Ceramic and glass business news of the week for July 1, 2024

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

O-I Glass to install AI-powered energy support system at UK facility

O-I Glass plans to implement an artificial intelligence-enabled battery storage solution at its Alloa, U.K., manufacturing glassworks site. The 8-MW battery system and supporting energy management system leverages AI to determine when to charge and discharge the battery based on local grid conditions, thus helping stabilize the grid during peak periods.

O-I Glass stays the glass recycling course with 35 collection sites

O-I Glass Inc. created 35 glass packaging collection sites to facilitate glass recycling for nine communities in North America. The information was offered as part of the Ohio-based company’s recently published 82-page 2024 sustainability report.

Heidelberg Materials converts cement plant to a slag grinding facility in Indiana

Following last year’s opening of its new state-of-the-art cement plant in Mitchell, Ind., Heidelberg Materials ceased portland cement production at its manufacturing site in Speed, Ind., and invested in modifying the facility to produce slag cement from domestically sourced slag granules.

Dutch-based chipmaker Nexperia invests $200M in Germany

Nexperia, a chipmaker owned by Chinese electronics maker WingTech and headquartered in the Netherlands, will invest $200 million in Germany to establish a site in Hamburg and develop the next generation of wide bandgap semiconductors.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Invisible Connections acquired by concrete giant Terwa

Oxfordshire-based Invisible Connections is now a part of the global Terwa Construction Group. Invisible Connections supplies the concrete construction industry with telescopic connection systems for precast stairs and landings, beams, and columns.

MIRECO acquires Italian refractory recycling specialist Refrattari Trezzi

MIRECO, the joint venture of RHI Magnesita and Horn & Co. Group, acquired Italian refractory recycling specialist Refrattari Trezzi. The strengthened presence in Italy will enable an increased supply of high-value secondary raw materials, such as stones or mixes, and customized services.

Raise3D, Würth Additive Group, and Henkel announce strategic partnership on 3D printing

Raise3D, Würth Additive Group, and Henkel agreed to pool their respective expertise in 3D printing hardware, supply chain solutions, and additive manufacturing materials to “redefine the manufacturing industry’s approach to 3D printing integration.”

Principle Power, HSG Sungdong sign MoU to manufacture floating wind foundations

Principle Power signed a nonexclusive memorandum of understanding with HSG Sungdong to cooperate on engineering developments for mass production and assembly of WindFloat floating wind foundations. The agreement furthers the ambitions of the Republic of Korea to achieve 14.3 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

Orora set make make glass manufacturing environmental gains through partnership

Australian glass manufacturer Orora will make environmental gains thanks to a partnership with Origin Energy. Orora will implement two energy-efficient projects, while Origin will purchase the South Australian Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme certificates generated by these activities.

Solidia Technologies licenses low-carbon cement technology

Solidia Technologies, Inc. entered a technology licensing arrangement with CalPortland Company for the license of certain patents that enable up to a 50% reduction in the carbon footprint of cement and concrete. The licenses will allow CalPortland to use Solidia technology in the western U.S. in furtherance of its development of low-carbon solutions.

OTHER STORIES

Kyocera Fineceramics Europe GmbH wins supplier excellence award from EV Group

Kyocera Fineceramics Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Kyocera Europe GmbH, received a Supplier Excellence Award from EV Group, a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology, and semiconductor markets.

Zippe establishes US service point for glass inquiries

To cope with the increasing demand and activities in the U.S., batch and cullet specialist Zippe Industrieanlagen established a service point in Alpharetta, Georgia. The person responsible for service and sales-related activities in the U.S. is Marco Cabrera.

Kazakhstan declassifies Soviet maps of rare metal fields in a bid to attract new investors

According to Kazakhstan Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, the country is going to open access to fields of indium, scandium, vanadium, thallium, gallium, and other rare earth elements and rare metals that were classified back in the Soviet times.

DOE announces $16M to advance tech that transforms carbon emissions into products

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management announced up to $16 million in federal funding for large-scale conversion of carbon dioxide emissions into environmentally responsible and economically valuable products.

Updated standard provides enhanced usage of materials databases

A major international collaboration developed the OPTIMADE standard over the past eight years to give users easier access to both leading and lesser-known materials databases. A new version of the standard provides an enhanced possibility to accurately describe different material properties and other data using common, well-founded definitions.

MARKET TRENDS

Report: World could be building a terawatt of solar power a year by 2028

The world could be installing 1 TW of solar annually by 2028 after another year of stunning growth, according to industry group SolarPower Europe in its latest Global Market Outlook. There was 447 GW of solar added globally in 2023, almost double the 239 GW installed in 2022, bringing the cumulative total to 1.6 TW.

Spontaneous glass breakage on solar panels on the rise

In its annual PV Module Index, the Renewable Energy Test Center examined emerging issues in solar glass manufacturing and field performance. It found reports of a concerning rise in solar panel glass spontaneously breaking in the field, sometimes even before commissioning.

NEW PRODUCTS

Westinghouse’s AM innovation improves safety, efficiency in operating nuclear reactors

Westinghouse Electric Company used additive manufacturing to fabricate bottom nozzles that improve debris capture and fuel endurance within its fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors. In testing, the nozzles demonstrated a 30% improvement in debris resistance.

Microsoft launches quantum-hybrid AI Tools for chemistry and materials

Microsoft integrated new tools based on generative artificial intelligence and high-performance computing into its Azure Quantum Elements software to make research in chemistry and materials science faster, easier, and more productive.

Carbon-based material could turn your laptop chassis into a power source

Swedish startup Sinonus is looking to commercialize a new multifunctional carbon fiber composite that can function as a battery, with the hope its technology could potentially eliminate traditional battery packs in devices like laptops, electric vehicles, and aircraft.

Startup pioneers first successful field trial of electrodynamic screen for solar glass

Boston-based Sol Clarity claims to have conducted the first successful field trial of using electrodynamic screens to clean solar glass. Electrodynamic screens feature rows of interdigitated, parallel electrodes that charge dust particles with static electricity and sweep them off the solar panel surface by a generated traveling electric wave.