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Nexans, the French cable maker, announced that its new cable plant in Qatar starts commercial production. Nexans's joint venture (JV), the Qatar International Cable Company (QICC) is located in Mesaieed Industrial City, which is 40 km from Doha. The new facility employs more than 100 staff, and it is expected that it will generate annual revenues of more than US$100 million by 2011. Nexans said that the plant will engage in the production of LV, MV and low-end HV power cables for energy infrastructure and building projects. It will also produce special cables for the oil and gas industry. Potential target markets include Qatar, the GCC and Yemen. The power cable plant occupies 19,000 sq.m. on an overall plot of 70,000 sq.m., close to a harbour that is reportedly developing as the largest in the Middle East. QICC was established in 2008, as a JV between Nexans (30%), Special Projects Company and Al Neama Industrial Co.

Monday, 28 July 2008 \nGuangdong Chigo Air Conditioner, a large-sized modern enterprise integrating the development, production and sales of household and commercial air conditioners, recently announced its agent in Egypt successfully won the contract for the Huawei correspondence station in Egypt after seven hardworking months.\n\n Huawei is said to have already achieved 12.56 billion dollars sales revenue, becoming one of the top five global telecommunications equipment producer, now with primacy globally, especially in Africa. Contracts for the correspondence station of Huawei in Egypt were mainly in the hands of Carrier for a long time, which means other brands could not compete with it and usually did not pass the test phase. Because the equipment for each station was valued at over 300 thousand yuan, the AC units could not run for a long time without a reliable capability guarantee. Right now the first set of Chigo splits is already installed in the station.\n\nThe vice president of Chigo Overseas Marketing Department , Mr. Peter Liao, said :"The success of this project means a lot for us. The intergrated ability of Chigo is already at new stage, being the supplier of a globally famous communication company. The cooperation with Huawei is meaningful for Chigo's development in the North African and African markets." For the success of the Huawei project, Huawei's subsidiaries in Libya and Sudan have also started to cooperate with Chigo, reveals the company's press release. \n\n\n

PKE is the new range of ECO Coils&Coolers branded air condensers launched by Luvata for commercial AC and refrigeration applications. It is the enhanced offspring of the PCE range (currently phasing out), with improved efficiency and optimized sound emission parameters. Like all ECO Coils&Coolers ventilated units, even the PKE range is available for CO2 applications. The PKE offers an improved hauling and fastening system, thanks to new features. Moreover, the side panels are removable allowing easy access to the units' internal compartments, which have been increased by 120 mm. In order to facilitate maintenance and service, the PKE range has also been equipped with special door holders with a hold open feature. For models with 4 and 5 fan motors, the number of doors has been reduced and the width has been increased, as to allow easy access to the internal components. Lastly, the base has been reinforced for particularly difficult installations. On the other hand, thanks to a compartment incorporated with the condenser to enclose the compressing and the electrical control units, called housing, the PKE range does not require long connection pipe-work, thus reducing the risk of possible leaks. The special internal surface of the compressor compartment has been designed so as to increase sound absorption, reveals the company's press release.

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Abu Dhabi investment agency Mubadala Development Co said on Tuesday they have entered into an $8 billion joint venture with an initial focus on providing commercial finance in the Middle East and Africa.The two companies also plan to work together in the clean energy and water, aviation, and oil and gas sectors, they said."This partnership is consistent with our global growth initiatives and builds on our long-term relationships in a high-growth region like the Middle East," said Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE, the second-largest U.S. company by market value.The companies said Mubadala "plans over time" to become one of the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company's ten largest shareholders, by acquiring shares in the open market.They also aim to establish a clean energy technology center in Masdar City, a new city in Abu Dhabi that aims to be carbon neutral. GE plans to commit up to $50 million for Masdar's second clean-tech fund.Growth in the Middle East has been a major thrust for GE in recent years. Last year the company generated $5 billion in revenue in the region, up 50 percent from the prior year.

DuPont Photovoltaic Fluoromaterials (PVFM) announced that it has signed a Technology Licensing Agreement with Toppan Inc. Printing Co. LTD, located in Tokyo, Japan, to commercialize its new backsheet for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. This technical and business deal with Toppan is in line with the PVFM strategic intent to significantly increase the availability of DuPont Tedlar films and backsheet for the fast growing PV market, according to the company. "This collaboration combines DuPont's proprietary technology for Tedlar polymer in backsheets, with Toppan's unique coating capability," said Kelly Kolliopoulos, global business manager of DuPont's Tedlar Division. "We view the new backsheet technology as complementary to our continuing activities to increase the supply of Tedlar films in order to meet the industry's growth and demand for Tedlar."

Ireland's OpenHydro and Germany's RWE are spending millions to try to turn the power of waves into electricity With oil prices hitting almost daily record highs and global warming climbing up the public agenda, the need for alternative energy sources has never been more urgent. But while wind and solar have dominated the recent rush to invest in renewables, market watchers reckon it could now be marine energy's turn to shine. Ocean power-using the energy from waves or tidal flows to produce electricity-is quickly coming of age as a viable green resource that could help meet ambitious global targets to reduce greenhouse gases and dependency on fossil fuels. European and North American power companies such as Canada's Emera (EMA.TO) and Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) are spending millions to fund wind and tidal projects. This investment has led to a new generation of more efficient technologies, with dozens of prototypes expected to be ready for commercial deployment within the next five years. "There's huge interest in both wave and tidal technology," says Thomas Boeckmann, clean tech analyst at market research firm StrategyEye in London. "It's gaining a lot of attention from energy companies, which will be able to offer financial backing and technical expertise to these startups."

