The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Super-sized manganese particles might be able to cheaply and efficiently replace nickel and cobalt in battery cathodes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory experts are developing a new process that could help make abundant (and cheap) manganese a contender to replace nickel and cobalt in energy storage for renewables, personal electronics, and electric vehicles. Nickel and cobalt are essential components in many clean energy technologies and are usually sourced from limited...
Silicon-carbide exterior tiles for reusable commercial spacecraft withstand the fiery temperatures of traversing Earth's atmosphere. Leading commercial space and defense company Sierra Space announced the results of a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to create new silicon-carbide-based exterior tiles – called a thermal protection system – for reusable commercial spacecraft. Atmospheric re-entry exposes a craft to bla...
Scientists discover why silver nanoparticles on carbon are 200 times more effective than their pure equivalents. Precious metals like silver, platinum, and palladium have acted as essential industry catalysts, their properties enabling unique chemical reactions quickly and efficiently. When in nanoparticle form and supported by a carbon base, the catalytic properties of these precious metals increase dramatically without science knowing why – until now. Researchers at TU W...
Scientists have discovered a way to turn greenhouse gas into useful alcohol using a cobalt- and copper-coated electrode. As many global industrial processes continue to spill carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the two key carbon-reduction approaches are an overhaul of conventional practices by adopting green technology that reduces emissions at the source and mechanically removing CO2 from the air. Circular systems that help create a market for this recaptured CO2 are needed...
Aerial scans of the Earth's crust 3,300 feet below ground are being used to seek out potential critical mineral deposits in Cowboy State. Using an array of sensors attached to aircraft flying overhead, geologists are scanning thousands of feet below Wyoming's surface with electromagnetic surveys – a prospecting method that reads the strength of the earth's subsurface magnetic field to identify likely locations of valuable metals and minerals like vanadium, niobium and t...
Half the world's heavy rare earth production grinds to a halt amidst civil war. Myanmar's top exports have long been oil and natural gas, followed by fruits and vegetables, wood, fish, clothing, and rubber. Its main export partnerships are with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Today, this small country has found itself to be an essential source of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), vital ingredients for the magnets used in electric vehicles a...
Researchers have engineered a nanomaterial flexed by rare earth magnets that is as soft as skin but strong as steel. The studies of robotics, biomedical engineering, and wearable technology all intersect over the immensely complex task of replicating human musculature – creating materials strong enough to replace or enhance human limbs, flexible and soft enough to manipulate delicate objects or complete precise tasks in everyday life, during space exploration or on a b...
Princeton working to scale process of efficiently recycling EV batteries through a spin-off company. As electric vehicle industry players focus on integrating and scaling efficient recycling into the battery supply chain, circular solutions are coming to play a vital role in monetizing waste streams. The National Academy of Science and Engineering estimates that the number of used EV batteries available will increase to 150 million in the year 2035. In 2020 alone, around...
Studies show the advancement of generative AI will put a strain on the waste stream. Researchers from Cambridge University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have published a paper in the journal Nature warning that the rapidly evolving technology of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) can lead to compounded amounts of e-waste equivalent to more than 10 billion iPhones per year by 2030. In 2022, 62 million metric tons of e-waste were produced worldwide, according to the...
Applications of graphene nanoparticles can strengthen materials, resist fungal growth, and block the harmful effects of light and moisture in art and artifacts. Even as contemporary art materials develop more archival and colorfast formulations, common environmental factors of light and moisture are unavoidable. Airborne chemical agents and the inevitable hazards of subtle wear and tear are the constant companions of archivists and restorers who look after the world's...
With ambitious technological and financial cooperation, Western allies could produce enough critical minerals to meet climate goals. In the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, nations quickly discovered the perils of an uneven distribution of production and processing capabilities in the guise of globalization. Phrases like "near-shoring" and "friend-shoring" led discussions of a green economy as remedies to the trade imbalance between the United States and the People's Republic...
