PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

SCHOTT opens first US facility to expand production of diagnostics, life sciences products

SCHOTT opened a new facility in Phoenix, Arizona, to expand the development and manufacturing of diagnostics and life science consumables. The new facility adds to the capabilities already in place in Jena, Germany, and Melbourne, Australia.

Sweden’s LKAB finds Europe’s biggest deposit of rare earth metals

Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB says it has identified mineral resources of more than one million tonnes of rare earth oxides in the Kiruna area, the largest known such deposit in Europe.

Critical Minerals acquires Canadian rare earth elements property

Canadian firm Critical Minerals Americas acquired a 100% stake in the advanced-stage critical minerals and rare earth elements property in Alberta, Canada, from an undisclosed firm. Covering an area of around 800km², the SBH Property comprises Alberta Rock-hosted mineral permits over metals-enriched black shales in the Athabasca region.

Hitachi Energy to provide power quality systems for Poland’s wind farms

Equinor and Polenergia awarded two orders to Hitachi Energy to provide an AC grid connection and power quality systems for two of their jointly owned offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea. The wind farms, namely MFW Baltyk II and MFW Baltyk III, have a combined capacity of 1,440 MW.

Wind energy map could drive electricity projects in regional Australia

Wind energy now accounts for more than 11% of Australia’s total electricity—much of it generated in regional Australia. Australian National University researchers have released a set of “heat maps” aimed at farmers and landholders to show the best locations for wind or solar farms.

Sunderland’s National Glass Center set to move over costly repairs

Sunderland University’s National Glass Center is set to move because of a multimillion-pound repair bill for continuing structural issues with its building. The university, which has owned the facility since 2010, hopes to conclude the move within three years.

Dark Fiber Africa is using Zimbabwe’s major rail network to lay 2,000 km of fiber

In 2020, Dark Fiber Africa opened a shop in Zimbabwe after obtaining a Class B Internet Access Provider license from POTRAZ. They recently partnered up with Bandwidth and Cloud Services Group for a long-haul fiber backbone project that aims to provide better connectivity between towns and cities across the country.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Akoustis acquires GDSI, a supplier of semiconductor back-end supply chain services

Akoustis Technologies, Inc., an integrated device manufacturer of patented bulk acoustic wave high-band RF filters for mobile and other wireless applications, acquired Grinding and Dicing Services, Inc., a U.S.-based provider of premium back-end semiconductor supply chain services.

WANRack announces definitive agreement to acquire KwiKom Communications

WANRack, LLC, which specializes in custom fiber optic network deployments, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire JMZ Corporation d/b/a KwiKom Communications. KwiKom builds and operates fiber optic and fixed wireless broadband networks that serve residential and business customers in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

RHI Magnesita to acquire leading refractory producer in China

RHI Magnesita announced the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Jinan New Emei Industries Co. Ltd., a leading producer of refractories in China. The acquisition will enable RHI Magnesita to expand its product range in steel flow control refractories and its solutions contract offering in the Chinese domestic market.

CCI acquires majority stake in European battery storage company S4 Energy BV

Castleton Commodities International LLC announced that a subsidiary has acquired a majority stake in S4 Energy BV, a company that develops, owns, and operates large-scale energy storage systems.

NSF statement on NSF and SpaceX Astronomy Coordination Agreement

The National Science Foundation and SpaceX finalized a coordination agreement in 2019 to ensure the Starlink satellite network meets international radio astronomy protection standards for the 10.6–10.7 GHz radio astronomy band. A new coordination agreement was signed in 2022. Details of this new agreement are available at the link above.

First Graphene, Suvo Strategic Minerals sign agreement for low-emission cement, concrete

First Graphene Limited entered into a joint development agreement with fellow ASX-listed company Suvo Strategic Minerals Limited to research and develop low-emission cement and concrete products. The agreement aims to build on the already successful outcomes achieved from the addition of graphene to cement and concrete with Suvo’s metakaolin.

Materials Research Data Alliance Annual Meeting (Virtual): Feb. 21–23, 2023

The Annual Meeting of the Materials Research Data Alliance a deep dive into materials data and data infrastructure preparedness for the rapid acceleration in both AI use and AI capabilities. The meeting takes place virtually Feb. 21–23, 2023.

Ambiq named IoT Semiconductor Company of the Year for the second time

Ambiq announced that, for the second time, it was selected as the winner of the “IoT Semiconductor Company of the Year” award in the seventh annual IoT Breakthrough Awards program conducted by IoT Breakthrough. Ambiq won the same award in 2021.

White House releases first-ever blueprint to decarbonize America’s transportation sector

The Biden-Harris Administration released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Developed by the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the blueprint is a landmark strategy for cutting all greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.

Input sought on first National Nature Assessment

The U.S. Global Change Research Program is seeking input to inform its first National Nature Assessment, which will “assess the status, observed trends, and future projections of America’s lands, waters, wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems and the benefits they provide.” Comments are due March 31.


MARKET TRENDS

Battery fever grips Greece with firms launching hundreds of projects

A large number of domestic and foreign companies are interested in building energy storage facilities in Greece using battery technology. Balkan Green Energy News reports on some of these projects.

Brick Industry Association: Top 2023 brick trends

According to members of the Brick Industry Association, fired-clay brick trends launch 2023 with whites, grays, and prevailing textures. Rising texture trends include brick screen walls, brick insets and exclusions, brick-within-brick elements, blending diverse patterns and textures, and modern design with refurbished, rustic exteriors.


NEW PRODUCTS

Saflex FlySafe 3D used in Saint-Gobain Glass’ 4BIRD®Lami glazing

Saflex FlySafe 3D PVB interlayer was developed as a highly effective solution to address bird threats from architectural glass without compromising on aesthetics. That is why FlySafe 3D is being used with 4BIRD®Lami from Saint-Gobain Glass as part of a new series of bird-friendly glazing.

Author

Lisa McDonald