High-level groups of bankers from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Bank, respectively China and Africa's biggest banks, are examining potential targets in Africa's oil and gas, telecoms, base metals and power sectors, executives at the Johannesburg-based lender have told the Financial Times

Emcore Corporation announced that it has entered into two new supply agreements for solar cells and receivers with a combined total value of more than US $40 million. The larger of the two purchase contracts is a multi-year supply agreement for solar cells, to be delivered over four years. The product to be delivered will be incorporated into concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) systems developed for commercial rooftop installations as well as utility-scale solar farms. The customers placing these orders with Emcore are targeting CPV deployments in the United States with a particular focus on the California market, Emcore said. Production for these orders has already started and approximately US $1 million of product is expected to be shipped in the present quarter.

Solar Thin Films, Inc. (OTC BB:SLTN.OB), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of manufacturing equipment for the production of "thin-film" amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules, has entered into a strategic alliance and cross license agreement with Amelio Solar Inc. \n\nUnder the agreement, Solar Thin Films will market and sell photovoltaic products using copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) technology developed and commercialized by Amelio Solar, and has rights to manufacture PV module manufacturing equipment using CIGS technology subject to certain terms and agreements\n

Low labor costs could lead to relocations of large producers coupled with the depreciation of the national currency leu. It could boost exporters' business despite negative impact on consumption, the report said, citing Lucian Anghel, chief economist of the Romanian Commercial Bank.

It's been a long, challenging endeavor, but there are signs that the economic ecosystem built up around wave and tidal power generation is at long last gathering enough momentum to make the jump from R&D-driven to full-fledged commercial industry. Scotland, with its long stretches of west-facing coastlines, North Atlantic latitude and longstanding tradition of maritime engineering and commerce, is now at the leading edge of change when it comes to fostering development of marine renewables. Wavegen's Limpet 500 system has been pumping electricity from the western Scottish Isle of Islay shoreline since 2000 while the company and project developer npower renewables have continued to move forward with plans to develop the Siadar Wave Energy Project, potentially the first under the Scottish government's Marine Supply Obligation program. Marine Current Turbines is getting ready to flip the switch and fully commission a grid-connected 1.2-megawatt (MW) Seagen tidal turbine-based system in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrow, while elsewhere in the EU, project developers and the marine renewables community await the much-anticipated commissioning of Pelamis's novel, serpent-like wave power system off the northern Portuguese coast.

DOE announced on September 8 that it will award $6.6 million in competitive grants for 15 state-level projects, nine of which focus on developing policy and regulations to support gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity, and six of which focus on developing advanced building codes. Of these awards, $4 million will go to the gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity projects, which will develop policy and regulatory frameworks that will enable gigawatt-scale clean energy, either through renewable energy or demand-side reductions. Although no cost share was mandated, state partners will contribute up to $1.8 million for these projects. The six advanced building codes projects will receive $2.6 million, which will assist states in developing and implementing residential, commercial, or overarching building codes. Along with its financial assistance, DOE will support these projects with ongoing technical assistance.

The first superconductor transmission cable in a commercial power grid was installed on Long Island last year-and the next stop is New York City. Project Hydra (the code name for the Manhattan grid upgrade scheduled to start in 2010) will use American Superconductor's liquid-nitrogen-cooled Secure Super Grid cables, which can transfer 10 times more power than conventional copper cable, with lower impedance.

Silver-zinc battery chemistry is currently poised to move into the commercial marketplace for use in consumer electronics. This new silver-zinc battery chemistry uses the latest in advanced polymers, nano-technology, power electronics and processing methods to create a battery that surpasses other rechargeable batteries for notebook computers, mobile phone and consumer electronics applications.

It was necessarily a brief overview, but one thing that came through for me loud and clear (yet again) was how short the Innovation Cycle is in many of these sectors.

Interesting story in the Boston Globe about Westwood, Mass.-based Acumentrics, a maker of solid-oxide fuel cells. The article states the the company is working with Italian heating products firm Merloni TermoSanitari to develop a commercial household version of its fuel cell, which would hit the European market by 2010 and cost around $5,200.

BP has a lot of money, and they want to focus a big chunk into cellulosic ethanol. So, they're partnering up with Verenium and giving the company $90 million over the next year and a half in order to gain some of Verenium's technology and hopefully speed up commercialization of cellulosic ethanol. Looking towards sugar cane, miscanthus, and energy cane, they're hoping to scale up biofuel's availability from these and other sources. The $90m will go towards helping put up low-cost production facilities across the US, and will give BP licenses to intellectual property of Verenium. BP's president Sue Ellerbusch said that this partnership positions BP as having the best technology in cellulosic ethanol production and makes them leaders in the area. Not surprising since they're forming other partnerships that help them corner the biofuel industry, including partnerships with DuPont, Tropica BioEnergia and D1 Oils. BP's fuel sales during 2007 accounted for 10% of the global biofuels market. So they're serious about making sure that biofuels become more easily available.

The level of information in this advertisement, delivered in a serious manner, means that the viewer understands why the car is special. 

Super strong nanometals - a Chinese-Danish success Research shows that it is possible to produce copper about 4 times stronger than commercial material - and doing so while also having a ductile material. As the thermal and electrical conductivity are also good, the manufacturing of, for example, electrical conductors with improved mechanical properties looks promising