Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed an aluminium-based catalyst that could help make sodium–sulphur batteries last longer. The catalyst addresses a problem that has limited the technology: Sodium polysulphides can dissolve and move away from the cathode, reducing battery life. The research team, led by Professors Wang Hui and Zheng Fangcai at CAS's High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Hefei, changed the atomic structure of aluminium by replacing one oxygen atom with nitrogen. The team wrote in the press release, “This created an asymmetric structure with three oxygen atoms and one nitrogen atom around each Al atom.” It is an Al–O3N structure (three oxygen atoms and one nitrogen atom surrounding each aluminium atom). Explore AL Circle’s report ALuminium Wires &...
Ball Corporation reported a 4.7 per cent increase in global aluminium packaging shipments in Q3 2026, supported by higher volumes across its beverage packaging operations in North and Central America, EMEA, and South America. The company also announced plans to expand its manufacturing network with new beverage can facilities in Germany and India. Ball’s comparable operating earnings for the quarter reached USD 451 million, up 2.5 per cent from USD 440 million in the same period last year. Comparable diluted earnings per share increased 6.8 per cent to USD 1.10, compared with USD 1.03 in Q3 2025. On a US GAAP basis, however, Ball reported a net loss attributable to the corporation of USD 94 million, or 36 cents per diluted share. It was against net earnings of USD 321 million, or USD 1.18...
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Token launches its brand new Thread Fit, an aluminium threaded press-fit bottom bracket for bikes. The company has also developed a clever thru-axle with a unique design that requires just two rotations to secure the wheel into place. The Thread Fit bottom bracket comprises a pair of aluminium cups with two injection moulded surfaces made from plastic and fibreglass surfaces (a process it calls Fusion) that press against the inner surface of the bottom bracket shell that ensures a snug fit inside the frame, and eliminates play and therefore any creaking noises. The bearings sit inside this aluminium barrel, wrapped in plastic and fibreglass, providing a secure and solid platform for the bearings to spin freely, extending their life. The replaceable bearings feature titanium coated races...
Huawei’s faster growth in the smartphone market is taking another leap with the launch of a new series of handsets called Nova that is encased in an aluminium chassis. The strength of this series lies not on premium features and extras but in its affordable, mid-range package with superb functionality and tough hardware. The flagship model Nova is a 5-inch handset with a Full HD screen, Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 12-megapixel camera. The fact that the device is encased in an aluminium unibody shell adds strength and class to the phone. The phone bears similarity to the Nexus 6P that Huawei built for Google. "Battery is pain point number one when you talk about modern smartphones," says Huawei, and the Nova has a 3,020mAh battery inside it, which should...
The leading provider of industrial and embedded computer platforms and technologies Acnodes Corporations has announced the launch of its brand new 15.6-inch panel mount monitor APA9156. The 2.38" short-depth panel mount monitor with IP65 flat front bezel comes with an aluminium die-casting chassis, resistive touch screen, VGA and DVI video inputs, and a 15.6 inch LCD panel with 1366 x 768 picture resolution along with other unique features. APA9156 monitor is built of solid aluminium die-casting chassis with IP65 compliant flat front panel. It measures at 16.22"(W) x 10.93"(H) x 2.38"(D) and weighs 10.14 lbs only. The die-cast aluminium built of its chassis ensures the monitor is light in weight, yet durable which is a must for today’s discerning users. The connectors include VGA port,...
Leading manufacturer of high-quality capacitors Cornell Dubilier Electronics, Inc. (CDE) has announced that its MLSH Slimpack series of hermetically sealed aluminium electrolytic capacitors is going to have significantly higher voltage values. These one-off components featuring a true glass-to-metal seal (meant for preventing dry-out of the capacitor electrolyte) have been engineered to provide extraordinarily long life (5,000 hours) to the most demanding applications used in military and aerospace. With the latest line expansion, these aluminium electrolytic capacitors are now available in nine values, from 120 µF to 3,200 µF, with ratings up to 250 Vdc, said CDE in its press release. The new hermetic Slimpack, an offshoot of the well-established non-hermetic Flatpack series, can be used...
