6/4/2021: Bremen-based SIKORA AG, manufacturer and worldwide supplier of measuring, control, inspection and sorting technology, is one of the most innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Germany 2021/2022, according to a survey conducted by the independent German Association for Consumer Studies (DtGV).

June 3, 2021 – A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office competition offers entrepreneurs up to $4.5 million in prizes for development of next-generation affordable conductors. It is part of DOE’s Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing initiative. Below, WJI poses questions to DOE’s Dr. Tina Kaarsberg, who leads the CABLE initiative. For eligibility, deadlines and more details go to www.americanmadechallenges.org/cable.

WJI: What is the contest about?
TK: DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office seeks entries in three categories: (1) metal enhanced with nanocarbon metals that also contain carbon nanotubes, single- or few-layer graphene, doped or undoped, or other carbon allotropes; (2) metal enhanced without nanocarbon, either by processing innovations and/or by adding other metals or non-nanocarbon compounds; and (3) nonmetal, enhanced with metal, which are conductors that are primarily nonmetal (e.g., polymer or nanocarbon) but may also contain metal, such as nanoparticles of metallic elements, but no bulk metal components. The goal is to strengthen American leadership in energy innovation and domestic manufacturing.

WJI: How does this work?
TK: There are three progressive stages to rapidly transition new materials from the lab to the marketplace. Stage 1 seeks concepts to develop and manufacture conductors with an electric conductivity that is an unprecedented 10% (over 65 MS/m) larger than today’s best copper-based conductor, or a conductivity by density that is nearly 5% larger (over 14 kS m2/kg) larger than today’s best aluminum-based conductors. Stage 2 will then test lab-scale samples for electrical conductivity. Finally, Stage 3 will evaluate manufacturing-scale samples for conductivity and other properties, and examine the documented manufacturing process, scale-up plans, and cost.

WJI: Who can enter?
TK: Any company or individual with the desire and drive to transform an idea into an impactful conductor material. It can be individuals of one or multiple organizations, students, academics, small business owners, researchers, etc. Competitors must be legal U.S. residents.

WJI: How do the prizes work?
TK: For the CABLE Prize, DOE may award up to 10 competitors in Stage 1, each team receiving a $25,000 cash award and a stipend for third-party testing. In Stage 2, up to six competitors will each win $200,000 in cash awards and a $100,000 noncash voucher that will support future work in Stage 3, when teams will collaborate with a DOE national laboratory or another American-Made Challenges Network provider. Up to four winners will be selected at the end of Stage 3, and a total prize pool of at least $2,000,000.

WJI: Why is this being done?
TK: Conductivity-enhanced materials are urgently needed to help make a more equitable, clean-energy future by enabling the grid expansion needed to deliver cleaner, lower-impact, and more affordable electricity across our nation. Conductivity-enhanced materials will also lower the cost and impact of electrifying the entire economy (e.g., with motors, heat pumps, chargers) to enable a zero-carbon economy by 2050. The CABLE Prize aims to identify, verify, and reward new materials and manufacturing methods that achieve significant enhancements in electrical conductivity. The impact of these materials goes beyond just American infrastructure, but a global landscape transitioning to a greener, more energy-efficient tomorrow. For more details, visit www.americanmadechallenges.org/cable.

WJI: Is it fair to say that you are seeking “out of the box” thinking?
TK: Yes, we encourage out-of-the-box thinking because many have thought significant enhancements in conductivity would be impossible until very recently. We’re encouraging problem solvers across the U.S. to tap into the vast potential of conductivity-enhanced materials for clean energy applications. Our hope is that innovators will experiment with the amazing properties of materials—including carbon—at the nanoscale, and partner with advanced manufacturers to fabricate materials at larger scales. Ultimately, our priorities are to encourage a more diverse set of innovators empowered to make clean energy more accessible and affordable, and spur the transition to a sustainable and equitable clean energy economy.

