[naviga:h3]Chamber makes board selection[/naviga:h3]

WEXFORD — Steven Diffenderfer has been appointed to the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber board of directors.

Diffenderfer of Mars is a commercial lender with NexTier Bank, working with small to medium-sized businesses.

He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Clarion University.

He has lived in the Cranberry and Mars area since 1999.

[naviga:h3]Battery recycler breaks ground[/naviga:h3]

RENO, Nev. — A California company has broken ground on a $30-million battery recycling plant in Nevada that federal officials say will be the first of its kind in the world.

AquaMetals is building the plant at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center east of Reno where Tesla Motors is building its electric battery factory.

The U.S Department of Agriculture guaranteed a $42 million loan for the company to complete the plant. Operations are expected to begin in 2016.

[naviga:h3]Shell Chemicals pays agencies[/naviga:h3]

MONACA — Shell Chemicals is paying $485,000 to various agencies for historic preservation purposes in Western Pennsylvania as it considers whether to build a petrochemical plant there.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission said that Shell is giving the money to offset losses or damage as it cleans up the site of a former zinc-smelting plant and poor house.

From local and wire sources