NRG launches Solar Canopy

June 25, 2013  |  Industry News

New product will provide energy without additional solar panels or connecting to the electricity grid. At Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference, NRG Energy CEO David Crane unveiled a new product that provides shade and solar energy. The Solar Canopy will launch by the end of the year, accordin…
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Slingmax products made with Dyneema® cradle Trade Center spire

June 24, 2013  |  Industry News

Slingmax® Twin-Path® high-performance slings helped to complete the One World Trade Center Freedom Tower by cradling the spire while it was carefully lifted to its place at the peak of the building. The addition of the 408-foot silver spire brought Freedom Tower to its full height, a symbolic 1,77…
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IDTechEx forecasts a $100 million graphene market in 2018

June 24, 2013  |  Industry News

Graphene promises to offer excellent material properties in almost all applications. Its extraordinary performance has led many to call it a wonder material; however, the reality is different, according to a new report published by IDTechEx (Graphene: Analysis of Technology, Markets and Players 2013…
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Atmospheric plasma increases breathability of spunbond nonwoven fabrics

June 24, 2013  |  Industry News

A study conducted by Texas Tech University and Enercon Industries Corp. has determined that when spunbond polypropylene nonwoven fabrics are pretreated with atmospheric plasma it increases the breathability of the fabric. Atmospheric plasma treatment increases the number of pores and enlarges the po…
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Nonwoven fabric Galaxy central to solar water desalinization

June 1, 2013  |  Industry News

The World Health Organization estimates that more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and energy-intensive purification technologies (such as reverse osmosis membranes) use an estimated $10.96 in oil to produce 264 gallons of clean water. A simple, solar-powered panel made wi…
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Creating the future of textiles: Bearable lightness

June 1, 2013  |  Industry News

Building energy research in Germany finds inspiration from polar bears. Fabric materials offer quite a few advantages in the construction of roofs, such as efficiency of material use, ease of transport and good light transmissivity, but a big disadvantage is their poor thermal insulation performance…
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Dutch researchers design highways that heal themselves

May 1, 2013  |  Industry News

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in The Netherlands are paving the way to longer-lived roads with a special type of asphalt containing long steel fibers. Zoab, a highly porous asphalt concrete used commonly in The Netherlands, is used because water can drain through openi…
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TenCate Protective Fabrics wins orders from Netherlands fire brigades

April 2, 2013  |  Industry News

The IJsselland and northeast Gelderland fire brigades in the Netherlands have chosen the superior protection of inherently heat and flame-resistant materials from TenCate Protective Fabrics. The orders, totaling 1,850 uniforms, are from two European contracts. TenCate has developed new protective fa…
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Smart textiles for protective gear

April 1, 2013  |  Industry News

A new book, Smart Textiles for Protection, outlines how materials that sense and react to environmental conditions are being integrated into personal protective clothing—and examines a wide range of end-use protective applications. The book explores material types, surface treatments, nanofibers, …
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Tackling heavy-duty projects

March 1, 2013  |  Industry News

IAA award-winning safety and protective projects tackle unique challenges and succeed Imagine a 41,000-ton U.S. Navy vessel traveling at seven knots in choppy three-meter-high seas. It is carrying a heavy load of vehicles and container freight. Because of an emergency, the vehicles and containers ne…
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