Bang & Olufsen, manufacturer of the complete premium line of audio and video products, has launched the all-new 4K Ultra HD TV- BeoVision Horizon. Crafted in black aluminium, this sleek ‘screen for flexible living’ is built upon the Android TV™ technology platform. It features a powerful sound system and its crystal clear images can be automatically adjusted to the surrounding light conditions. The BeoVision Horizon is designed to cater to the lifestyle and flexibility demands of modern-day consumers. It offers total freedom in terms of placement with automatic image optimization for varying viewing conditions, and the ever evolving Android TV platform brings integrated access to the owner’s favourite content and entertainment apps. Hence, needless to say, it ensures excellent viewing...
Triangle’s, the bike maker from Portugal, is on its way to becoming Europe's first bike manufacturer to produce aluminium bicycle and e-bike frames on an industrial scale. The robots that will be doing the welding job at the plant are scheduled for end of July arrival and production run of the first batch of aluminium bicycle and e-bike frames are planned for October this year. Triangle’s has set May 2018 as the targeted timeline by when its bicycle business unit named Cycling Equipments SA will go into full operation and in high gear. The Portuguese alloy frame manufacturer aims at producing half a million frames per annum from this new unit. However, there still remain many hurdles, both legal as well as technical to be crossed, before the milestone can be reached. The aluminium e-bike...
Acer unveiled its new Swift series of ultra-thin and lightweight notebook PCs with all-aluminium chassis at its Global Press Conference at IFA Berlin. The new Swift series has four different models called Swift 7, Swift 5, Swift 3 and Swift 1. The new ultra-thin models feature Windows 10 and offers options for every budget and lifestyle preferences. “We are thrilled to announce the new Swift series, a complete ultra-thin laptop lineup with something for everyone,” said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “Front and center is the flagship Swift 7 with an all-aluminium chassis that’s less than one centimeter thin, while still packing in performance and stamina for all-day productivity.” “The new 7th Generation Intel Core processors set a new bar...
Ball Corporation has published their fifth biennial sustainability report which aims at implementing science-based carbon targets along with 10 new corporate responsibility targets to be achieved by 2020. The company has already achieved two-thirds of the 22 sustainability targets that they set for 2015. “Sustainability has always been a part of who we are, and our team has worked hard to maintain a careful balance of our economic, environmental and social impacts over the years,” Ball’s chairman John Hayes said. “As a larger, more global company, being sustainable is more important than ever, and we must continue to set a high bar for ourselves and our partners,” he added. For 2015, Ball achieved new standard for carbon emissions of their beverage can by reducing it 10% against the 2010...
The leading Japanese car manufacturer Honda has kicked off sale of its pioneering all-aluminium sports car- Honda NSX in a new avatar, in Japan. Custom order for the New Sports eXperience is now open, with customer deliveries slated to begin in February 2017. The first-generation all-aluminium sports car NSX (for New Sportscar eXperimental) was on sale for the last time some eleven years back. Since then a lot of technology has been upgraded. The car still features a V6 under the rear glass hatch, but displacement has been expanded from 3.2 to 3.5 litres, and two turbochargers have been added to the DOHC engine to boost output to 500 hp at 7,500 rpm and 550 Nm from 2,000 to 6,000 rpm. The brand new Honda NSX comes with forged aluminium wheels, each measuring 19 inches at the front and 20...
UM Motorcycles is gearing up to launch its all-new 230-250cc vroom machine UM Hypersport at India Auto Expo 2018. The adventure motorbike with aluminium alloy-wheels is expected to hit the Indian roads some time by the end of 2018. UM Motorcycles made its first appearence at the 2016 Auto Expo thereby marking its entery in the Indian market earlier this year. The American bikemaker's current product portfolio features two cruiser offerings - Renegade Sport S and the Renegade Commando. UM reported good number of bookings for both the motorbikes, and based on the response the company is now expanding its dealership network in India. However, the motorcycle manufacturer does not want to restrict itself only to cruiser motorcycles and want to explore other domains as well. Hence, the venture...
According to EUWID's quarterly report on the German aluminium packaging market, aluminium beverage can suppliers have had a normal summer this year. There was a seasonal upturn but that was not sustained and was far from "terribly impressive", the suppliers told EUWID. According to the data published in the report, the aluminium aerosol can market presented a mixed picture in August. Some manufacturers and suppliers reported good order levels in the first half of the current financial year. Business for them had been fairly satisfactory, although occasional supply bottlenecks were reported during the period under review. In the German market for aluminium tubes, threat of substitute was felt for the first time due to penetration of laminate tubes on a wider scale, revealed EUWID research....
