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Trade Wars
Moderna’s Cancer Vaccine Success Doesn’t Live Up to Early Hype
To the scientific world, Moderna’s cancer vaccine’s results proved that a highly personalized, immune-targeting medication can work. To investors, it didn’t work well enough. Details from Moderna’s vaccine study showed that, when added to immunotherapy, it reduced the risk of melanoma returning by 42% when compared with immunotherapy alone. Adil Daud, director of melanoma research at University of California, San Francisco, who worked on the trial, called it “a massive conceptual breakthrough.” Scientists have been studying cancer vaccines for decades without success.
While researchers celebrated the results, Wall Street was concerned that they might not be enough to persuade doctors to use what is expected to be a costly new combination. New cancer drugs are introduced at prices of around $400,000 or more a year and this therapy requires more complex manufacturing than most. Clinicians said the vaccine holds promise, particularly for those with less advanced melanoma who don’t qualify for immunotherapy before surgery because their tumors are less visible. Moderna and Merck are studying its potential beyond melanoma, which has been driving investor enthusiasm. The vaccine is already being studied in cancers like kidney and lung and the companies are considering other tumor types.
Read more at The WSJ
Schneider Electric, Nvidia and HPE launch AI agents for industrial operations
Schneider Electric, Nvidia and HPE have formed a strategic collaboration to introduce AI agents that can monitor and help optimize industrial operations from inside factories and process plants. The companies describe the technology as a route to “physical AI” for industries such as energy, chemicals, pulp and paper, where AI is more likely to interact with existing control systems and industrial equipment than take the form of a robot. Their first Industrial AI Agents at the Edge will focus on monitoring operational technology (OT), cybersecurity and energy consumption.
The agents run locally using HPE Private Cloud AI, rather than requiring sensitive industrial data to be continually transferred to a public cloud. Schneider Electric says this can help manufacturers address concerns around data security, cybersecurity and the cost of running AI applications. Gwenaelle Huet, executive vice president, industrial automation at Schneider Electric, says: “The next generation of industrial innovation will be driven by intelligence embedded directly into industrial operations.
Read more at Robotics and Automation
Carrier Plans $600 Million Texas Plant to Make Cooling Gear for AI Data Centers
Carrier Global plans to invest more than $600 million in a new plant in Fort Worth, Texas, to supply more cooling equipment to the burgeoning data-center market and other large commercial and industrial buildings. The investment in the plant is the biggest in Carrier’s history, and comes at a time of record order volumes for the company’s chillers in data centers. The company said it expects equipment sales to data centers to reach about $2 billion this year, putting Carrier on course to double its data-center sales for the second straight year.
The new plant, said to be more than 1 million square feet, is expected to boost the company’s production capacity for commercial chillers by more than two times the current capacity offered by its plants in North Carolina and Mexico. Carrier also envisions using the new plant to manufacture components for its chillers, such as compressors. Carrier said the plant will provide 1,500 manufacturing and engineering jobs. The new plant will be able to produce 3,000 commercial air-cool chiller units annually. That is enough to cool a million residential homes, he said. But a single data center can require hundreds of chillers.
Read more at The WSJ
Micron Announces New Investment In Critical Minerals Manufacturing
Micron Technology announced it will support the expansion of Indium Corp.’s capabilities in Rome, New York, as an investment in critical minerals. Indium is a materials refiner, smelter, manufacturer and supplier for the semiconductor and other technology markets. Micron will have access to Indium’s critical minerals per the deal, according to the chipmaker. Although the investment amount was not specified, Micron said it is part of its plan to spend up to $3 billion to strengthen the United States’ semiconductor supply chain by developing a reliable domestic source of critical manufacturing materials.
Micron has been investing heavily in domestic production capabilities, in part to reduce dependence on other nations and limit potential supply disruptions. In July, the company announced it was increasing its U.S. commitment to spend more than $250 billion through 2035, prompted by soaring demand for its dynamic random-access memory products. At the time, Micron said it expected the funding would back its long-term goal of producing 40% of its DRAM products in the U.S.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Nippon’s U.S. Steel to Invest Nearly $3 Billion in Hot Strip Mill Near Pittsburgh
U.S. Steel plans to invest nearly $3 billion in a new hot strip mill at its plant near Pittsburgh. U.S. Steel, which is owned by Tokyo-based Nippon Steel, said the investment will replace aging equipment with modern steelmaking technology, increasing annual production capacity to about 3.5 million tons from 2.2 million tons. The move also aims to expand the range of steels that U.S. Steel can produce.
A hot strip mill makes steel slabs into thin coils used to manufacture products like vehicles, appliances and construction materials. With the investment, the company expects to better compete across the automotive, appliance and line pipe markets. U.S. steel expects initial production at the mill in late 2029. It plans to start construction after receiving the necessary permits.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Lilly Breaks Ground On $5B Integrated Manufacturing Site In Virginia
Eli Lilly broke ground on a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, near Richmond. The site will produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished medicines in one integrated facility, with dedicated API capacity for bioconjugates and large-molecule medicines. The Virginia facility will focus on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), targeted cancer therapies that combine antibodies with cytotoxic drugs. The site reportedly will incorporate machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems, and advanced data analytics, with automation embedded throughout manufacturing operations.
Lilly expects the capital project to create 650 permanent jobs, including positions for engineers, scientists, operations personnel, and laboratory technicians, and to generate approximately 1,800 construction jobs. The company has also committed $40 million to support the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, a statewide workforce development network involving industry, government and higher education partners. The network will include a pilot-scale training center in Goochland County, slated to open in 2028.
Read more at Pharma Manufacturing
Railroads Gain as Cargo Shifts to Rail From Highways
Soaring diesel prices and tight trucking capacity stemming in part from a crackdown on immigrant drivers have spurred demand for more-efficient rail. It is around three to four times more fuel-efficient to ship goods by rail than in a truck on a highway. Intermodal containers and trailers transported by railroads increased 12.6% from a year earlier in the week ended Oct. 17, according to the Association of American Railroads. CSX, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern reported volume increases of 5%, 6% and 3%, respectively, in the third quarter. The companies benefited from fuel surcharges, though fuel expenses weighed on margins.
Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said his company and Norfolk Southern continue to work toward closing a $71.5 billion deal to combine their networks, which is expected to close in mid-2027. The merger has faced resistance from federal regulators, customers and rivals who argue it would drive up freight prices and reduce competition. The companies sent supplemental information to regulators in July, adding commitments to ensure the proposed deal would provide faster, more reliable service as promised.
Read more at WSJ
NextEra Energy Secures $5.7B To Support Federal Energy ‘Hub’ Projects
NextEra Energy has secured definitive agreements to build three federally backed energy “hubs” and has a pipeline of 30 to 40 such projects. Two of the hubs, to be built in Texas and Pennsylvania, are backed by the Government of Japan and the U.S. Department of Commerce. An initial $3.3 billion in funding, which was released in August, will go toward procuring turbines and other long-lead equipment. NextEra expects to build up to 10 GW of gas-fired generation for the two hubs, slated for completion in 2032. A third hub backed by the Republic of Korea and the U.S. Department of Commerce will feature 6.5 GW of natural gas generation serving a 5 GW data center campus in Encinal, Texas. The first phase of the project could come online as early as 2029.
The three hubs have brought NextEra $5.7 billion in funding so far this year, Ketchum said. Although NextEra will not need to invest its own capital in these hubs, Ketchum said the projects would generate at least half of the earnings the company would expect if it owned and operated the hubs. Building co-located battery storage at the hubs could increase the company’s earnings potential, he said.
Read more at Utility Dive
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