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Trinasolar and Lodestone Power Up Newest Agrivoltaics Solar Project in New Zealand

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Like a ‘well-oiled machine:’ Partnership delivers third agrivoltaics project, supporting dual use of land for solar energy generation and future sheep grazing in north island location

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Trinasolar, a global smart photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage solutions provider, has partnered with Lodestone Energy to bring Te Herenga o Te Rā, one of New Zealand’s latest and largest agrivoltaics farm, into operation this year. Situated along the border of the Waiotahe River in the Ōpōtiki District, the converted dairy farm will deliver clean renewable energy to the region while preserving the land’s agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.

Construction of the 71,000+ module utility-scale solar farm began in December 2023 and achieved first generation in December 2024, with the project’s construction progressing faster than anticipated. This was due, in part, to the ongoing partnership between module supplier, Trinasolar and Lodestone. As the third agrivoltaics project developed together, ongoing collaboration enabled the refinement of construction processes. Incremental improvements in small and repetitive installation tasks translated to large efficiencies at scale—significantly accelerating the construction schedule. Once fully operational, the 42MWp farm will generate 69 GWh of clean energy annually, enough to power nearly 10,000 homes, and is the first solar project in New Zealand to feed directly into the grid.

Agrivoltaics: Energy and Agriculture Side-by-Side

Like Lodestone’s other farms, Te Herenga o Te Rā, plans to integrate sheep grazing beneath elevated solar modules, allowing livestock and renewable energy production to coexist. The elevated panelling design provides shade for sheep during warmer months, reducing heat stress, while their natural grazing controls grass growth under the modules—reducing maintenance costs, herbicide use, and machinery emissions.

Connor Dent, grazing lessee and pastoralist of Lodestone’s first agrivoltaics project, Kohirā, has found the experience overwhelmingly positive,

“As a civil engineer, I was directly involved in constructing Lodestone’s first solar farm, Kohirā, which gave me a unique perspective on the project from the ground up. Through this work, I became aware of the opportunity to trial grazing under the panels and was keen to take it on,” he said.

“Since then, I’ve seen firsthand the benefits of agrivoltaics for both the land and livestock. The panels provide shelter, which has improved lamb survival rates, and we’ve noticed better grass retention through dry periods. There are some challenges, like managing fertiliser application and working the dogs when the panels are tilted, but overall, it’s been a really positive experience. Seeing the project through from construction, to now farming on the land has been incredibly rewarding.”

Strong Partnerships Driving Success

This project builds on the longstanding partnership between Lodestone Energy and Trinasolar, which has now seen nearly 200,000 Trinasolar modules deployed across Lodestone’s three operational solar farms in Kaitaia, Edgecumbe and the latest in Waitaohe.

Edison Zhou, Head of Trinasolar Australia & New Zealand, commented:

“We are proud to continue our strong partnership with Lodestone, delivering high-performance solar solutions for New Zealand’s growing renewable energy sector. Te Herenga o Te Rā is a standout example of how solar and agriculture can work together seamlessly, and we look forward to supporting more innovative projects in this space.

Globally, interest in agrivoltaics is accelerating, and Lodestone is at the forefront of delivering large-scale, dual-use projects. Their work is setting a benchmark for agrivoltaics initiatives worldwide, and we’re excited to be part of their journey.”

Gary Holden, Managing Director, Lodestone Energy, recognises the value of strong partners, “Ultimately, Trinasolar’s Vertex N modules were the natural choice, offering superior efficiency and power. When delivering projects at scale, this efficiency becomes even more critical, ensuring we maximise energy output while maintaining reliability. The n-type i-TOPCon technology also enhances longevity, aligning with our commitment to building durable, high-performing solar farms.

With Te Herenga o Te Rā, our largest solar farm yet, we’ve continued to strengthen our partnerships. Trinasolar’s high-quality modules, robust supply chain, and on-ground support have been instrumental in making this project a success—our third collaboration with them.

With these three projects at full generation, we can power around 25,000 Kiwi homes each year,” Holden said.

To complete the project, Lodestone Energy plans to reinstate the necessary infrastructure to support livestock, including new yards and fencing, before welcoming the next grazing lessee to Te Herenga o Te Rā later this year.

