Ceramic and glass business news of the week for January 25, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Engie and Neoen collaborate on 1GW solar and storage project

French energy companies Engie and Neoen announced a collaboration to construct a 1-gigawatt solar and storage project in southwest France. The Horizeo project, which would cover 1,000 hectares, would include the solar park, battery storage, and an area “combining agriculture and photovoltaic electricity generation.”

Total and 174 Power to develop 1.6 GW solar and storage projects in US

Total and 174 Power Global, a wholly-owned Hanwha Group affiliate, signed an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture to develop 12 utility-scale solar and energy storage projects of 1.6 gigawatts cumulative capacity in the United States, transferred from 174 Power Global’s development pipeline.

Governor Cuomo announces nation’s first-ever Center for Glass Innovation at SUNY Alfred

Governor of New York State Andrew M. Cuomo announced a new nation-leading collaboration with the State College of Ceramics at Alfred University to bolster markets for recycled glass and improve the quality of glass available for recovery throughout New York.

O-I sells Argentinian glass manufacturing plant

O-I sold its container glass manufacturing facility in Rosario, Argentina, to a local investor, who is also the owner of beverage businesses in Argentina. The investor was identified as Hugo Ballester, owner of the La Farruca cider brand.

Lynas signs deal with U.S. for light rare earths separation plant

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd signed an agreement to build a commercial light rare earths separation plant in Texas. The deal comes after Lynas secured initial U.S. Department of Defense funding for a heavy rare earths separation facility in Texas last April, which it is developing with joint venture partner Blue Line.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Turkey’s Erdemir acquires Kümaş Manyezit

Turkish integrated steelmaker OYAK Mining and Metallurgy Group announced that its subsidiary Erdemir acquired Turkey-based magnesia refractory material producer Kümaş Manyezit, signing a purchase agreement worth $340 million with the latter’s shareholders Yıldız Holding and Gözde Girişim.

Mitsubishi Electric, Tokyo Tech develop blockchain technology to optimize P2P energy trading

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Tokyo Institute of Technology announced their joint development of an original blockchain technology that can optimize peer-to-peer energy trading. Mitsubishi will design the system and its clearing (transaction-completion) functions while Tokyo Tech will handle blockchain technology R&D and design of an optimal clearing algorithm.

Mubadala, Siemens Energy sign MoU to accelerate green hydrogen capabilities in Abu Dhabi

Mubadala Investment Company and Siemens Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the intention of creating a strategic partnership to drive investment and development of advanced technology, manufacturing of equipment, and production of green hydrogen and synthetic fuel.

Calderys and China Steel enter into refractory improvement partnership

Calderys and China Steel Corporation established a number of mutually agreed projects around refractory improvement, research, and sustainability that both companies will work on together in the future. The two main areas for future work are listed as joint iron and steel research on refractory improvement and innovation on eco-friendly products.

Intocast takes over full plant services for tundish operations at Liberty Steel in Romania

Iron steel contractor Intocast RO SRL is now providing a full comprehensive service package for tundish operations at Liberty Steel Galati in Romania. Included in the deal is the supply of all refractory materials as well as service equipment.

Cruise, GM partner with Microsoft to commercialize driverless vehicles

Self-driving car maker Cruise and majority shareholder General Motors Co said they would partner with Microsoft Corp to commercialize driverless autonomous vehicles. Cruise will use Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, for its vehicles.

OTHER STORIES

Virtual Refractory Minerals Forum 2021 confirmed

The virtual Refractory Minerals Forum 2021 will take place March 16–17, 2021. The line-up of confirmed speakers includes Carol Jackson (CEO, HarbisonWalker International, U.S.), Richard Flook (managing director, Mosman Resources, Australia), Sameer Nagpal (CEO, Dalmia-OCL, India), Vincent Wong (market analyst, Refractories Window, China), and many more.

Glass Futures to hold virtual open sessions

Research and technology organization Glass Futures will hold a series of open sessions throughout the first three months of 2021 to give a virtual insight into the world’s first Global Centre of Excellence for glass in St Helens, United Kingdom. The workshops are aimed at glass manufacturers, technology suppliers, and glass end users.

Axiom Materials receives Carbon Neutrality Certification

Composite materials manufacturer Axiom Materials received the Carbon Neutrality Certification for calendar year 2019, demonstrating its commitment to corporate social responsibilities and contributing to reinforcing the sustainable future of the world.

MARKET TRENDS

Research highlights growing trends of green roofs and green concrete

A recent report by Business Research Company on smart buildings reveals the rise in green features and construction methods that help to reduce energy and create more sustainable commercial buildings.

Global investments into clean-energy technology reach record high

Investments into clean-energy technologies totaled more than $500 billion for the first time ever, according to a report recently released by BloombergNEF. Specifically, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition was $501.3 billion in 2020, up 9% from 2019 despite the pandemic driving the world into a recession.

China to step up protection of rare earth resources

China will reinforce the protection of its rare earth resources, strengthen full industrial chain regulation, and establish a mechanism under the State Council to decide and coordinate on major policy measures, according to a draft guideline published on January 15.

China raises US rare earth imports in 2020

China’s imports of rare earth metal ores from the US rose by 54pc from a year earlier in 2020 to the highest level since China resumed buying from the country in 2018, Chinese customs data show. The sharp increase was largely because of stronger demand from the downstream magnet sector following government stimulus measures.

NEW PRODUCTS

Vacuum-rated double cone tumble blenders

The ROSS Double Cone Tumble Blender (Model DCB) is designed for large-scale yet intimate blending of free-flowing solids in a full suite of laboratory, pilot, and production sizes. In a highly repeatable process, minor and micro ingredients are thoroughly distributed throughout the batch more gently than in the more common V-shaped geometry.