension Ltd. and Markforged Holding Corporation entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Nano Dimension will acquire all outstanding shares of Markforged. The transaction will expand Nano Dimension’s product portfolio to include fused filament fabrication for high performance applications.

Emhart and Cerrion collaborate on AI glass industry technology

Bucher Emhart Glass and Cerrion are collaborating to develop artificial intelligence technology for the glass manufacturing sector. By connecting Cerrion’s hot end video AI system to Emhart’s Flex IS 3 control system, the AI can take automatic corrective actions, such as stopping sections of the production line, reduce downtime and avoid equipment damage.

Glaston and Corning join efforts in ultrathin architectural glass processing

Glaston developed a new processing method suitable to install thin glass into triple insulating glass units. This development allows the traditional soda lime glass used as the middle pane in a triple insulating glass unit to be replaced with Corning’s 0.5-mm thick ATG Glass.

Stevanato Group, Gerresheimer, and SCHOTT Pharma announce strategic industry alliance

Stevanato Group S.p.A., Gerresheimer AG, and SCHOTT Pharma AG & Co. KGaA entered into a strategic industry alliance to support market adoption of ready-to-use vials and cartridges. The alliance will be officially presented at the CPHI in Milan, Italy, on October 8.

AMSG joins Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South

The Africa Minerals Strategy Group and the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South are joining forces to build local value chains for critical mineral resources and energy transition technologies across the continent.

OTHER STORIES

ECOC 2024 showcases latest developments in optical communications

The annual ECOC Conference and collocated ECOC Exhibition took place in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 22–26, 2024. The conference showcased the latest developments in optical communications and included eight in-depth tutorials, 52 invited presentations, and 451 contributed papers.

CMA to highlight Canada’s growing impact on African critical minerals

Canadian mining companies are strengthening their presence in Africa to boost their share of the global energy transition metals market. The upcoming Critical Minerals Africa Summit, which will take place Nov. 6–7, 2024, will highlight Canada’s role in Africa’s energy transition value chain.

Calderys Group strengthens its health & safety commitment with 2024 safe.day edition

For the second year, Calderys organized a safe.day on Sept. 20, 2024, at all its industrial sites and offices. This day involves halting operations for a few hours to promote and strengthen a strong health and safety culture at Calderys.

FCC releases more radio waves for NGSO broadband

The Federal Communications Commission voted to open up more spectrum to Starlink and other nongeostationary satellite (NGSO) operators to improve broadband speeds in the United States. NGSO operators now have access to frequencies in the 17.3–17.7 gigahertz band for satellite communications provided to fixed points on Earth.

Academic publishers face antitrust lawsuit

Six scholarly publishers have been hit with an antitrust lawsuit for allegedly appropriating billions of dollars in public funds that the plaintiffs argue would otherwise have been used to carry out scientific research. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of New York by plaintiffs that include a researcher who says they conducted peer review for all six companies: Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, Sage Publications, Wiley, and Wolters Kluwer.

MARKET TRENDS

Some countries are ending support for EVs—is it too soon?

Supporting new technologies can be expensive, but deciding when to wean the public off incentives can be a difficult balancing act. An MIT Technology Review article considers how Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand have all witnessed a slowdown or drop in electric vehicle sales after scrapping their subsidy programs.

Korea is going big on US manufacturing—the Battery Belt could benefit the most

A Financial Times analysis of United Nations data found South Korean companies invested $21.5 billion in U.S. projects in 2023, more than any other country. More than one-third of Korean project announcements in the U.S. in 2023 were in the automotive or electronics sectors.

Deep-sea mining: Will Africa join the scramble on the high seas?

Deep-sea mining could offer an economic boost to African nations, but analysts say the continent needs to get more vocal about its interests.

NEW PRODUCTS

Deltech: Furnaces for use in hazardous locations

Deltech Furnaces completed a project requiring the design, manufacture, and installation of two bespoke rotary kiln systems certified for use in hazardous locations. Both feature HMI systems for control and data acquisition over multiple zones and volumetric feeders on precision linear drives to control the distribution of materials.