Ceramic and glass business news of the week for March 29, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

O-I Glass announces expansion in the Andean market

O-I Glass, Inc. will invest approximately $75 million in an expansion at its Zipaquirá, Colombia, facility. Upon completion by the end of 2022, the project is expected to add nearly 2% of capacity to the company’s Americas segment and produce about 500 million bottles annually.

Surmet Ceramics to expand North Buffalo headquarters

Surmet Ceramics Corp. is working on a 3,400-square-foot expansion of its 130,000-square-foot plant in North Buffalo, New York. The move will allow the firm to add more cold isostatic presses and hire 18 workers. About $8 million of the $11.5 million cost will go toward new equipment.

AGI glaspac appoints Horn Glass to construct 154 t/day furnace

Indian container glass manufacturer AGI glaspac appointed Horn Glass Industries (Germany) to build a new furnace at its Bhongir plant in Telangana. It is a part of the recent investment raised by AGI glaspac from its parent company HSIL Limited, amounting to INR 220 crores.

Poland to add another 11 GW of PV over the next five years

The Polish photovoltaic market is expected to maintain a sustained growth trajectory over the next five years, with more than 2 GW of new installed capacity each year, according to Polish research institute the Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej.

EnBW to build two solar projects with 300MW capacity in Germany

German utility EnBW started construction of two subsidy-free solar photovoltaic projects with 300MW capacity in Brandenburg. The solar facilities will develop across 125ha of land located in the Märkisch-Oderland district, and they will be approximately 40 km away from each other.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

SIS Group acquires NexGen Fibers as it expands portfolio of concrete products

SIS Group LLC, a North Carolina-based supplier of precast concrete products, announced the acquisition of NexGen Fibers LLC, an alternative to steel rebar. The company, formerly known as SBC, also announced the new name and brand SIS Group to better address the growing portfolio of products.

Better Energy banks solar PPA with Centrica

Centrica Energy Trading entered into a 10-year solar power purchasing agreement with Better Energy for a total of 112GWh per year. Under the agreement, Centrica will offtake power from two new solar parks and add new green energy to the European power grid.

Northland Power and PKN Orlen finalize Baltic Power stake purchase

Canadian company Northland Power and Poland’s PKN Orlen finalized a stake purchase involving the Baltic Power offshore wind farm. Under the deal, Northland Power’s subsidiary NP Baltic Wind will acquire a 49% stake in the 1.2 GW wind farm in the Baltic Sea. PKN Orlen will retain the remaining 51%.

Lithko Contracting, LLC announces investment in Pikus 3D Concrete Printing

Lithko Contracting, LLC, a leading national concrete contractor, along with their equity partners The Pritzker Organization and DNS Capital, announced that on March 1, 2021, they purchased an equity stake in Pikus 3D, LLC. Pikus 3D was formed in 2018 to revolutionize the way we build, construct, and interact with concrete.

Applied Materials India, IISc Bengaluru to explore applications of advanced materials

Applied Materials India, the Indian subsidiary of U.S. materials engineering leader Applied Materials Inc, joined the Industry Affiliate Program of the Center for Nanoscience and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc Bengaluru. Applied Materials India will work closely with CeNSE to explore new applications and solutions in the field of advanced materials.

Corning expands contract with federal government to create glass tubing, vials

Corning Incorporated announced it will receive $57 million in additional funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to further increase domestic manufacturing capacity of pharmaceutical glass tubing and vials to support the accelerated mass vaccination effort critical to ending the pandemic.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Melt pool modeling, innovation in laser welding and additive manufacturing

FLOW-3D is holding a webinar on how their CFD software FLOW-3D AM is being used to model melt pool dynamics in laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition processes. The webinar takes place May 5 at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Print & Digital Convention moved to October 2021

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Print & Digital Convention congress and trade fair originally planned for June 2021 will be moved to Oct. 20–21, 2021, in the Congress Center at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

British Glass hosts first UK Recycling Summit

British Glass held its first UK Glass Recycling Summit on March 17. The UK is already achieving a 76.5% collection rate from households, and this event was the launch pad to driving collaboration across the entire glass supply chain and to commit to achieving a 90% collected for recycling rate by 2030.

