The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Swiss scientists create device that makes green fuel from water vapor and sunshine. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne have created a device that can harvest water from the atmosphere and turn it into hydrogen fuel – a process powered entirely with solar energy. While inspired by the natural mechanisms of photosynthesis, the scientists devised something more akin to an electrochemical sponge. Such a device that can extract water from the air a...
Stepping up to the plate in the contest for battery recycling, American Resources Corp. reported its subsidiary, ReElement Technologies, has produced greater than 99.9% lithium with its patented recycling technology. "Lithium refining in a cost effective and environmentally sensitive manner is the key to the domestic auto and electrification industry," said ReElement Technologies COO Jeff Peterson. "We applaud our team for exceeding our initial target results in producing...
Funds 5 national labs to streamline critical minerals recovery process. In yet another round of funding, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $5.3 million in grants for five cutting-edge projects intended to advance research supporting the domestic production of rare earth elements and other critical minerals that are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells. Under the purview of DOE's...
In possibly one of the most significant years for nuclear since its advent, several nuclear energy milestones were achieved in 2022. Kicking off the year with a corollary incentive program to attract interest in this waning utility with enormous potential to provide clean, low-carbon energy, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. This bill included a sizable aspect to benefit present and future nuclear facilities, even so much as providing a $15 per...
Nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production has the potential to be a gamechanger. As one of the most viable options to stabilize the energy demands of the future with clean renewable sources, the Department of Energy has been exploring the possibility for the power sector to leverage its nuclear facilities to generate another source of sustainable fuel, creating a two-for-one opportunity that may alleviate climate concerns. Hydrogen has the vast potential to do just that. Able...
Being supported by a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Battey Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative, General Motors has partnered with battery manufacturer Microvast to develop specialized electric vehicle battery separator technology along with a coinciding plant. Separators are safety-critical EV battery components that serve to separate the anode from the cathode, allowing ion transfer. Contributing its cutting-edge separator and...
National Ignition Facility achieves landmark fusion energy breakeven. For the first time in history, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility have achieved one of the most significant milestones in energy research by attaining scientific energy breakeven through nuclear fusion. What this means is that for the first time ever, the output energy from the fusion reaction was more than the energy used to ignite the reaction. "This is a...
Glencore plc, one of the world's largest natural resources companies, has entered into a long-term supply agreement to purchase 100% of the products to be produced by battery recycler ACE Green Recycling. "Our partnership with ACE furthers our objective of creating a leading, global circularity platform for battery metals," said Kunal Sinha, head of recycling at Glencore. Intended to intake recycled lead and key battery metals from recycled lithium-ion batteries, this 15-year...
As recycling becomes more prominent in the restructuring of basically everything toward decarbonization and electrification, Redwood Materials Inc. announced its biggest move yet, a new battery materials campus in the heart of the "Battery Belt" just outside Charleston, South Carolina. Currently, anode and cathode components are not produced in North America, and battery cell manufacturers must source them via a 50,000-mile-plus global supply chain. As a result, U.S. battery...
Researchers from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or Skoltech, in Moscow, Russia, have leveraged 3D printing to forge an unlikely union between one of Man's oldest known alloys, bronze, and one of its relatively newer discoveries, steel, that could be used to manufacture combustion chambers for aircraft and rocket engines. This 3D-printed Skoltech alloy, simply named bronze-steel, simultaneously benefits from steel's ability to withstand extreme temperatures and...
Battery recycling company RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean electronics manufacturer Sonid Inc. signifying the first steps toward a potential commercial joint venture or licensing arrangement of the company's recycling technology. Outlining the strategic partnership and business framework for establishing a lithium-ion battery recycling facility, both companies aim to leverage their strengths for commercial collection, pretreatme...
While additive manufacturing has thus far focused on the more industrial metals to produce components or parts, little attention has been paid to precious metal 3D printing, keeping to more traditional craftsmanship methods – until now. Though commemorative coins, statuettes, and even jewelry have been designed and printed, with the novelty of having something crafted with a new technology giving it a unique value, ultimately, the intangible element of having something made t...
With 2022 coming to a close, NASA has announced the 15 teams moving forward to the semi-finals in the $3.5 million Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, an ongoing competition that puts research groups, robotics teams, and private companies in head-to-head trials to design future-tech rovers to harvest the most valuable commodity of all in outer space, water. "We're putting humanity back on the Moon with the Artemis missions, and this is a team effort on a global scale," said Amy...
