Page 7 - North American Clean Energy May/June 2020 Issue

news bites
COVID-19 has hit us hard, but businesses are stepping up to do their part to help in this crisis.
Reusable mouth and nose protection
To counteract protective clothing supply bottlenecks in the course of COVID-19, SKYLOTEC has converted parts of its production. Effective immediately, the globally active brand for fall protection systems is producing simple oronasal protective masks. These are designed
to help prevent the spread of potential pathogens that are present in the exhaled air in the form of droplets, thus reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. SKYLOTEC will manually manufacture simple surgical masks made of cotton at the company headquarters in Neuwied, Germany, using existing machines. SKYLOTEC wants to contribute to reducing the spread of the virus. Oronasal protectors can be worn by people who go out in public and do not know whether they are infectious and can also be
used by hospital or nursing staff who
want to protect patients from their own respiratory emissions. Furthermore, the mask is washable and therefore reusable. Production is in accordance with the guidelines for the manufacture of medical equipment recently published by the EU Commission. It will initially be produced
at the German site, but will be expanded
to the production site in Hungary if necessary. The oronasal masks will not be available for sale for the time being, but will be offered to health and district offices as support where there is a need for masks.
In addition, SKYLOTEC could soon start production of FFP2 standard respiratory protection masks. For such masks, instruction is required to ensure that the protective effect is achieved. Wearers
can work with infected patients without infecting themselves. With ultraMEDIC, the SKYLOTEC Group has a certified manufacturer of medical products that has the necessary know-how. However, the procurement of materials is becoming a challenge. The necessary raw materials are mainly produced in Asia. Therefore, SKYLOTEC is currently examining the use of alternative materials that also offer the best possible protection.
SKYLOTEC GmbH
/// www.skylotec.com
3D printed shield for N95 face masks
As COVID-19 started cropping up across the United States in March, a team of workers at GE Renewable Energy’s wind turbine factory
in Pensacola, Florida was assigned to screen employees for fevers
or other signs of infection. Caroline Shaw, the sourcing manager, was responsible for keeping the team supplied with proper personal protective equipment, especially N95 face masks that limit the spread of the disease. Not wanting to tap into the supply needed by the medical community, Shaw got moving. She knew a lot about additive manufacturing, as 3D-printing is more formally known. Her plant uses an industrial-grade 3D printer to make tooling and custom-made gauges and prototype wind turbine components.
She printed a plastic prototype of the N95 protective shield on a simple 3D printer and gave it to the on-site nurse to try out that afternoon. While the initial version worked well enough, the testers reported back several flaws that were quickly remedied. While additive manufacturing excels at rapid prototyping, it took about 40 minutes to make each shield. The next and faster iteration of
the manufacturing process could involve water jetting, which uses streams of water laced with tiny pieces of garnet to carve the masks out of sheets of plastic. This method has the additional advantage
of being able to form the shield from plastics that are less porous than the ones 3D-printed. This could make them easier to clean by lowering the chance of a virus being able to cling to the shields. That advance should allow shields to be produced every 5 minutes. After that, the team is looking to move to laser or die cutting, with the goal of being able to produce a shield in just 5 seconds.
GE Renewable Energy /// www.ge.com
Partnering to support community-based responses to COVID-19
The Enel Group’s US-based company, Enel North America, which operates through renewable energy company Enel Green Power North America and the advanced energy services company Enel X North America will provide 1.3 million
USD to support more than 75 local organizations across 17
US states, Washington D.C., and Alberta, Canada, as they respond to COVID-19. Enel North America has over 100 plants, offices, and projects in the US and Canada. This support will help organizations and frontline workers, primarily in rural communities where the business operates, who are experiencing a critical shortage of essential resources. “At Enel North America we have always felt a deep responsibility to support the health and well-being of the communities where we live and work,
and even more so during this crisis,” said Enrico Viale, Head of Enel North America. “COVID-19 has caused unprecedented economic challenges for critical service organizations in many communities and we hope our support can provide some sense of relief. From rural hospitals to first responders, local schools and foodbanks, these organizations and their workers are on
the frontlines and we thank essential workers everywhere for their extraordinary and unwavering response to this crisis.” Enel North America is committed to a multi-phase, community-based response to address both immediate health and social services needs, plus long-term socioeconomic impacts from this crisis.
Enel North America
/// www.enelgreenpower.com
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North American Clean Energy
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