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The View from Europe: MAC brings out the knife

Andrew Gaved Manufacturing

After over a year of stalemate, the European Commission appears to have finally run out of patience with carmaker Daimler over its defiant refusal to use the HFO refrigerant R1234yf in its new cars. EC industry minister Antonio Tajani recently announced that the Commission would be taking legal action against the carmaker.

Why 2014 is a good time to be in the lighting controls business

Allan McHale Construction & Building Materials

This is now the most exciting time for the lighting industry since the early 20th century. We are truly at an inflection point, and the forthcoming shakeout over the next five years will determine the winners and losers in the game — as well as who will be the lighting giants of the future. The impact of LED technology is providing vast opportunities to improve lighting products and controls and their efficiency. This has coincided with the mandated demand to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in buildings, thus creating this challenging opportunity.

Solar energy global market drivers and challenges

Don Rosato Manufacturing

The worldwide solar energy or photovoltaic (PV) demand reached only 29 gigawatts (GW) last year, a 5 percent year-over-year increase. This is the first time in 10 years that the year-over-year PV industry market growth has been less than 10 percent. For supply and demand to have been balanced during 2012-13, end-market demand should have approached the 45 GW level. This overcapacity is having a significant effect on companies all along the supply chain as the industry consolidates.

Your 2014 guide to financial risk in the construction industry

Scott Wolfe Jr. Construction & Building Materials

At the start of 2013, many construction industry economists predicted a "rebound" for the industry. While construction spending grew during the calendar year overall, it wasn't quite the rebound originally anticipated. We're now turning the page to 2014, and the industry is excited about lots of positive economic indicators. Are we really on the cusp of a strong market rebound?

The impact of macrocells on underwater corrosion

Sasha Viasasha Manufacturing

Corrosion due to macrocells is a serious threat to certain types of structures, especially in the ocean. New developments have recently shed light on how macrocells form in hollow undersea structures and what engineers can do to mitigate their effects.

3-D printing taking center stage in additive manufacturing

Don Rosato Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a process of joining materials to make objects from 3-D model data, usually in successive layers, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies. The parts produced can be models, prototypes, tooling components, and increasingly, series production parts. They are generated from 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) data, medical scans, or data from 3-D scanning systems. Based on thin horizontal cross sections taken from a 3-D computer model, AM systems produce plastic, metal, ceramic, or composite parts, layer upon layer.

Effective storage tank protection system: The use of anodic protection

Sable Mc'Oneal Manufacturing

There are certain circumstances that make it impractical for cathodic protection to be used, such as in extremely acidic or alkaline environments. For these situations, anodic protection can be a useful corrosion control technique, specifically in metal environment conditions that demonstrate active-passive behaviors.

Smart buildings and smart cities will take center stage in 2014

Allan McHale Facilities & Grounds

Capital-intensive renewable power projects are now at a place where governments around the world are delaying their commitment to spend — at a time of economic austerity and fear of political suicide if they allow electricity charges to go up. In addition, the centralized structure of the electrical utility industry through which most of the renewable power will be traded is not the most appropriate and is not yet fully on board.

The View from Europe: Auto A/C resolution still facing bumpy road

Andrew Gaved Construction & Building Materials

Policymakers in Europe have had something of a headache in ensuring one of their prime pieces of climate legislation — the Mobile Air Conditioning Directive — is properly followed. Given that restricting refrigerant on the basis of its GWP will inevitably see similar legislation in the U.S., this Directive's tortuous passage could prove a cautionary tale — and we are still not yet at the end of the road.

2014 means decision time for the Keystone XL pipeline

Lucy Wallwork Natural Resources

A decision on the approval of the $5.4 billion northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline (linking oil sands production in Canada with refining on the U.S. Gulf Coast) is expected in the first quarter of 2014. And a new survey has revealed strong support for the project among Americans.

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