News

Berlin – September 10, 2026 -- Makera secured two Best of IFA 2026 media honors for its desktop CNC machines, with the Z1 Pro recognized by Yanko Design and the Z1 selected among The Gadget Flow's Best Products of IFA 2026.

Makera displays four CNC models at Hall 17, Booth 215

The company's booth at IFA 2026 in Berlin features its full desktop CNC lineup: the Z1, Z1 Pro, Carvera, and Carvera Air. The showcase targets creators, designers, educators, and small businesses seeking professional-grade manufacturing capabilities in compact desktop formats.

Z1 series delivers 0.02 mm precision with support for 500-plus materials

The Makera Z1 features a rigid one-piece die-cast frame, auto-probing, auto-leveling, and compatibility with more than 500 materials. The newly developed Makera Studio software streamlines project creation and toolpath generation for both beginners and experienced users.

Beijing – September 15, 2026 -- China now holds more than 5.39 million valid domestic invention patents and 50.82 million valid registered trademarks, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced at the China Intellectual Property Annual Conference in Beijing.

China extends seven-year lead in global PCT patent filings

CNIPA confirmed the country has topped the world in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications for seven consecutive years, cementing its position as the largest source of cross-border patent filings globally. The administration also ranks among the top filers of industrial designs under the Hague System and international trademarks under the Madrid System.

Beijing – September 15, 2026 -- iQIYI has launched the Global AI Creator Challenge, the first international contest on its professional filmmaking platform NadouPro, partnering with Alibaba's Wan3.0 model to drive end-to-end AI video production.

Contest offers $10,000 prize pool across 156 winners

Themed "Make Ideas Unforgettable," the challenge runs submissions from September 10 to 23, 2026, with judging from September 24 to 30. A total prize pool exceeding USD 10,000 will be split among 156 winners: three Masterpiece Awards, three People's Choice Awards and 150 Active Participation Awards. Winning entries will receive additional promotion from NadouPro and Wan3.0 after judging concludes.

Gothenburg – September 15, 2026 -- Volvo Group will develop an energy park near its planned Mariestad battery cell production site, initially providing approximately 70 MW/260 MWh of battery storage capacity, making it one of the largest energy parks in Sweden.

Volvo Group commits to 70 MW/260 MWh storage capacity as first development phase

The energy park will grow along two parallel tracks: a large-scale battery storage facility using Volvo Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) from Volvo Energy, and a future test bed for developing new energy solutions. The facility is expected to become operational during 2027.

Basel, Switzerland – September 15, 2026 -- CordenPharma has committed a multi-year €80 million investment to expand sterile injectable manufacturing at its FDA & EMA-approved Caponago site near Milan, Italy, targeting a total production capacity of 500 million units per year.

CordenPharma finalizes €13 million land and building acquisition to expand Caponago footprint by over 50%

The company completed the purchase of an 11,000 m2 commercial building and 26,000 m2 of adjacent land on 28 July 2026, adjacent to its existing late-stage aseptic fill & finish area. The new space can accommodate at least four aseptic fill & finish lines, four visual inspection lines and four packaging lines, with room for customer-owned lines, large-scale lyophilization and auto-injector assembly.

Hwaseong, South Korea -- The European Union's February 12, 2028 deadline requiring food service outlets to offer reusable packaging for takeaway is exposing a washing infrastructure gap that could determine compliance across the bloc.

EU packaging waste hit 79.7 million tonnes in 2023

The EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, equal to 177.8 kg per citizen, with only 42.1% of plastic packaging recycled. Global disposable cup demand is projected to reach 491 billion units by 2028, while the UK alone consumes 7 million cups daily, generating 30,000 tonnes of cup waste annually.

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- The Mittelplate oil platform in the UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage site generated just 0.2 percent of Schleswig-Holstein's state budget in 2025, according to a new analysis by German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH).

Harbour Energy paid 45 million euros in extraction levies against a 21.9 billion euro state budget

British operator Harbour Energy paid 45 million euros in so-called extraction levies to the state of Schleswig-Holstein for 2025 oil production at Mittelplate. Measured against the state's total budget revenue of roughly 21.9 billion euros, that payment amounts to only about 0.2 percent, DUH said. The analysis draws on new figures Harbour Energy submitted during an ongoing court case brought by DUH against the platform's main operating plan.

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- WELT chief reporter Ibrahim Naber won the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in the category "Best Presenter / Individual Achievement Information" on September 9, 2026, for his continuous frontline reporting from Ukraine.

Naber has covered Ukraine's front lines since Russia's 2022 invasion began

The WELT chief reporter has documented combat zones and the civilian toll of the war since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. In autumn 2025, Naber, his producer and his cameraman were wounded during a research trip when a Russian drone struck their location.

ZDF presenter Markus Lanz cites Naber's persistence under direct threat in laudatory speech

ZDF moderator Markus Lanz, delivering the award laudation, said Naber had experienced death directly and that fear had become visible in his eyes after the drone strike, yet he continued reporting from both sides of the conflict without theatrics.

Frankfurt – September 15, 2026 -- Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint has appointed Marcus Holzapfel as Director for its Transportation & Logistics practice, effective September 1, 2026, to expand its digital transformation advisory capacity for an industry under mounting operational pressure.

Holzapfel brings more than two decades of Deutsche Bahn leadership experience

Prior to joining BearingPoint, Holzapfel spent over 20 years in senior management roles across the Deutsche Bahn group, most recently at DB Systel. He led large organizational units responsible for business-critical digitalization and technology projects spanning passenger and freight transport, managed significant revenue volumes, and directed multiple interdisciplinary teams. His remit also included strategic portfolio development, long-term client and partner relationship building, and the rollout of company-wide performance management systems.

Brussels – September 15, 2026 -- Committed investment in clean hydrogen has surpassed USD 130 billion globally, backing 6.9 Mtpa of capacity across more than 570 projects, according to the Hydrogen Council's Global Hydrogen Compass 2026 report co-authored with McKinsey & Company.

Ninety percent of tracked projects are already under construction or operational

Global operational capacity nearly doubled over the past year and is projected to double again in 2027 as projects under construction come online, the report states. The analysis draws on data from over 570 projects and perspectives from roughly 70 global CEOs.