TOPTICA Expands Presence in the Asia-Pacific Region: Week in Brief: 11/28/25

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Dec 2025OSAKA, Japan, Nov. 28, 2025 — TOPTICA Photonics expanded its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, opening an office in Osaka, Japan. The Osaka office will serve as the point of contact for customers and partners across western Japan. TOPTICA founded TOPTICA Photonics K.K. in Japan in September 2016 as a dedicated office for sales, marketing, and service.

Opening the new TOPTICA Osaka office. From left to right: Toshiyuki Nishimoto, branch manager of the new Osaka office; Thomas Renner, president of TOPTICA Photonics SE (CSO); and Taro Saito, president of TOPTICA Photonics K.K. Courtesy of TOPTICA.

TAMPERE, Finland — A Doctoral Network coordinated by Tampere University has secured €4.4 million in funding from the European Union’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action program. The High-Power Optical Vortices (HiPOVor) project will train 15 doctoral researchers in the generation, amplification, and application of high-power optical vortex beams. The HiPOVor network brings together academic institutions, industry partners, and research organizations across Europe. The consortium aims to establish optical vortex beams as a key enabling technology for advanced light-matter interaction through research and intersectoral training.

First Solar today inaugurated its new fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The $1.1 billion facility spans approximately 2.4 million square feet. Courtesy of First Solar.

TEMPE, Ariz. — First Solar, a photovoltaic solar technology and manufacturing company, opened a fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The $1.1 billion facility spans 2.4 million sq ft and expects to have 826 employees by the end of the year. The Iberia Parish facility began production in July 2025, which was several months ahead of schedule. It uses computer vision and deep learning to automatically detect defects in solar panels during production, while technicians and operators leverage AI-powered tools to make operating adjustments and guide decision-making.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — IonQ announced an investment and partnership with Heven AeroTech, a developer of hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial systems. The agreement will enable Heven AeroTech to integrate IonQ’s quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum sensing, and quantum security technologies into its autonomous aerial systems. Through the collaboration initiatives may include quantum networking and security, quantum computing, and quantum sensing. The partnership allows for IonQ’s deployment of quantum technology in aerospace, while Heven AeroTech gains access to quantum capabilities.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of War awarded a $29.9 million Defense Production Act award to ElementUSA. ElementUSA will use this award to develop a a demonstration facility in Gramercy, Louisiana, to separate and purify gallium and scandium from existing industrial waste. The company will also conduct initial development work at its Critical Resource Accelerator in Cedar Park, Texas. Using DPA Title III funds to construct the demonstration facility, the company will become one of the first U.S. producers of both gallium and scandium.

The newly developed paper reel developed in the partnership. Courtesy of ams OSRAM.

PREMSTAETTEN, Austria — ams OSRAM and the Zumtobel Group, a lighting company, have collaborated to develop an alternative to the plastic reels used to transport LED strips and components. Replacing traditional plastic reels with paper reels offers environmental benefits, as well as saving weight during transport. The switch to paper reels does not cause any additional costs since material and production costs are at a comparable level, while savings in logistics and disposal lead to long-term cost advantages.

NORTHAMPTON, England — HORIBA UK launched the HORIBA Foundation UK, a philanthropic branch for scientific advancement and promoting participation in STEM. The foundation will provide grants, scholarships, bursaries, and advocacy efforts. The HORIBA Foundation UK is already funding multiple undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships at UK universities, including Aston University, Keele University, Northumbria University, and the University of Strathclyde. Additionally, it is a funding and technology partner of research at UCL and the University of Nottingham.

DALLAS — Nokia and the U.S. government partnered to expand its R&D and manufacturing capabilities, where $4 billion is being invested towards AI-ready mobile, fixed access, IP, optical, and data center networking technologies. The planned investment over multiple years is in addition to Nokia’s $2.3 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing, R&D, and AI connectivity through its purchase of Infinera. Additionally, Infinera had previously announced a $456 million investment for two U.S. manufacturing facilities, which received CHIPS Act incentives.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president Martin A. Schmidt (left), and GlobalFoundries corporate fellow and senior vice president of technology and innovation Ted Letavic, shake hands after formalizing the strategic partnership between the two institutions. Courtesy of GlobalFoundries.

TROY, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the first technological research university in the U.S., and GlobalFoundries, partnered to promote collaboration on semiconductor research, education, talent, and workforce development. GlobalFoundries recently endowed two dean’s faculty fellows in the School of Engineering to recognize outstanding mid-career faculty working in the areas of chips and semiconductors. GlobalFoundries holds field trips and classes for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students. The strategic partnership recognizes the Institute as a GlobalFoundries strategic university partner and incorporates GlobalFoundries into its Industry Engagement Program. Additionally, GlobalFoundries and Navitas Semiconductor announced a long-term strategic partnership to strengthen and accelerate U.S.-based gallium nitride (GaN) technology, design, and manufacturing. By combining GF’s world-class manufacturing capabilities and Navitas’ leadership in GaN innovation, this strategic partnership will provide customers with the most advanced, secure, and scalable GaN solutions. Together, the companies will enable customers to achieve a U.S. conduit for GaN.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Lightwave Logic, a technology platform company, launched a technical program with a Fortune Global 500 company aimed at co-packaged optics applications. Throughout 2026, Lightwave Logic intends to develop a custom variant of its Perkinamine electro-optic polymer material optimized for the stringent manufacturing conditions of AI scale-up and scale-out, where silicon photonics chips are co-packaged with electrical integrated circuits and application-specific integrated circuits. In addition, Lightwave Logic intends to co-develop with its partner a technical solution optimized for 400Gbps co-packaged optics applications.

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