PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

RHI Magnesita opens North American headquarters in Florida

RHI Magnesita has opened their North American headquarters in Tampa, Fla. The headquarters will serve as the North American corporate hub for the company’s current infrastructure in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Large-scale floating solar park to be built in Swiss Alps

Swiss power utility Romande Energie Holding SA is planning to build a large-scale floating solar system on a reservoir in the Alps after a successful demonstration project at the site. The new solar installation will be set up on Toules Lake 1,800 meters (5,906 feet) above sea level with a capacity to produce 22 GWh of power annually.

CTIEC to build Indonesian float glass facility

Glass engineering provider China Triumph International Engineering Co. is to build a flat glass facility in Indonesia. The 1,200 tonnes per day float glass facility will be constructed on behalf of South Korean coating and building materials production company KCC Group.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Canlak Coatings completes the acquisition of Ceramic Industrial Coatings

Canlak Coatings Inc., a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners and leading formulator and manufacturer of high-quality wood coating systems, announced the acquisition of Ceram-Traz Corporation d.b.a Ceramic Industrial Coatings, a supplier of custom, proprietary, water- and solvent-based wood coatings.

FRITSCH Milling & Sizing selects HORIBA Scientific as exclusive distributor for Americas

FRITSCH Milling & Sizing, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of FRITSCH GmbH, announced that they selected HORIBA Scientific to exclusively distribute the Analysette 28 ImageSizer. Both companies exhibited together for the first time at The International Powder & Bulk Solids Expo 2023, April 25–27, 2023.

Chinese fiberglass giant donates cutting-edge research device to Egypt

China’s fiberglass giant Jushi Group donated an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer to Egypt’s National Research Center in a bid to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation in the fiberglass industry. The spectrometer can provide powerful qualitative and quantitative analysis of the mineral composition of glass fiber.

South Carolina Research Authority joins initiative to grow clean energy in the state

South Carolina Research Authority is part of the “Clean Carolinas” initiative, which was selected as an inaugural recipient of up to $1 million from National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines. Led by UNC Charlotte, the initiative aims to produce an ecosystem of tech and workforce development while targeting community priorities.

Roadmap spotlights priorities for European astronomy

Astronet, a consortium of European funding agencies and research organizations, released a roadmap late last month that outlines research and facility priorities for space science through 2035. Immediate priorities the roadmap identifies for ground-based facilities largely align with ones previously set out in 2008.

Department of Energy announces $40 million for more efficient cooling for data centers

The U.S. Department of Energy announced $40 million in funding for 15 projects that will develop high-performance, energy-efficient cooling solutions for data centers. The selected projects—located at national labs, universities, and businesses—seek to reduce the energy necessary to cool data centers.


MARKET TRENDS

Chile’s new lithium strategy will push firms toward new technology

Lithium chemical producers are grappling with Chile’s recently announced National Lithium Strategy, which proposes creating a state-owned enterprise to negotiate with private firms for a stake in the country’s lithium resources. The government wants miners to use direct lithium extraction, a nascent technology that could be difficult to implement.

Experts: Potential EU ban on titanium dioxide would threaten access to drugs

According to panelists at the recent Excipient World conference, an EU proposal that, if enacted, would require manufacturers to replace titanium dioxide in medicines would affect millions of patients and more than 90,000 authorized pharmaceuticals.

Turkey introduces 10-year feed-in tariff for solar, other renewables

The Turkish authorities have set a 10-year feed-in tariff of TRY 1.06 ($0.0545)/kWh for photovoltaic systems that are installed between July 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2030. Solar projects with Turkish photovoltaic components will be given an additional five-year tariff of TRY 0.2880/kWh.

Greece launches EUR-238m rooftop solar subsidy program

The Greek government officially fired the starting gun of a EUR-238-million (US$261.8m) program that will subsidize the installation of rooftop solar systems coupled with battery storage. The Ministry of Environment and Energy is accepting applications through an online platform, which will remain open until the depletion of available resources.

Research finds that returning solar panel production to US can speed decarbonization

Cornell University researchers found that if solar panel manufacturing could return to the U.S. by 2035, the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from panel creation would be reduced by 30% and energy consumption would be cut by 13%, compared to 2020, when the U.S. relied almost entirely on international trading partners.


NEW PRODUCTS

Chemours launches high-performance titanium dioxide for WB architectural coatings

Chemours, a provider of titanium technologies, thermal and specialized solutions, and advanced performance materials, introduced Ti-Pure TS-6700, a high-performance, TMP- and TME-free titanium dioxide grade designed for waterborne architectural coating applications. It is being produced with 100% renewable electricity.

Nippon’s fully automated mercury measuring instrument receives Excellence Award

Nippon Instruments Corp., a subsidiary of Rigaku Holdings Corp., received a prestigious award for excellence at the 50th Environmental Award ceremony for their fully automated mercury measuring instrument, which is designed with consideration for environmental impact and economic efficiency.

Glass Dyenamics shatters expectations with electrochromic glass performance milestone

Glass Dyenamics’ dimmable electrochromic glass achieved an industry-leading 150,000 cycles over 5,000 hours under ASTM E2141-21 durability conditions while also performing within the industry-recognized yet rarely achieved optical performance degradation standards of ASTM E2953-20.

Honeywell announces tech to turn hydrogen and CO2 into lower-carbon aviation fuel

Honeywell International Inc. announced a new technology to produce lower-carbon aviation fuel from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured from industry. Honeywell is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of aircraft avionics and also supplies small jet engines.

Author

Lisa McDonald