Ceramic and glass business news of the week for July 31, 2023

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Ace Glass to build US glass recycling plant

Ace Glass and Plastics Recycling partnered with Epic Glass Recycling to help build a glass recycling plant in North Little Rock, Ark. The first phase of the plant, to be operational in early 2024, will involve installing processing equipment to make cullet from collected glass. The second phase will include production of ultralightweight foamed glass aggregate.

Grenzebach invests €2 million in Indian glass production site

The Grenzebach Group will invest €2 million in a manufacturing facility for glass and building materials at its site in Pune, India. The current sales and service branch will merge with the manufacturing site for the glass and gypsum industry at the Pune location. The site is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023, with production beginning in October.

TSMC delays start of first Arizona chip factory, citing worker shortage

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. says sales are likely to decline 10% this year and a planned Arizona factory would miss its target of starting mass production next year. TSMC’s revenue and profit troubles reflected industry challenges, including soft consumer demand, rising costs, and a shortage of various types of skilled workers.

Toshiba Materials’ invests in new production facility to boost silicon nitride ball production

Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd. announced a major investment in a new production facility that will significantly boost production capacity for silicon nitride balls. The facility will be constructed at the company’s Oita Operations in northern Kyushu, Japan, and the 7-billion yen project (US$50 million) is expected to come online in January 2026.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Zortrax to develop ceramic 3D printing system in partnership with AM Centre of Excellence

Polish 3D printing firm Zortrax signed a letter of intent with Britain-based AM Centre of Excellence to develop a ceramic 3D printer that can process demanding, advanced ceramic resins.

SCHOTT joins sustainability initiative UN Global Compact

SCHOTT joined the United Nations Global Compact, which is the UN’s appeal to companies to align their business processes and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environmental protection, and anti-corruption.

Alfa Laval in new partnership on energy storage

Alfa Laval entered into a strategic joint venture agreement with Aalborg CSP, a concentrated solar power technology company, and will join forces on the development of long duration energy storage solutions.

New industries consortium created to drive low carbon innovation in the UK

Companies from across the cement, metal, glass, ceramic, paper, polymer, and chemical industries formed the Foundation Industries Sustainability Consortium. The consortium will lead projects based on six themes; alternative fuels, digital sensing, process optimization, sustainable materials, circular economy, and training and skills.

OTHER STORIES

Technical InterChange returns Sept. 19–21, 2023

Technical InterChange, which is hosted by Resodyn Acoustic Mixers, Inc., is designed for RAM technology discovery, new user advancement, and to broaden the experience of seasoned experts. Following a pandemic-induced hiatus, the 10^th Technical InterChange will take place Sept. 19–21, 2023, at Resodyn’s global headquarters in Butte, Mont.

Strategic Materials reports lowered emissions, greater waste diversion

Glass recycler Strategic Materials published its 2022 sustainability report, which details slight improvements in greenhouse gas emission levels, waste reduction, and employee safety. Overall emissions decreased by 7%, largely by reducing diesel fuel consumption.

Turkish recycling project collects 1.6 billion units of packaging waste

The EKOMAT recycling project in Turkey, which involved Turkish glass producers GCA and Park Cam alongside the Bircam Foundation, collected more than 1.6 billion units of packaging waste in its first year. Citizens could earn points worth money through a mobile application by recycling materials, so the project also contributed to the economy.

COP28, IEA convene first high-level dialogue on building a 1.5°C-aligned energy transition

The COP28 UAE presidency and International Energy Agency convened the first in a series of high-level dialogues around building a 1.5°C-aligned energy transition. The initiative is being conducted in conjunction with the International Renewable Energy Agency and is supported by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Baker Hughes Foundation contributes $150,000 to support coastal restoration in US

The Baker Hughes Foundation announced two grants focused on coastal restoration in the United States: a $100,000 grant to the National Coastal Resilience Fund, and a $50,000 grant to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

New website sets out Lucideon’s ambition for materially better world in ceramics sector

Lucideon launched a new website that showcases the storylines behind its pioneering work to support the ceramics industry to a global audience. Details of the company’s cutting-edge technologies, as well as an overview of its renowned problem-solving capabilities, are all explained through a range of multimedia content.

MARKET TRENDS

A global subsidy war? Keeping up with the Americans

Ever since the Biden administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act for clean energy and tech, there has been a mutinous mood among some U.S. allies in both Europe and Asia at the scale of the new subsidies. The Financial Times reports on how these countries are scrambling for ways to catch up.

GPI responds to study debunking arguments against bottle return programs

Glass Packaging Institute president Scott DeFife released a statement applauding the recent report from the Container Recycling Institute showing there is no evidence that deposit return system programs adversely affect beverage sales.

ASM builds rare earths supply chain, sells first critical metals

Australian Strategic Materials has quietly inserted itself into the global rare earth supply chain. The company is developing the Dubbo rare earths project in New South Wales, Australia, and it just announced a strategic partnership with U.S.-based rare earth magnet manufacturer Noveon Magnetics.

Vietnam targets to exploit 2 million tons of rare earths each year

Vietnam will step up technologies to mine and process rare earths to achieve a total output of more than 2 million tons per year. By 2030, exploration will be completed at all licensed mines for exploitation to start. By then, the target of 2 million tons should be reached.

NEW PRODUCTS

With NETL support, US company develops tech that uses coal waste in Li-ion batteries

The National Energy Technology Laboratory awarded X-MAT, a division of Semplastics, $1 million in 2020 for a three-year project to develop polymer-derived ceramic composite anodes that use coal as the carbon source for lithium-ion battery anodes. The technology has now been scaled up and independently tested in industrial format 18650 batteries.

New EV motor said to cut need for rare earth neodymium magnets

Japanese metal maker Proterial developed a prototype motor for electric vehicles that uses magnets that do not contain the rare earth metal neodymium. The new magnet is mainly composed of ferrite.