Bayer MaterialScience LLC will receive a US$750 000 grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to support the development of composite technologies to produce blades for more efficient wind turbines of 1.5 MW and above.
31 July, 2009
UK-based Pulse Tidal says its shallow water tidal device can produce predictable, low cost renewable energy at the same time as reducing the large investments required to install, connect and maintain devices in remote offshore locations.
31 July, 2009
A 25% glass fibre reinforced polyamide (PA) 6 compound from Chem Polymer is designed to provide moulders with an alternative to halogenated flame retardant (FR) formulations.
30 July, 2009
Staff at the Vestas wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight has started an occupation of the factory in response to Vestas’ plans to cut 1900 jobs in Northern Europe announced in April.
30 July, 2009
The second quarter of 2009 presented the expected slowdown in wind energy project activity as banks underwent stress tests, governments reshuffled budgets to deploy stimulus packages, and the industry adjusted capacity accordingly, says Emerging Energy Research’s (EER) Research Director Keith Hays.
30 July, 2009
US companies Hamilton Sundstrand and Parkway Products Inc have formed a joint venture which will act as a low cost manufacturer for composite aerospace products.
29 July, 2009
Visitors at AirVenture Oshkosh 2009 were treated to the first public demonstration flights of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft launch vehicle and Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson's first flight in the mothership.
29 July, 2009
Hexcel Corporation reports net sales of US$277.3 million for the second quarter of 2009, 22.9% down on the 2008 second quarter. Sales to the commercial aerospace sector were over 30% down.
28 July, 2009
Ashland Inc has announced preliminary results for the quarter ended 30 June 2009, the third quarter of its 2009 fiscal year.
27 July, 2009
Gurit has announced that it is acquiring a majority share in a structural foam company in China. The transaction is expected to be closed in September.
27 July, 2009
Gibson Fiberglass is opening a new warehouse facility in Elkhart, Indiana, USA, in anticipation of economic recovery in the composites industry.
24 July, 2009
Pultruder Exel Composites plc has released its interim report for the first six months of 2009, reporting second quarter sales 14.1% down on 2008.
24 July, 2009
Hexion Specialty Chemcials expects to record sales of approximately US$950 million, an operating loss of $16-31 million and Segment EBITDA of $87-94 million for the second quarter of 2009.
24 July, 2009
Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) in the USA have added a nanomaterial to sheet moulding compound (SMC) to make it stronger, tougher and electrically conductive.
24 July, 2009
International Solar Energy Society (ISES) member Dieter Holm attended the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA)'s 8th World Wind Energy Conference & Exhibition, which took place on Jeju Island in Korea.
24 July, 2009
juwi is to set up its first large-scale wind farm on US soil in south-eastern Nebraska.
24 July, 2009
The programme for the International AVK conference, which takes place alongside the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2009 trade fair in October, is now now available.
23 July, 2009
Reed Exhibitions has announced the dates for the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade fair in 2010.
23 July, 2009
Aircraft company Boeing reports second quarter revenues of US$17.2 billion, up 1% on the second quarter of 2008, driven by growth in defence programmes and strong performance in the defence and commercial aircraft sectors.
23 July, 2009
Glass fibre reinforcements supplier PPG Industries reports sales of US$3.1 billion for the second quarter of 2009, down 30% on the second quarter of 2008.
22 July, 2009
The market for composites in the North American automotive industry is expected to reach US$1581.1 million in 2014, according to a new report.
22 July, 2009
German wind turbine maker Nordex has begun construction of a US$100 million manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA. It is expected to start production in 2010.
22 July, 2009
The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) has announced that its annual conference and trade show will now be called COMPOSITES, the Composites Exhibition and Convention.
21 July, 2009
The new Board of Directors of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) have taken up their posts.
21 July, 2009
SP is introducing Corecell™ M-Foam, a structural foam core material for the marine industry.
21 July, 2009
Scott Bader's Crystic Crestomer® 1196PA adhesive has been approved by RINA for use in bonding core materials and skin laminates in composite sandwich structures for leisure craft deck and hull construction.
21 July, 2009
China could become a major player in wind energy – not just in instalment, but also in producing wind turbines and components, according to a report from analyst McIlvaine Company.
20 July, 2009
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced several funding opportunities over the last week including up to US$22 million for community renewable energy deployment, up to US$52.2m for concentrating solar power (CSP) and almost US$14m for wind energy projects.
20 July, 2009
NetComposites Ltd has developed a series of training courses for the composites industry.
20 July, 2009
Arkema has appointed Velox GmbH as distributor for its Graphistrength® multiwall carbon nanotube products.
17 July, 2009
Vestas will supply a total of 75 MW of wind turbines to a large Chinese Independent Power Producer (IPP).
17 July, 2009
DSM Composite Resins has announced a strategic partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal, Germany, which will focus on the development of composite technologies and applications in the area of automotive and advanced composites.