Aluminium is making a mark in the gaming console industry too with the Analogue Nt which is a modern Nintendo Entertainment System cut out from a solid block of aluminium to play classic games and came to the market in 2015. Now Analogue is coming up with a compact, stylish and less expensive version of Analogue Nt next January. Called the Analogue Nt mini, the new version of the long-sold out hardware will be 20 percent smaller and carry a much lower price. The makers of the console say that the mini version will outclass the original Analogue Nt with a better offering. The mini will be available with built in RGB and HDMI output. Analogue Nt mini will provide a complete package of wireless 8Bitdo NES30 controller and Retro Receiver which will be compatible with PlayStation 4,...
Nasa’s spacecraft Juno has glided through the clouds of Jupiter in a record-breaking close approach to the giant planet so far. According to a tweet by the agency Juno successfully completed it’s closest ever fly-by to the planet. This is the first of 36 such moves, which are scheduled to end in February 2018. Juno is the first spacecraft that has orbited so close to Jupiter. Although two others were sent, they were destroyed while plunging to its atmosphere. Juno is a part of Nasa’s New Frontiers programme of robotic space missions. They were able to get the close-up views of dwarf planet Pluto last year. First time for a robotic space mission, Juno actually is carrying passengers to the space. The three Lego figures made of aluminium depicted the three famous characters: 17th-century...
For adventure sports lovers the more lightweight their vessels or vehicles are the better- rather, speedier! Hence, the racing enthusiasts, surfers, or even bass anglers find materials such as aluminium or fibreglass of more value as they enhance the performance of their props and vehicles by reducing their weights while making them more durable and high on aesthetics. Aluminium bass boats are one such category of sports vessel that has caught the fancy of bass anglers in Alabama in recent times. With an exceptionally shallow draft, these light and durable boats have been found to be even speedier and far affordable than their fibreglass counterparts. According to the amateur as well as professional anglers of this part of the world, the bass boats made of new generation aluminium and its...
The famous "Wave House" of Venice is a striking piece of architecture that continues turning heads on the street. Other than the unique shape with rounded edges and rippling design of the roof, the house is particularly eye-catching because it is clad aesthetically in white aluminium and cedar blocks. Designer Mario Romano who is the architect behind this great piece of art explains in his website how giant pieces of aluminium were spread out to create the unique shell of the house. According to his website, like the way a tailor designs a suit of clothing by collating the pieces together, the aluminium skin was digitally rolled and unrolled, then cut by a CNC machine to suit the roofing structure. Then those aluminium pieces are attached to a complex metal substructure made of straight...
Baltic Workboats AS, an Estonian shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Nasva, announced completion of its first 22-metre wave-piercing aluminium patrol boat Patrol 2200 WP for the Belgium Customs. The aluminium boat, named Zeeleeuw (Sea lion), will serve as a multi-function patrol vessel for the Belgium state fleet DAB VLOOT. Baltic Workboats Ltd. Director of Sales Jüri Taal said, "Building Zeeleeuw was extremely important step for us as she’s the first patrol craft in our series of wave-piercing vessels and will add another product line to complement our high-speed wave-piercing range of extremely seaworthy boats. We hope she’s the first of many to follow.” Aluminium-made Patrol 2200 WP’s has a total length of 21,97m with maximum beam of 6,40m and draft measuring around 1,75m. At full...
According to a new study conducted for the Aluminum Association by ICF International, the combined greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the transportation and refrigeration of beverages in aluminium cans are lower than those associated with that of beverages in glass or plastic bottles under the same conditions. Overall, the study finds that on a per-litre beverage basis, emissions associated with transporting and cooling aluminium cans are 7 per cent to 21 per cent lower than plastic bottles and 35 per cent to 49 per cent lower than glass bottles, depending on the size of the comparative bottles as well as the types of refrigerators in which beverage is cooled prior to consumption. On a per-container basis, the associated emissions of a beverage packaged in a12-oz aluminium can...
On August 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized new emissions and fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. They have listed benchmarks for cutting emissions from heavy duty trucks and increasing efficiency. While doing so, they have cited use of aluminium components like wheels, extrusions and sheet to achieve light-weighting in such heavy duty applications. According to the Phase 2 rule of the agency, trucking efficiencies need to improve up to 25 per cent by 2027 in order to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the freight transportation activities in the U.S. Commenting on this context, Curt Wells, director of regulatory affairs at the Aluminium...
