Supply Chain

Chicago and Lyon – September 21, 2026 -- Mérieux NutriSciences has secured Peugeot Invest and Continental Grain Company (Conti) as new strategic minority shareholders to help finance its acquisition of Certified Group, a North American testing, inspection and certification (TIC) operator generating approximately $300 million in revenue.

Certified Group deal adds 31 laboratories across North America

The acquisition expands Mérieux NutriSciences' footprint in the world's largest food TIC market, which the company estimates at more than $2.5 billion for outsourced services. Certified Group's network brings capabilities in animal protein, dairy and packaged foods, alongside adjacent sectors including cosmetics, health supplements, over-the-counter drugs and reduced-harm nicotine products.

September 21, 2026 –

First primary aluminum shipment leaves Venezuela for the U.S. in eight years

New York -- Heeney Capital said on September 18 that a 15,000-ton shipment of primary aluminum has departed Venezuela for the United States, marking the first such delivery between the two countries in eight years.

Mercuria Energy Group and CVG Venalum anchor the offtake deal

The cargo originated from Corporación Venezolana de Guayana's Venalum smelter and moves under an existing offtake agreement involving Heeney Capital, Mercuria Energy Group and the Venezuelan government.

Deal ties into White House-backed push to revive Venezuela's mining sector

The transaction forms part of a broader, White House-backed initiative to channel private investment into Venezuela's energy and mining industries, aiming to restore U.S. access to critical raw materials.

Steamboat Springs, Colo. – September 21, 2026 -- ElektraFi has deployed broadband infrastructure across Routt and Moffat Counties, delivering high-reliability internet to areas that federal and state programs have consistently failed to reach.

Colorado's Middle Mile Program allocated zero funding to two counties with documented connectivity gaps

The Colorado Broadband Office's recent Middle Mile Program awards excluded Routt and Moffat Counties entirely, despite acknowledged service shortfalls in the region. ElektraFi's network already reaches critical governmental and public agencies ahead of any public capital deployment, including Yampa Valley Regional Airport, the Steamboat Springs Fire Station, and the local Water Treatment Plant.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – September 21, 2026 -- HEVO Inc. is contributing coil engineering and technical analysis to a bench-testing program run by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and BMW to evaluate next-generation polyphase wireless vehicle charging technology.

HEVO supplies circular coil topologies for BMW's compatibility testing with ORNL's proprietary polyphase system

The New York-based Tier 1 supplier is applying its patented Rezonant wireless charging hardware expertise to help BMW assess how its circular coil designs interact with ORNL's polyphase coil architecture. HEVO holds a technology license from ORNL and is providing engineering support to the joint evaluation effort.

Tokoname, Japan – September 21, 2026 -- Tencent Esports Competition Solution (ECS) is providing end-to-end technical support across all 11 esports events at the 20th Asian Games, running September 22 to October 2 at Hall D of the Aichi Sky Expo in Japan.

Esports Programme Spans Six Game Categories and Multiple Publishers

The 20th Asian Games features esports' largest programme in the event's history, with 11 events across six game categories requiring coordination across different game engines, version management systems and device formats. ECS was built to give referees, competition operations staff and monitoring teams a consistent technical framework across this fragmented environment, covering pre-match equipment checks, real-time match monitoring and post-match review.

Las Vegas – September 21, 2026 -- IGT and Everi will present a combined portfolio of slot games, casino management systems and FinTech products at the 2026 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, running Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, at booth 4455.

New titles debut on RISE32 and RISE55 cabinets

IGT will launch Lightning Rails and Split 'N' Win Link Boost on its RISE32 cabinet, both offering player-selectable denomination configurations. The RISE55 cabinet will host premium evolutions Money Gong Divine and Tiger and Dragon Power Sphere, alongside Piggz Link base games Frankenswine and Prince of Porkness, and Triple Coin Link themes Grand Buddha and Grand Cat.

Los Angeles – September 21, 2026 -- Fluxnium, Inc. has closed a $7 million seed round led by Congruent Ventures to commercialize technology that adsorbs uranium directly from seawater, targeting a domestic alternative to mined ore for nuclear fuel supply. Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture arm of Constellation (NASDAQ: CEG), and Active Impact Investments, Canada's largest climate tech seed fund, also participated in the round.

Seawater holds roughly 1,000 times more uranium than all identified land deposits combined

Fluxnium's proprietary high-surface-area fiber, developed in partnership with a U.S. national laboratory, passively captures dissolved uranium as seawater flows through it. The fiber deploys on longline systems in open water, the same passive infrastructure used in commercial seaweed and mussel farming, then is retrieved, processed and redeployed.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 21, 2026 -- The global rubber process oil (RPO) market is set to expand from $3.30 billion in 2026 to $3.94 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%, according to a new report from MarketsandMarkets.

Tire manufacturing drives largest share of oil demand

The tires application segment is projected to register the highest growth at 4.7% CAGR and remains the largest consumer of RPO by value. Manufacturers rely on process oils to balance flexibility, durability, and processing efficiency across passenger, commercial, and specialty tire production. Rising replacement-tire demand and evolving fuel-efficiency standards are reinforcing this consumption base.

Xuzhou – September 21, 2026 -- XCMG launched the Hanjing, its next-generation new energy heavy truck for long-haul freight, on Sept. 20, positioning the vehicle to compete on range, charging speed and lifecycle operating costs against diesel incumbents.

800-volt architecture cuts charging time to under 20 minutes

The Hanjing's 800-volt architecture supports megawatt-class fast charging, taking the battery from 20% to 80% capacity in under 20 minutes. The truck pairs a low-drag cab with a proprietary integrated electric drive axle and intelligent controls aimed at reducing energy consumption on cross-regional routes.

Taipei – September 21, 2026 -- Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has unveiled a 3.2 Tbps silicon photonics optical engine capable of moving roughly 400 GB of data per second, doubling the throughput of its previous 1.6T generation.

ITRI mobilizes 20+ partners to commercialize 3.2T optical technology

The technology was showcased at the Innovation Economy Pavilion of the Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE) 2026, held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1, where the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs presented 64 technologies from more than 13 research institutes and industry partners. To push the 3.2T engine toward commercial deployment, ITRI has built a supply chain network of more than 20 partners covering chip design, fabrication, testing and packaging, and has worked with international firms to align technical specifications for the standard.