Here’s what we are hearing:
PPG to form fiber glass joint venture with Harsha in India
PPG Industries announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Harsha Exito Engineering Private Limited (India) to establish a 50-50 joint venture for the manufacture and sale of fiber glass reinforcement products. “We are encouraged by the prospect of continuing to expand PPG’s global reach, particularly in emerging markets,” says Thomas P. Kerr, PPG vice president, fiber glass. According to Kerr, the projected expansion of the Indian economy will help drive demand for fiber glass in such end-use applications as infrastructure, transportation and wind energy.
New Energy Technologies announced that researchers developing its SolarWindow technology, capable of generating electricity on see-through glass, have developed a first-ever working prototype using new electricity-generating coatings that lead to increased transparency and enhanced color—attributes important to consumer acceptance of a commercially viable product.
Industry activity continues to escalate in the emerging Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville shale plays. While shale gas drilling will slow from the rapid buildup of the 2005-2010 period, the industry will bring more than 8,000 new producing wells online through 2015. Increasing demand for drilling and completion products and services for new shale gas wells will be accompanied by growing markets for workover, restimulation and well site reclamation services in those regions where production is maturing. These and other trends are presented in “Shale Gas: Products & Services,” a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., an industry market research firm.
Canadian government invests in fuel cell bus development
The Government of Canada has initiated a series of university-industry partnerships which includes a project to further develop fuel cell technology for buses. Through the Automotive Partnership Canada, in conjunction with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, $85 million is available for a range of projects aimed at enhancing the Canadian automotive industry.
Schott Solar to supply 67,000 solar modules to Thailand
Schott Solar announced that it has received a large order from Thailand. The solar company, with manufacturing locations in Albuquerque, N.M., Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, will be delivering 67,000 photovoltaic modules for two solar power plants that Phoenix Solar Singapore has been building just north of Bangkok since June. The two sites will achieve peak output of 9.7 and 6.2 megawatts. From December 2011 on, they are expected to supply an annual yield of around 25,000 MWh of environmentally friendly solar electricity to as many as 10,000 Thai households.