PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Park Systems announces $1 million dollar nano research grant fund for nanoscience labs

Park Systems, the manufacturer of Atomic Force Microscopes, announced a $1 million dollar nano research grant fund to support researchers starting new nanoscience labs in North America. The grant fund provides up to twenty grants of $50,000 toward the purchase of any AFM system and accessories manufactured by Park Systems.

Lithoz inaugurates new Innovation Lab for further advancing ceramic 3D printing

Lithoz GmbH announced the official opening of the Lithoz Innovation Lab will take place May 14, 2020. The new space, dedicated entirely to advancing ceramic 3D printing, will be located at Lithoz headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and will cover an area over 200 m².

Prima Power Laserdyne moves to expanded new facilities

Prima Power Laserdyne has relocated to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and expanded its manufacturing and operations center. The LASERDYNE and Prima Additive DED additive manufacturing machines will be manufactured in the new facility.

World’s largest-class hydrogen production unit completed in Japan

The New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corp., Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., and Iwatani Corp. announced Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) is complete. It features a renewable energy-powered 10MW-class hydrogen production unit, the largest-class in the world.

Construction Partners, Inc. to construct glass sand manufacturing facility

Construction Partners, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, The Scruggs Company, will invest approximately $4.2 million to construct a new sand processing facility adjacent to its existing sand mine in Adel, Georgia.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Canada, UK strengthen nuclear collaboration

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the U.K.’s National Nuclear Laboratory agreed on an action plan to boost collaboration in energy, medical isotopes, decommissioning, and waste management while the Canadian Nuclear Association and the U.K.’s Nuclear Industry Association signed an MOU to collaborate in promoting nuclear technologies.

Saint-Gobain divests part of its glass processing business in Germany

Saint-Gobain sold part of its glass transformation business Glassolutionsin Germany to DIK Deutsche Industriekapital GmbH, a Berlin-based investment firm.The divestment concerns seven sites: Bremen, Flensburg, Freiburg, Kiel, Murr, Potsdam, and Rostock.

Berkeley Lab collaborates to prepare photovoltaic materials research for exascale

Researchers from Berkeley Lab’s Computational Research Division and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center are collaborating with Carnegie Mellon and a number of other academic institutions to prepare to use the nation’s first exascale computer next year to continue the search for new, more efficient photovoltaic solar cell materials.

Ghenova and CAPSUN Technologies jointly developed SPIRE project

Ghenova and CAPSUN Technologies jointly developed the SPIRE project, a disruptive technology that integrates the best features of photovoltaic plants and concentrated solar plants. Filters have been successfully tested and SPIRE is almost ready to be marketed.


OTHER STORIES

CelSian course to be provided as a webinar

Because of possible travel restrictions due to coronavirus, CelSian’s “Introduction to Combustion and Emissions” training course will now be a webinar event. The course takes place March 17–18, 2020, and will cover mechanisms of combustion, NOx formation, and radiative heat transfer affecting glass furnace emissions and energy consumption.

Singapore initiates Phase 2 of Joint Industry Program to accelerate AM in maritime

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster, and Singapore Ship Association announced Phase 2 of Joint Industry Programme to implement additive manufacturing in marine industry. This phase selects applicants to 3D print/install parts identified in Phase 1. Applications due by April 6.

UCSD team offers roadmap of four challenges for solid-state battery commercialization

In an open-access review paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at the University of California, San Diego offer a research roadmap that includes four challenges that need to be addressed in order to advance all-solid-state batteries to commercialization.


MARKET TRENDS

Italian glass industry: It’s business as normal

Italian glass manufacturers and technology suppliers have said business is carrying on as close to normal, after the country went into lock down in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus around the country.

Global refractories market expected to rise through 2023

In a new report by the Freedonia Group, global demand for refractories is forecast to rise 2.2% annually through 2023 to reach 51.6 million metric tons. The most significant growth will occur in China and India, where high levels of construction activity and healthy growth in heavy industries will boost gains.

EV growth requires investment along the Li-ion supply chain

Alex Holland, IDTechEx Technology Analyst, published an article on how lithium-ion battery demand will be driven by growth in electric vehicle adoption, which is driven by a number of underlying factors, including global emissions targets.

New tools show a way forward for large-scale storage of renewable energy

University of Cambridge researchers developed a technique based on the principles of MRI that lets them observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work, but also how they fail, which will assist in the development of strategies to extend battery lifetimes in support of the transition to a zero-carbon future.

Open-source nuclear power plant blueprints uploaded to the web

Created by Energy Impact Center, a research institute with the mission to decarbonize the global economy by 2040, the so-called OPEN100 project aims to be a one-stop-shop for everything needed for new power plant construction. It is the culmination of two years of research, including more than 100 site visits across 15 countries.


NEW PRODUCTS

Meller Sapphire Lenses protect sensors used in robotics

Meller Sapphire Lenses feature Mohs 9 hardness and are impervious to water, most acids and chemicals, abrasion caused by fast moving particulates, temperatures to 1,000°C, and pressures to 10,000 psi. The lenses can be supplied in plano-convex, plano-concave, meniscus, and dome configurations.

Ultra-low-loss, smaller-diameter fibers for long-haul networks

Corning Incorporated announced a series of smaller, denser additions to its portfolio of long-haul fiber and cable innovations, including the world’s first submarine and terrestrial long-haul fibers in a 200-micron diameter.

Author

Lisa McDonald