South Africa launches request for proposals for 1 GW of solar PV

The South African government has launched its latest renewables procurement round under its Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme, which is to procure 1 GW of solar photovoltaic. The tender represents Bid Window 5 of the program, which will allow bids to be submitted by Aug. 4, 2021. It intends to procure 1.6 GW of wind on top of the solar allocation.

Utah uranium mill plans to export rare earth materials to Estonia

While Utah regulators debate whether the White Mesa uranium mill will be allowed to import 2,000 drums of radioactive powder from a rare metals facility in Estonia, the Colorado-based company that operates the mill, Energy Fuels, plans to export material to the same Estonian plant to be processed into rare earth elements as soon as this month.

DOE announces goal to cut solar costs by more than half by 2030

The U.S. Department of Energy announced an ambitious new target to cut the cost of solar energy by 60% within the next ten years, in addition to nearly $128 million in funding to lower costs, improve performance, and speed the deployment of solar energy technologies.

Floating wind turbines in the Great Lakes? State agency will study the idea

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority was ordered to complete a study for release in early 2022 on whether wind power on the lakes should be part of New York’s green energy portfolio. They are considering both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as parts of the feasibility study.

Dead power grid revived with solar and wind, not diesel

An E&E News article reports a case study of using renewable energy sources instead of diesel to restart an electric power grid after a blackout.

MARKET TRENDS

China’s rare earth supplies disrupted by Myanmar tumult

An Asia Times article details how there are growing fears of a global shortage of rare earth minerals used in the manufacture of high-tech devices as unrest in Myanmar following the February 1 coup disrupts exports to China.

Decarbonizing concrete report released

Northwestern University, supported by ClimateWorks Foundation, released a new report titled “Decarbonizing concrete: Deep decarbonization pathways for the cement and concrete cycle in the United States, India, and China.” It covers multiple ways to drive the cement industry toward net-zero emissions by mid-century.

Study reveals plunge in lithium-ion battery costs

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers carried out an exhaustive analysis of studies over the past three decades that have looked at the decline in the prices of lithium-ion batteries. They found the cost has dropped by 97% since the batteries were first commercially introduced in 1991. This rate is comparable to that of solar photovoltaic panels.

DOE to cut cost of solar energy 60% within 10 years

The Department of Energy announced a new target to cut the cost of solar energy by 60% within the next 10 years, in addition to nearly $128 million in funding to lower costs, improve performance, and speed the deployment of solar energy technologies.

Abu Dhabi National Energy plans move toward renewables

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company announced plans to move away from oil and natural gas toward renewables. The announcement came as part of its 2030 vision for sustainable and profitable growth strategy. The firm operates oil and gas assets in North America and Iraq, and power assets in Morocco.

NEW PRODUCTS

Coating to help birds see glass on buildings

Pilkington United Kingdom, part of the NSG Group, developed Pilkington AviSafe, a glass with a special coating designed to help prevent birds from colliding with the windows and facades of buildings. Specifically, the glass features a UV enhanced pattern that’s more visible to birds than it is to humans.

Binders for 3D printing metals and ceramics

Emery Oleochemicals’ Green Polymer Additives business unit developed a binder system for 3D printing of sinterable metals and ceramics. These filaments contain a high content of metal or ceramic powder, usually greater than 80% by weight.

AI software streamlines AM workflow

Markforged, creator of the integrated metal and carbon fiber additive manufacturing platform The Digital Forge, announced the immediate availability of Blacksmith software for Markforged X7 printers. Blacksmith connects part design, production, and inspection with the ability to learn through artificial intelligence.

Three tailored product and service solutions for Type 1 molded glass vials

SGD Pharma has strategically organized its parenteral Type I molded glass offer into three tailored value propositions—AXess, AXecure, and AXpert—from which pharmaceutical manufacturers can easily choose, meeting their diverse drug product requirements and aseptic manufacturing constraints.