Entek’s battery separator plant, Rethink's AMR, our 10th anniversary series: Machinery Minutes, Dec. 2, 2024
In this week's episode of the Machinery Minutes podcast, you'll learn about a big financial boost for Entek's new plant for manufacturing battery separator film; a new AMR from automation pioneer Rethink Robotics; and a look at lightweighting, the latest in our series on 10 trends that have shaped the past decade in plastics machinery.
Transcript
Welcome to Machinery Minutes, where at the beginning of each week I share with you three things you need to know in three minutes. You can read the complete stories on plasticsmachinerymanufacturing.com.
No. 1 – Entek Lithium Separators LLC has received a direct loan of up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, the company announced Nov. 25.
Entek in July announced receiving a “conditional commitment” for the loan.
The loan will finance a new plant in Terre Haute, Ind., for manufacturing PE-based lithium-ion battery separators to be used primarily in electric vehicles. The project will help onshore the lithium-ion battery cell supply chain, according to the company. Entek is the only U.S.-owned and U.S.-based producer of “wet-process” lithium-ion battery separator materials.
During a press briefing in February 2023 in Henderson, Nev., CEO Larry Keith discussed Entek’s plans, saying they were looking at sites in Indiana and Alabama.
For the latest details, read the Nov. 25th story: “Entek receives loan for EV battery separator plant.”
No. 2 –Rethink Robotics has launched a new line of autonomous mobile robots called Rethink Ryder.
The AMR line includes the light-duty MRE 550 and heavy-duty MRE 1400, with names that describe the weight, in kilograms, they can handle. Both robots come with an integrated lift function. The AMRs can perform a variety of tasks including moving loads and containers.
To learn more, read the story headlined: “Rethink Robotics launches AMR line.”
No. 3 – Lightweighting plastics is an ongoing trend that can save processors and product manufacturers money, reduce plastic consumption and carbon emissions, trim transportation costs and reduce waste.
This sustainability effort is employed in nearly every industry ranging from packaging to sporting goods to the automotive and aerospace industries.
It’s one of the trends Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing is highlighting as we look at plastics industry trends over the past 10 years as the publication marks its 10th anniversary,
To learn more about this trend, read our story headlined “Lightweighting shows less is more.”
Those are my Top 3 items you need to know for this week. We will have a new list every Monday.
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
