Supply Chain

Hyderabad – September 21, 2026 -- The global soybean oil market is set to expand from $43.87 billion in 2026 to $57.66 billion by 2031, a 5.62% compound annual growth rate, according to Mordor Intelligence. Renewable diesel mandates and the EU Deforestation Regulation are reshaping demand and sourcing patterns across the value chain, while new crushing capacity in Brazil and Argentina offsets slower North American expansion.

US biofuel mandates lock in record demand floor for soybean oil

The EPA finalized record-high Renewable Fuel Standard volumes for 2026 and 2027 in March 2026, with biodiesel and renewable diesel production projected to grow more than 60% versus 2025 levels. The rule strengthens crush margins for domestic processors and guarantees a structural demand base that buffers the market against swings in food consumption, according to the report.

New York – September 21, 2026 -- Hartree Partners has agreed to purchase and market approximately 10,000 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate from Bridge Green Upcycle under an eight-year commercial agreement valued at an estimated $500 million to $1 billion at current market conditions.

Hartree secures exclusive marketing rights across all lithium carbonate grades produced at Bridge Green facilities

The agreement grants Hartree exclusive marketing rights for lithium carbonate produced by Bridge Green during the initial term, with an option to renew for an additional seven years. Hartree also made an equity investment in Bridge Green's bridge financing round, funding the company's planned expansion of battery recycling and critical-mineral refining. First lithium carbonate volumes under the agreement are projected for 2028.

Jiangmen, China – September 21, 2026 -- Jiangmen Meixin Comb Brush Machinery Co., Ltd. is marking its 38th year of operation, having built a client base spanning Germany, the UK, Turkey, Brazil, Peru and Kenya, alongside broader market share across Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Founded in 1988, the company has grown into one of China's established brush-making machinery manufacturers, holding multiple invention, utility and design patents. One-third of its engineering staff carries more than two decades of factory-floor experience, feeding directly into equipment design.

Munich – September 21, 2026 -- Manifold Tech Limited has partnered with FARO INSIGHT, a business of AMETEK, Inc., to launch Rovi i.1, a mobile reality capture device that feeds directly into FARO's Sphere XG Digital Reality Platform.

Rovi i.1 combines real-time localization with 3D Gaussian Splatting for field data capture

The device merges real-time localization, geometry, imagery and 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) technology to generate spatial datasets and photorealistic 3D environments from a single field workflow. It is designed as a mobile, everyday-use tool rather than a standalone capture instrument.

Broomfield, Colo. – September 21, 2026 -- BAE Systems has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the $1.2 billion U.S. Space Force Resilient Missile Warning & Tracking (RMWT) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Epoch 2 program, clearing the way for full-scale production.

Review clears satellite constellation for hypersonic and ballistic missile tracking

The MEO Epoch 2 program will deliver resilient, space-based missile warning and tracking against ballistic missiles and advanced threats including hypersonic glide vehicles, supporting U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command operations. The CDR confirms the design meets operational, performance and safety requirements, allowing the program to proceed to the next production phase.

Beverly, Mass. – September 21, 2026 -- Axcelis Technologies (NASDAQ: ACLS) will exhibit at the 23rd International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ICSCRM 2026), targeting a silicon carbide device market Yole Group projects to reach $11 billion by 2031, expanding at a 20% compound annual growth rate from 2025 to 2031.

Nashville, Tenn. – September 21, 2026 -- Hopper Healthcare, developer of the intelligent healthcare operating system hopperOS, is opening a new office in Nashville, Tennessee, a market with more than 900 healthcare companies. The office, located at 501 Corporate Centre Drive, Suite 300, Franklin, TN 37067, will officially open in October 2026.

Hopper Healthcare currently supports more than two million lives across 33 states and 16 countries

The company's platform serves more than 60 hospitals, health systems and ambulatory surgery centers, plus four specialty hospitals. hopperOS is built to connect clinical, operational and financial systems across the care continuum, unifying data and workflows for provider organizations.

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.