6/3/2021: UL has recognized four new Halguard® low-smoke, flame retardant jacketing compounds as “halogen-free”, it was announced today by Teknor Apex Company. The compounds include new-generation EVA-based products with an enhanced balance of properties, and highly flexible TPE-based products that exhibit excellent oil and sunlight resistance.

The assessment of halogen content was conducted in accordance with UL 2885 standard for the presence of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and iodine (I) at a maximum individual limit of 1,000 ppm. With the four new grades, there are now fifteen Halguard low-smoke, halogen-free flame retardant (LS-HFFR) compounds with UL AATJ2 component recognition as Halogen-free.

The new compounds, all with UL 94 flame ratings of V-0, are of two types:

● EVA-based compounds for control, data, and transit cables. Halguard grades 58240 and 58242 provide high levels of flame retardance, resistance to heat shock and heat deformation, and ease of processing —the latter translating into increased throughput. The compounds enable cables to comply with UL 1685-FT4/IEEE 1202 standards for vertical tray cable and the UL 1666 standard for riser cable. Other applications include fiber optic data cables and cables used in transit infrastructure, as in the case of tunnels.

● Highly flexible, oil- and sunlight-resistant TPE-based compounds. Incorporating elastomers, these two products comply with UL 62 and UL 758 standards for flexible cord and appliance wire, respectively. Halguard E 59001 exhibits 80% and 90% retention of tensile strength and elongation at break, respectively, upon immersion in IRM 902 oil for seven days at 60 °C. Halguard E 59002 retains 90% and 95% of tensile strength and elongation at break upon exposure for 720 hours in a weatherometer.

Typical property data for these compounds appear in the accompanying table.

“The Halguard LS-HFFR product line provides properties to meet a wide range of applications, and the growing list of grades with ‘halogen-free’ assessments by UL further expands options for customers,” said David Braun, wire and cable industry manager for the Vinyl Division of Teknor Apex. “We will continue to develop Halguard compounds which can comply with this UL assessment in order to provide customers with readily available component recognition, which enables them to accelerate speed to market for their products.

Halguard LS-HFFR compounds are available worldwide.

For further information contact the company at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

7/7/2021: DtGV, the German Association for Consumer Studies, has named SIKORA as one of the winners of its SME Innovation Award 2021/2022.

A press release said that the award goes to small and medium-sized companies from Germany “that demonstrate particularly high innovation potential in their segment and/or state.” The award was based on the Corporate Patent Classification (CPC) system. The basic parameter patent number was rounded off by the qualitative moment of the citation frequency and condensed into a score value.

SIKORA, a supplier of measuring technology, was scored as being among the top 10% of all examined SMEs in the CPC main class for instruments.” In the parallel federal state ranking, it was listed as one of the top three companies from Bremen. “This award makes us very proud and confirms the corporate course we have been following since the foundation of the company,” said Sikora CEO Dr. Christian Frank. “Thanks to our inventive spirit and innovation potential, we are able to continuously offer our customers future-oriented technology solutions. Thus, we create the basis for highest customer satisfaction and long-term growth.”

June 3, 2021 – South Korea’s Kyungshin Group has officially opened its new production operation that will produce battery components for high-tech electric vehicles, in the Guberash industrial zone of Smederevska Palanka in Serbia.

The website for the Kyungshin Group, which supplies the auto industry, notes that customers include Hyundai and Kia. It also has production facilities in China, India, Honduras and Poland. Among those attending the grand opening ceremony was Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Per the Development Agency of Serbia RAS at the company’s website, Kyungshin Cable Europe will supply the European market, and create 700 new jobs by the end of 2022.

Kyungshin Cable Europe is part of the Kyungshin Group, which also has facilities in the U.S., Mexico, China, Poland and South Korea. Founded in 1974, Kyungshin Cable’s core activity has been expanded from automotive and industrial wires and cables to the production of car parts for high- and low-voltage electric vehicles, in accordance with the new trends in the automotive industry.