PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Schott invests in Indian pharma glass tubing site

A groundbreaking ceremony took place after pharmaceutical glass manufacturer Schott invested a total of EUR 70 million in the expansion of its Indian tubing site in Jambusar, Gujarat. The additional tank is scheduled to go into operation at the beginning of 2023, with the second one following a year later.

Foamed glass processor AeroAggregates plans Sunshine State satellite operation

AeroAggregates broke ground on a Dunnellon, Fla. production facility for ultralightweight foamed glass aggregate. Scheduled for October 2021 start up, the operation will turn post-consumer recycled glass into 0.375–2.5 inch graded material suiting concrete block mixes, plus fill for placement over soft compressible soils or underground utilities.

AECOM to develop hydrogen-powered railway in Central Italy

Infrastructure consulting firm AECOM signed a memorandum of understanding with Spanish renewables group Iberdrola, and Italian partners Cinque International and Ancitel Energy and Environment, to upgrade Italy’s historic Apennine diesel railway with hydrogen trains. This project aims to aid economic growth for the Apennine region.

Durapower and partners to build battery plant in Poland

Singapore-based battery manufacturer Durapower signed a memorandum of understanding with two technology firms, Pozbud and Elmodis, to build a battery manufacturing plant in Poland. The facility will be engaged in production of lithium-ion batteries for use in containerized energy storage systems.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Mo-Sci to be acquired by Heraeus Group

The Heraeus Group, a leading international family-owned portfolio company, announced its acquisition of Mo-Sci Corporation, a world leader in the supply of medical and specialty glass, and ETS Technology Holdings, LLC, a provider of innovative wound care technologies. Both companies are located in Rolla, Missouri.

Vetrerie Riunite acquires Chinese competitor

Italian technical glass manufacturer Vetrerie Riunite acquired 70% of the capital of Suizhong Minghui Industrial Technology, a manufacturer of washing machine portholes. The integration of the Asian competitor will allow Vetrerie Riunite to gain new shares on the world market, going from the current 40% to over 50%.

Boyne Capital acquires A&A Global Imports

Boyne Capital announced that one of its affiliates has partnered with management to acquire A&A Global Imports, Inc., a leading supplier of packaging materials and ancillary products to the high-growth medical and recreational cannabis industry.

Materion to acquire H.C. Starck’s electronic materials portfolio

Materion Corporation, a world leader in high performing advanced materials, entered into an agreement to acquire H.C. Starck Solutions’ industry-leading, electronic materials business. HCS-Electronic Materials delivers tantalum- and niobium-based premium products and services for the semiconductor, industrial, and aerospace & defense markets.

True North announces sale of RDC Concrete to Infra.Market

Homegrown private equity firm True North signed a definitive agreement to disinvest its holding from RDC Concrete, the largest noncement readymix concrete company in India, to technology startup Infra.Market, which became a unicorn earlier this year. True North held a majority equity stake in the company through its initial investment in 2005.

Rainbow Rare Earths enters into rare earths separation technology agreement

Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd. entered into an exclusive intellectual property licensing agreement with K-Technologies, Inc. to use its rare earths separation technology in the Southern African Development Community region.

Ford signs deal with Redwood Materials to recycle EV batteries

Ford is partnering with battery recycling start-up Redwood Materials to reuse the raw materials from electric vehicle battery packs. The agreement will begin initially with recycling scrap material from battery manufacturing.

Yotta Energy, CPS Energy partner to demonstrate distributed solar + storage technology

Yotta Energy, a cutting-edge energy storage solutions provider, partnered with CPS Energy to install a small-scale applied technology project at the Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Military Post. As part of the demonstration project, Yotta Energy will test the demand response features of its energy storage system as a distributed energy resource.

Partnership aims to increase diversity in materials science

The Cornell Center for Materials Research and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are embarking on a research collaboration designed to increase diversity in the field of materials science. N.C. A&T is a historically Black university that produces more African American engineers than any other university in the United States.


OTHER STORIES

ACerS Professional Skills and Personal Development webinar: “Diversity and inclusion”

The ACerS Northern California section is hosting a webinar on diversity and inclusion that will provide insight on concrete actions that individuals and organizations can take to address subconscious biases and improve representation. The webinar takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. Eastern.

