PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

More than 1,100 miles of dark fiber to link AI hubs in Texas and beyond

A new expansion of Uniti Wholesale’s dark fiber network will link deployments in key artificial intelligence hubs in Texas, such as Amarillo and Haskell. The deployment will add more than 1,100 route miles of ultrahigh‑capacity fiber.

Cyclic Materials secures $75M to build rare earths recycling infrastructure

Toronto-based Cyclic Materials announced the close of a $75 million Series C equity round—its largest to date—scaling up operations across the U.S. and Europe and accelerating its Canada-based research and development footprint.

Solarcycle starts up Georgia recycling plant

Solarcycle started recycling operations at its long-planned solar panel recycling facility in Cedartown, Ga. The system reportedly enables 100% landfill diversion while recovering 96% of the value from the silver, copper, aluminum, glass and other materials in end-of-life panels.

 

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Meta inks deal to pay Corning up to $6B for fiber-optic cables in AI data centers

Meta has committed to paying Corning up to $6 billion through 2030 for fiber-optic cable in its artificial intelligence data centers, Corning CEO Wendell Weeks told CNBC in an exclusive interview about the deal from a cable factory in Hickory, N.C.

Matteco and Dunia Innovations launch collaboration involving green hydrogen

Matteco and Dunia Innovations launched a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of next-generation functional layers used inside anion exchange membrane electrolyzers, a key technology that enables large-scale green hydrogen production.

 

Hadrian launches additive manufacturing division to expand US defense production capacity

Hadrian, a U.S. advanced manufacturer that is building automated factories to serve the aerospace and defence markets, announced the launch of a new division focused on additive manufacturing in an effort to strengthen domestic production for priority defense programs.

Kenya’s first chipmaker caught in superpower crossfire

East Africa’s first semiconductor manufacturing plant is tucked between rolling tea plantations in central Kenya. It initially thrived under the U.S.’s “friend-shoring” strategy, but now it is being elbowed aside by Trump’s “America First” imperative.

Trump Administration to speed up permitting for deep sea mining, even beyond US boundaries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finalized a rule that will expedite the permit and license application process for deep seabed mining and allow companies to mine beyond U.S. jurisdictional boundaries. The rule will likely cause controversy among International Seabed Authority members.

 

MARKET TRENDS

Water demand for AI expected to surge

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is set to drive a 129% increase in global water demand across the AI value chain by 2050, according to new research by Xylem and Global Water Intelligence.

Brickmaking keeps eating farmland as Bangladesh misses clean-build goal

Despite a 2019 mandate to switch to concrete blocks and other alternatives by June 2025, most government projects in Bangladesh continued using clay-fired bricks, with only the Ministry of Housing and Public Works fully complying.

 

NEW PRODUCTS

New take on extrusion creates long-glass composite siding

GaMra Composites developed a patent-pending, foamed, 40 wt.% long-glass fiber reinforced polypropylene siding that is extruded and formed directly in the die, unlike traditional post-formed, flat-extruded siding.

Author

Lisa McDonald