Manufacturing Business News: Slicing Silicon Wafers, Mobile Microgrids and Can EVs Win Hearts at NASCAR?

While we have a great staff of dedicated editors here at IndustryWeek, we can’t write about everything. So, here’s a roundup of news from our parent company Endeavor Business Media’s many news brands.

• Entek Receives Loan for EV Battery Separator Plant: Entek has received a direct loan of up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. DOE’s Loan Programs Office to construct a new plant in Terre Haute, Indiana. The facility will manufacture PE-based lithium-ion battery separators primarily for use in EVs. Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman reports on job creation for local labor and Entek’s additional plans for the project.
• Shifting to E: NASCAR, ABB Test Drive EV Prototype on Championship Weekend: A three-electric-motor, 1,300-horsepower EV prototype car sped along the Phoenix Speedway in-between qualifying laps to “create new interest within the most internal-combustion-engine-loving audience in all of America,” writes Managing Editor Rod Walton. Learn how a No. 35 car is a symbol in NASCAR’s decarbonization journey in EnergyTech.
• As Part of its Climate Action Plan, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to Deploy Solar Microgrid and EVs with EPA Grant: In response to extreme weather events, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in Cherokee, North Carolina, has an action plan funded by a $5 million EPA grant. The EBCI plans to deploy an off-grid solar microgrid, EVs and changing stations, reports Lisa Cohn for Microgrid Knowledge.
• Ultra-Thin Silicon Wafers Wring More from Power Electronics: Semiconductor manufacturing company Infineon Technologies has recently unveiled power wafers that it says are half as thick as current wafers. “By halving the thickness of the silicon wafer, Infineon claims it can reduce substrate resistance by 50% compared to traditional wafers and curtail power losses by 15% at the system level,” writes Electronic Design Senior Editor James Morra.
• TSMC Arizona Awarded CHIPS Act Direct Funding: Under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities, TSMC Arizona has been awarded up to $6.6 billion in direct funding from the U.S. DOC. The funds will support a $65 billion planned investment to construct three greenfield fabs in Phoenix, reports Bridget McCrea for Supply Chain Connect.