Industry Insight

Sion Power Corporation, Tucson, Ariz., USA, and BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, today announced a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to accelerate the commercialization of Sion Power’s proprietary lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery technology, e.g., for the electric vehicle (EV) market and other high-energy applications.

[The Auto Channel]   Read More...

The Branson Airport, the first privately developed and operated commercial service airport in the US, officially began operations Monday by welcoming its first commercial flight. Sun Country Airlines flight SY509, with passengers from Minneapolis/St. Paul, touched down at 0900. 

[Aero-News Network]   Read More...

Belgian drugmaker UCB said Wednesday it received federal approval for an injectable drug to treat arthritis, entering a competitive market dominated by some of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies.

[Kansas City Star]   Read More...

An Irish engineering firm is to create 250 jobs after developing unique wind turbines which generate power even in a light breeze, it was revealed today.

[Irish Examiner]   Read More...

A California-based company demonstrated a new battery-swapping technology Wednesday that
could overcome a key obstacle to the adoption of electric cars -- their reliance on frequent, long
stops for recharging.

[Manufacturing.net]   Read More...

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. plans to establish solar energy products manufacturing in the U.S. The company is currently exploring opportunities in several states that could be optimal, cost-effective locations for a production and distribution center.

[Renewable Energy World]   Read More...

Alpha Natural Resources said it would buy Foundation Coal Holdings in a stock-based deal valued at $2 billion, including assumed debt, that would create the No. 3 coal producer in the United States.

The board of both companies have approved the deal, after which Alpha’s current shareholders will hold 59 percent of the combined company. The transaction will be put to a vote by shareholders of each company.

Foundation shareholders will receive 1.084 shares of the new entity for each Foundation share, while Alpha shares will be exchanged on a one-for-one basis.

Based on Friday’s closing prices, Foundation shareholders are receiving stock worth $32.73, nearly 36 percent above where Foundation’s stock closed that day.

Alpha is being advised by Citigroup and law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Foundation is being advised by Barclays Capital and law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

[New York Times]   Read More...

[Manufacturing.net]   Read More...

General Electric is shifting the strategy in its $17 billion-a-year health equipment and technology business, seeking to broaden its reach with more lower-cost products.

The move is part of a wide-ranging marketing and business initiative announced on Thursday, called “healthymagination.” General Electric’s health business, known for its medical imaging and diagnostic machines, is struggling in a weak economy.

[New York Times]   Read More...

Duke Energy plans to build between 100 and 400 electricity-generating mini solar power plants throughout North Carolina over the next two years that will include panel installations at manufacturing facilities, the company said May 7.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission has permitted Duke Energy to proceed with its $50 million proposal to install solar panels on the roofs and grounds of homes, schools, office buildings, shopping malls, warehouses and industrial plants, starting later this year.

[Industry Week]   Read More...

DEXTER, Mo. -- Employees at EMCON Technologies, the Dexter area's largest employer, have been continually impacted by recent economy setbacks, but perhaps never quite as drastically as this month, with the announcement last week of temporary cutbacks for nearly half the employees that currently make up the local plant's work force.

Employees have been informed that layoffs will be effective in part Friday, with additional layoffs coming May 15, for the local assembly lines that manufacture and distribute exhaust systems for GM trucks and GM's light vehicle systems for the auto industry.

[St. Louis Business Journal]   Read More...

[St. Louis Business Journal]   Read More...

Kokam America wants to build a 900-employee manufacturing plant in Lee’s Summit to supply batteries to power next-generation electric vehicles — if it can obtain enough state incentives.

The $650 million plant proposal, once thought lost to Michigan, prompted Kokam CEO Don Nissanka to visit Jefferson City on Monday to lobby state lawmakers. Whatever support Missouri offers, he said, will be more than matched by federal incentives targeted at the fledgling battery industry.

[Kansas City Star]   Read More...

The University of Missouri is scheduled to formally unveil its Life Science Business Incubator on Monday morning in Columbia.

The $9 million building has about 33,000 square feet and room for 14 companies that require lab space, and an additional 30 work spaces for individual entrepreneurs.

Chancellor Brady Deaton and other officials are scheduled to speak at the event.

MU is within the so-called animal health corridor — stretching from Manhattan, Kan., to Columbia — that is home to more than 13,000 employees and more than 125 animal health companies that account for about 34 percent of sales in the $16.8 billion global animal health market, according to the Kansas City Area Development Council.

[Kansas City Business Journal]   Read More...

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., say they've come up with a way to recharge electric cars that won't strain the power grid.

[Manufacturing.net]   Read More...

Sunfilm AG and Sontor GmbH have merged to become one of the world's largest providers of tandem junction silicon based thin film modules. The new company will be named Sunfilm AG. In an increasingly competitive global photovoltaic market, the companies say Sunfilm will have the necessary size and expertise to significantly profit from the growing segment of thin film solar.

[Renewable Energy World]   Read More...

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis will receive $15 million in stimulus money to establish a biofuels center, its largest award yet.

[St. Louis Business Journal]   Read More...

Washington University has received $20 million in stimulus money to do research on novel energy initiatives.It is the largest ever gift ever received on the university’s Danforth campus.

[St. Louis Business Journal]   Read More...

HP is seeking approval to build a 250,000 square foot data center on its campus in Colorado Springs, and may add a second data center on the property, according to local media. The company filed plans April 14 to build a two-story data center next to its three-building, 1.1 million-square-foot complex on Rockrimmon Boulevard and said its plans include a “potential two-story addition to the north that would also be for data center use.” HP already operates several older data centers at the complex.

[Data Center Knowledge]   Read More...