Tag: manufacturing
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Engineers Develop Efficient Nanotech Solar Energy Film
An engineering team from the universities of Missouri and Colorado, Idaho National Lab, and MicroContinuum Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts are developing a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 percent of available light, for manufacture in the next few years. Their lab findings have appeared in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Current photovoltaic…
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Fuel Cell Powered Forklifts Built for Demo Project
A fleet of 30 forklift trucks that run on hydrogen fuel cells are being built and tested for use at ports and loading docks in Europe. The trucks are being built under the auspices of the HyLIFT-DEMO project, funded by the EU. The 2.5 ton forklifts are being built by the Danish forklift manufacturer Dantruck…
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Researchers, Designer Develop Lighter Sound-Absorbing Fabric
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (French acronym EMPA), along with a silk weaving company and textile designer, have developed lightweight, translucent curtain materials that absorb room noise. The Swiss textile maker Weisbrod-Zürrer AG and designer Annette Douglas were part of the team. Sound absorbing surfaces that decrease sound wave…
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Faster Process Developed for Ultrasound Materials Testing
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP) in Saarbrücken, Germany have developed a faster process for testing industrial materials with ultrasound. The new methods provide three-dimensional images at up to 100 times the speed of conventional ultrasound. Ultrasound now has the technical capability to be a quality assurance tool for industrial materials —…
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Dow Chemical, Biotech to Partner on Bio-Based Acrylic Acid
Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan and OPX Biotechnologies Inc. in Boulder, Colorado have agreed to develop an industrial scale process for the production of bio-based acrylic acid from renewable feedstocks. OPX Bio recently completed an 18-month pilot project showing that its technology based on genomic engineering could manufacture acrylic acid from renewable sources. The…
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Brain Damage Potential from Welding Fumes Exposure
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri have found that workers exposed to welding fumes may face increased risks of damage to the same brain area harmed by Parkinson’s disease. The study appears online 6 April 2011, in the journal Neurology (paid subscription required). Fumes produced by welding contain manganese, an…
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Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development
The Department of Energy has awarded three sets of grants to promote development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes in the U.S. The $112.5 million awards over five years are part of the department’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make large-scale solar energy systems cost competitive without subsidies by the end of the decade.…
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Database to Track Substandard, Counterfeit Medicines
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, a pharmaceutical industry standards body in Rockville, Maryland, unveiled its Medicines Quality Database (MQDB) that provides information on the quality of medicines in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The database, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has more than 8,700 records of tested samples collected in Ghana, Laos, Vietnam,…
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Dell Inc. to Open Silicon Valley R&D Center
Dell Inc., a computer manufacturer in Round Rock, Texas announced plans to open a new research and development center in in California’s Silicon Valley. The company says the new Santa Clara facility is expected to grow to 1,500 employees over the next five years. The Dell Silicon Valley Research and Development Center will focus on…
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BARDA Contract Awarded for Antiviral Influenza Drug
The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a contract to Biota Scientific Management Pty in Melbourne, Australia for an antiviral drug to combat influenza. The contract for advanced development and testing of the drug is valued at $231 million over five years. The drug, CS-8958, is a long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor, which prevents…