16 July, 2009
The white paper released on July 15 by the UK Government, The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, gives details of how the UK will meet the cut in emissions set out in the budget of 34% on 1990 levels by 2020 – and £450 million of investment for renewable and clean energy technologies.
15 July, 2009
RWE npower renewables' Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm started generating renewable wind energy at the North Wales coast, UK, early July.
15 July, 2009
Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, has selected TenCate Advanced Composites USA as a supplier of composite prepreg material for the manufacture of composite rotor tubes used in USEC Inc’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, USA.
15 July, 2009
England is behind on meeting its 2010 target of generating 10% of electricity from renewable sources, according to a report from the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), ‘England’s Regional Renewable Energy Targets: Progress Report’.
15 July, 2009
SABIC Innovative Plastics has recently introduced LNP Thermocomp PX07444, a polyamide (PA) 6 thermoplastic compound that is reinforced with up to 20% curauá fibre.
15 July, 2009
German producer of polyester moulding compounds LORENZ Kunststofftechnik GmbH says that, despite the economic crisis, its business is continuing apace.
14 July, 2009
SABIC will start up a new plant in Belgium for production of STAMAX long glass fibre reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites and SABIC® PPcompound by the end of 2009. The plant will support SABIC’s automotive customers in Western and Eastern Europe.
14 July, 2009
Boeing is to acquire the Vought Aircraft Industries facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The Vought facility fabricates and assembles structures and systems of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aft fuselage sections, which are made primarily of composite materials.
13 July, 2009
US organisations AMT II Corporation and Douglass Aerospace LLC have agreed to team up to provide consulting services to the global aerospace and defence industries.
13 July, 2009
The National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) template, published late June by the European Commission, gives governments a binding framework for drawing up the steps they will take to meet binding national renewable energy targets set out in the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive (Directive 2009/28/EC).
13 July, 2009
Resin supplier Reichhold has announced a price increase for all of its composites products sold in Europe.
13 July, 2009
Quickstep Holdings Ltd, Australia, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM), a manufacturer of composite aircraft components.
11 July, 2009
Three reports published over the last month dismiss the variability of wind as an obstacle to large scale deployment of wind energy, says the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA).
10 July, 2009
The prototype Solar Impulse HB-SIA aircraft was recently unveiled. This carbon composite, solar powered craft is believed to be the first aircraft that will have the capability to be flown both during the day and night without using fossil fuel or emitting any pollutants.
10 July, 2009
X-Tender Boats will build its new line of carbon composite yacht tenders using Zyvex Performance Materials (ZPM)’s carbon nanotube (CNT) enhanced prepreg, Arovex.
09 July, 2009
T. Boone Pickens is scrapping plans for his 1000 MW windfarm in Pampa, Texas, USA, due to lack of transmission lines, and is instead planning three to four smaller windfarms.
09 July, 2009
Owens Corning is expanding capacity to produce technical fabrics at its facilities in China and India in order to support its wind blade fabrication customers in Asia.
09 July, 2009
UK-based Marine Current Turbine’s SeaGen tidal power system has been accredited by the UK energy regulator OFGEM for Renewable Energy Certificates (ROCs) meaning SeaGen will receive payment for the power it is generating.
09 July, 2009
The European Alliance for Thermoplastic Composites (EATC) has launched a new website at www.eatc-online.com.
08 July, 2009
The Danish, German and Spanish governments have helped Egypt set up the 360 MW Zafarana windfarm near the Gulf of Suez.
08 July, 2009
The World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has published an updated forecast for worldwide wind installations in the year 2009 predicting a 25% growth in wind energy.
08 July, 2009
German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has won a 80 MW contract to supply turbines for a wind farm in Turkey.
07 July, 2009
GE Global Research and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a carbon composites manufacturing Center of Excellence on the TUM campus in Garching, near Munich, Germany.
06 July, 2009
SP is nearing completion of the structural design of Panamax, a 60 m carbon composite sailing yacht.
04 July, 2009
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has signed a cooperation agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on research into composite materials.
03 July, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 generated more than US$2 billion in stimulus funding for US drinking water infrastructure projects. Thousands of projects delayed because of lack of funding are now moving forward, reports the McIlvaine Company.
03 July, 2009
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut (WKI) in Braunschweig, Germany, have developed a method of detecting defects in composite wind turbine blades using infrared thermography.
02 July, 2009
Swiss-based Composites Busch SA has developed a one-piece ice hockey stick that uses Huntsman Advanced Materials’ Araldite® NanoTech Composite RTM epoxy resin system.
02 July, 2009
The REpower MM92 wind power plants, each with a rated power of 2.05 megawatts (MW) and a hub height of 80 metres, are intended for five wind farms projects in the Vendée and Loire Atlantique regions in the West of France.
01 July, 2009