Together with Lodestone Energy, Trinasolar is contributing to New Zealand’s zero-carbon targets while setting global standards for agrivoltaics.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/trinasolar-and-lodestone-power-up-newest-agrivoltaics-solar-project-in-new-zealand-302419214.html

SOURCE Trina Solar Energy Development Pte. Ltd.

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Chef Robotics Physical AI Models Can Now Automate Baked Goods Packing

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chef Robotics, a leader in physical AI for the food industry, today announced that Chef robots can now automate tray assembly for baked goods packing. The application places baked products, such as burger buns, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, butter cookies, biscuits, fortune cookies, granola bars, rusks, and shortbreads into trays and packaging containers before sealing.

Watch Chef robots in action.

Baked goods packing has historically been difficult to automate for high-mix production. Each item behaves differently on the production line—a granola bar compresses under the wrong grip, while a biscotti or rusk can crack if placed at the wrong angle. Surface textures range from glazed and smooth to crumbly and irregular, and strict presentation requirements leave little room for error. This variability has made it challenging for automation systems to reliably handle baked goods at production speeds, leaving food manufacturers dependent on manual labor and traditional bakery equipment.

To address this, Chef built its baked goods packing application on its existing piece-picking capability, which uses Chef’s AI-powered computer vision and physical AI models trained across diverse real-world production environments. This allows Chef robots to assess each item’s position, shape, and orientation in real time and determine how to pick the items from the pan and place them quickly and precisely without damaging them.

The baked goods packing application supports four distinct placement capabilities.

First, Chef’s vision system detects the angle at which each item sits in the pan and reorients it after picking, placing it on the tray at the exact angle required, regardless of its original position, enabling retail-ready presentation for SKUs that require precise angular placement.

Second, Chef robots can place multiple baked goods into the same packaging container in a single automated pass, completing full tray assembly without manual intervention.

Third, for packaging containers with multiple small compartments, Chef robots can precisely place items into each designated section, including multiple items in the same compartment, using Chef’s AI vision model to detect compartment positions and orientations in real time.

Fourth, Chef’s vision system identifies the exact center of each tray and places every item at a predefined offset from that center, ensuring a uniform, consistent arrangement across every pack regardless of how trays arrive on the conveyor.

For food manufacturers evaluating bakery systems and baked goods packaging automation, the application offers higher throughput, reduced labor dependency, and consistent presentation across shifts. The capability runs on Chef’s existing robotic hardware and software, allowing manufacturers to deploy it without requiring any changes to their production lines.

Chef’s baked goods packing application is available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK and is included as part of Chef’s robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) pricing model.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 104 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines. Visit https://chefrobotics.ai to learn more.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-robotics-physical-ai-models-can-now-automate-baked-goods-packing-302756923.html

SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Air Products to Expand Industrial Gas Supply for Samsung Electronics’ Next-Generation Semiconductor Fab in South Korea

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New investment underscores the company’s long-term commitment to Korea and its leading role in the global semiconductor industry 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air Products (NYSE:APD), a world-leading industrial gases company and serving Samsung globally, today announced it has been selected by Samsung to supply industrial gases for its new advanced semiconductor fab in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Under the agreement, Air Products will build, own and operate multiple state-of-the-art production facilities and a bulk specialty gas supply system to supply nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and hydrogen for Samsung’s new semiconductor fab. The new facilities are expected to come onstream in multiple phases from 2028 through 2030.

Air Products has a long track record of executing multiple phase expansions in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s growing manufacturing needs. This latest project represents Air Products’ largest investment to date in the semiconductor industry and will establish Pyeongtaek as the company’s single largest operations site globally supporting the electronics industry. 

“Air Products is honored to be selected once again by Samsung and to have their continued confidence as a trusted partner supporting their strategic growth plans,” said SR Kim, President, Air Products Korea. “This significant investment reinforces Air Products’ role as a leading global supplier to the semiconductor industry and underscores our long-standing commitment to supporting our strategic customers with safety, reliability, efficiency and excellent service.”

Air Products has served the global electronics industry for more than 40 years, supplying industrial gases safely and reliably to many of the world’s leading technology companies. The company has operated in Korea for more than 50 years and has established a strong position in electronics and manufacturing sectors.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 85 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2025 sales of $12 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedInXFacebook or Instagram.

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including the risk factors described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/air-products-to-expand-industrial-gas-supply-for-samsung-electronics-next-generation-semiconductor-fab-in-south-korea-302757497.html

SOURCE Air Products

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