Linde, Sandia partnership looks to expand hydrogen fueling network
Sandia National Laboratories and Linde LLC have signed an umbrella Cooperative Research & Development Agreement that is expected to accelerate the development of low-carbon energy and industrial technologies, beginning with hydrogen and fuel cells. The agreement will kick off with two new research and development projects to expand hydrogen fueling stations.
AFRL equipped for White House Materials Genome Initiative plan
In early December, the White House introduced the Materials Genome Initiative Strategic Plan to guide the nation’s efforts in cutting time and costs in bringing new materials and manufacturing products to market. The Air Force Research Laboratory is poised to leverage and pilot efforts supported by the initiative through an internal effort called Integrated Computational Materials Science and Engineering.
NSG’s Pilkington loses challenge to $445M EU cartel fine
Glass producer Pilkington, a unit of Japan’s Nippon Sheet Glass Co, lost its challenge on Wednesday to a 357 million euro ($445 million) cartel fine after a top EU court said regulators had come up with the correct sanction. Pilkington, Saint-Gobain and two other companies were hit with a 1.35 billion euro fine in 2008 for fixing prices and sharing markets over a five-year period starting from 1998.
US manufacturing initiative receives congressional approval
The recently passed Omnibus bill authorizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish several Centers for Manufacturing Innovation—regional hubs operated by public-private partnerships to foster manufacturing innovation, speed product commercialization, and close the gap between basic research and product development in the United States.