ACI moves Concrete Convention from in-person to virtual format

Engineers, contractors, educators, material or manufacturing representatives, plus other allied interests will assemble online from Oct. 17–21, 2021, for the ACI Concrete Convention. Originally scheduled as a hybrid event with virtual presentations accompanying in-person meetings in Atlanta, the program will now be fully online.

OSA debuts new name and look

The Optical Society (OSA) debuted the organization’s new name, Optica. In 2017, the Board of Directors launched a multifaceted examination of the name and its alignment with the organization as a whole. At the conclusion of much study, Optica, advancing optics and photonics worldwide, emerged as the best representation of the Society.

Greenland prepares legislation to halt large rare-earth mine

Greenland’s new government is preparing legislation that will ban uranium mining and cease development of the Kvanefjeld mine. Kvanefjeld, owned by Australian mining firm Greenland Minerals and located near the southern town of Narsaq, contains a large deposit of rare earth metals but also radioactive uranium.

Deltech Kiln and Furnace Design, LLC maintains QA program

Deltech Kiln and Furnace Design, LLC maintains a QA program that meets the requirements of the following: 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, Quality Assurance Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants and Fuel Reprocessing Plants; 10 CFR 830 Subpart A, Quality Assurance Requirements; DOE O 414.1D, Quality Assurance; ASME NQA-1-2008 Quality Assurance Requirements for Nuclear Facility Applications; ASME NQA-1a-2009 Addenda to ASME NQA-1-2008.

EnerVenue raises $100M to accelerate nickel-hydrogen battery production

EnerVenue, a U.S.-based battery manufacturer, raised $100M in a Series A round backed by Stanford University to accelerate production of its unique nickel-hydrogen batteries, R&D efforts, and build a gigafactory in the United States.

Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association establishes sustainable AM research fund

The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association established the Sustainability of Additive Manufacturing Research Fund, a $100,000 fund to support research at Yale School of the Environment’s Center for Industrial Ecology on examining sustainability benefits of additive manufacturing using life-cycle assessments and modeling.


MARKET TRENDS

China says it won’t build new coal plants abroad—what does that mean?

The New York Times reports on China president Xi Jinping’s statement to the United Nations General Assembly last Tuesday that his country “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad,” a major shift by the world’s second-biggest economy to move away from its support of this fossil fuel.


NEW PRODUCTS

Bringing GaN technology to energy-efficient server power supplies for data centers

Texas Instruments ( announced its gallium nitride technology and C2000 real-time microcontrollers are being combined with Delta Electronics’ high-efficiency power electronics expertise in the design of an enterprise server power-supply unit featuring an 80% improvement in power density with 1% better efficiency for data center applications.

Airnov to reveal 27-mm desiccant stopper for easy-opening packaging

Airnov Healthcare Packaging, a global leader in controlled atmosphere packaging, will unveil a new 27-mm desiccant stopper at Pharmapack 2021. The stopper uses fewer raw materials and is therefore lightweight. Plus, the new used polymers are sourced from renewable-focused suppliers.

Tungsten carbide for additive manufacturing

Kennametal Inc. launched KAR85-AM-K, its most corrosion resistant tungsten carbide grade for metal additive manufacturing. It is available exclusively in combination with Kennametal’s binder jet 3D printing capabilities to produce fully finished wear components.

GM unveils new electric motors that will power its future EVs, starting with Hummer EV

GM unveiled its latest series of new electric motors that will power its future electric vehicles, starting with the Hummer EV. The three new electric motors are a 180 kW front-drive permanent magnet motor, a 255 kW rear- and front-drive permanent magnet motor, and a 62 kW all-wheel drive assist induction motor.

Tethon 3D patents its Genesis line of 3D printing resins

Tethon 3D was issued a new additive manufacturing materials patent for the company’s ‘Genesis’ product line of base resins. Though Genesis resins are not suitable for 3D printing on their own, they can be mixed with solid powdered additives to formulate polymer-based composites that can be 3D printed on SLA and DLP systems.

Cement developer Hoffmann lands US patent for alkaline powder

The United States Patent Office validated the Hoffman Green Cement Technologies H-EVA patent. Promoted as an alternative to Portland cement for ready mixed concrete, mortars, and plaster, H-EVA encompasses flashed clay sludge, natural or synthetic gypsum, plus proprietary chemical “activators and superactivators.”

Author

Lisa McDonald