Intricate, unique, and beautiful, snowflakes are a crystalline symbol of the wintery season that inspire wonder in children and inspiration for scientists in New Zealand that have managed to replicate these wonderous constructs of nature with gallium and zinc. A closer look at snowflakes reveals that each piece of pristine powder is a one-of-a-kind ice crystal that is awe inspiring in its beauty and symmetry. More scientifically, these natural forming ice crystals are a...
In a surprising turn, EarthLabs Inc., previously GoldSpot Discoveries Corp., has sold its recently established ExplorTech Division to ALS Ltd. As part of the C$24 million transaction, including C$6 million in assumed liabilities, the newly formed ALS GoldSpot Discoveries, a subsidiary of ALS Limited, will now be heading the artificial intelligence mineral exploration that got EarthLabs where it is today. "The closing of the ExplorTech Division sale marks the beginning of an...
Exploring new chemistries to reduce the necessity for critical metals needed for renewable energy, especially in the form of batteries, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a method for producing lithium-ion batteries without the need for cobalt. With the future expectantly being powered with batteries, all walks of studious life have been knuckling down to improve a nearly half-century-old technology that, until recently, was good enough – given the imperative need t...
Chosen as one of 16 projects across 12 states, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's "Re-Mining Red Mud Waste for CO2 Capture and Storage and Critical Element Recovery" (RMCCS-CER) project will receive $1 million in funding to advance a technology that may kill two birds with one stone in the race for critical materials. Announced in November, as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Mining Innovations for Negative...
VulcanForms is elevating metal 3D printing to the next stage of AM industrialization. Spun out from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus and professor duo, VulcanForms is pushing the boundary on digital manufacturing as a service for companies using its proprietary laser powder bed fusion metal 3D printers to build industrial products at scale. While cutting-edge additive manufacturing offers a world of possibilities for companies looking to transform their...
Hoping to promote clean, renewable energy through nuclear power, the Biden administration Nov. 21 announced the conditional selection of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near Avila Beach, California, to receive the first round of funding from the Civil Nuclear Credit program. Financed through the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act, $6 billion has been portioned to the CNC program to incentivize nuclear power plants for the gene...
One of several frontrunners in the race for additive manufacturing prevalence, Desktop Metal Inc. has garnered a $9 million order from a major German automaker for its binder jet 3D metal printing systems to support digitally casted powertrain components for a popular car line. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, Desktop Metal sought to address the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make additive manufacturing an...
Furthering its climate goals and hoping to continue strengthening the nation's battery supply chain, the Biden administration has allotted $74 million to advance technologies and processes for the recycling and reuse of electric vehicle batteries. The number of EVs on the road since Biden moved into the Oval Office has tripled and the demand for critical battery minerals, such as lithium and graphite, is projected to increase by as much as 4,000% in the coming decades....
From the minds behind the fully articulated robotic arm 3D printing delivery system, Meltio introduces two new innovations designed to increase the reliability of metal additive manufacturing – Meltio Horizon software and Laser Calibration System. "We have developed the Meltio Horizon software and the Laser Calibration System with the aim of facilitating the use of Meltio's metal 3D printing technology for industries around the world," said Meltio CEO Ángel Llavero. "It sh...
Researchers postulate graphene can be transistor, superconductor simultaneously. With the breakthroughs in quantum technologies that graphene has enabled, among countless other discoveries this physics-bending 2D carbon has warranted, researchers need only find the right pattern to truly unlock the potential of this miracle material. Supported by the landmark discovery of "twisted graphene," scientists at ETH Zurich Laboratory for Solid State Physics have added yet another...
Cathode supply deal follows seal of approval from Argonne National Laboratory. Helping to offset the imbalance of demand to resources, battery recycler Redwood Materials Inc. will supply Panasonic cathode material for lithium-ion battery cell production at the electronic powerhouse's new Kansas plant, which is slated to begin production in 2025, marking the first time this material will be produced in North America at gigafactory scale. It is projected that in the next...
Advancing efforts to become truly self-sufficient at sea, the United States Navy recently announced the installation of the first metal 3D printer aboard the USS Bataan. Installed under a joint effort between Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, and Navel Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Technology Office, the newest printer includes a Phillips Additive Hybrid system, which integrates a Meltio3D laser wire deposition head on a Haas TM-1 computer numerical control mill. The...