Heavy construction equipment powered by a modified combustion engine that burns hydrogen instead of diesel will be tested for two years in Austria. Construction and mining equipment giant Liebherr is working with STRABAG, the largest construction company in Austria, to pilot the world's first hydrogen-burning loader prototype in a two-year test project at STRABAG's Kanzelstein quarry. Liebherr's hydrogen-powered L 566 loader is serving as a proof-of-concept pilot for a loader...
Tapping the massive underground resource will hinge on landowner royalty agreement. The promise of lithium beneath Arkansas and five neighboring states cannot be overstated. Arkansas' little corner of the Smackover Formation – a massive permeable limestone geological extending from Florida to Texas – was estimated earlier this month by the U.S. Geological Survey to host between five and 19 million tons of lithium reserves. With such a massive lithium discovery and big names ea...
Distinct particle shapes can regulate, improve performance in technologies that use light. Researchers at Curtin University have found that flat shapes in nanomaterials allow for improved molecular attachment – a discovery potentially leading to advancements in optoelectronics, which involve devices that either produce or use light to perform their functions. This includes a wide range of everyday technologies such as LEDs and TV screens, medical diagnostics and solar p...
Photovoltaic cells made from the right combination of materials could break through the limited potential of solar power. With today's common commercial and industrial solar cells converting sunlight into energy at a rate of 30-40% maximum, a 60% efficiency power conversion potential is groundbreaking. After 15 years of trial and error, a team of researchers at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain has fabricated an intermediate band (IB) solar cell using gallium...
World's first manufacturing plant for rare-earth-free magnets opening in Minneapolis. Approximately 90% of the world's industrial permanent magnets are produced in China, leaving the supply chain open to significant disruption with environmental, economic, or national security risks. Permanent magnets containing neodymium and other rare earth elements are essential components in a wide variety of technologies and industries, including MRI machines, electric vehicles, wind...
A new factory has been constructed to extract gold from circuit boards found in everyday e-waste. The Royal Mint has committed to recovering high-purity gold from e-waste, unveiling a newly constructed 3,700 square-meter factory in South Wales pledged to reduce dependence on new material mining and support more sustainable industry practices. "We are transforming our business for the future – expanding into areas which complement our expertise in precious metals, champion s...
Global industry leaders meet in Australia to drive high-temperature processes emissions down to net zero. Industry experts worldwide are attending the High Temperature Minerals Processing (HiTeMP) Forum this week at the University of Adelaide in Australia to tackle the challenge of decarbonizing energy-intensive industries in an environment of cooperation and idea sharing. This fourth gathering of the Forum united stakeholders to share their latest developments and...
Travertine Technologies partners with Sabin Metal to build a circular plant in New York that converts waste into valuable feedstock. In a project that will scale industrialized carbon capture technology to convert sulfate waste into valuable feedstock, Travertine Technologies has announced a partnership with Sabin Metal Corp., the largest independently owned precious metals refiner in North America, to build a demonstration plant with $10.7 million in financing that includes $...
California's SoHyCal project will be the largest hydrogen generator driven completely by North American renewable energy. Nearly all hydrogen refueling stations in the continental U.S. are situated in California, the only state with hydrogen infrastructure. However, a fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) sales slump hit hard this year, with less than 100 hydrogen-powered cars sold countrywide in the second quarter compared to 1,094 in the same period last year – a 91% d...
Rio Tinto CEO and others urge Western governments to speed up clean energy transition, citing exemplary Chinese achievements. Though the Western world may not agree with China's political and international trade policies, Beijing saw the writing on the wall nearly two decades before the rest of the world and took major steps to be the first and greatest power in the green energy transition – both as a buyer and supplier of critical minerals and as a top maker of key energy t...
The proposed $6.7 billion purchase indicates that the global mining giant foresees a lithium market rebound. On Oct. 9, Rio Tinto announced plans to acquire lithium producer Arcadium, boosting Arcadium's value and enhancing Rio Tinto's lithium market exposure, crucial for electric vehicle growth. What does this investment say about the future outlook for the lithium market? Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm has maintained an attitude of "cautious optimism" in interviews,...
Built and deployed in space, new plasma rockets that burn metals could power long-range spacecraft. The Super Magdrive – a seminal technology and namesake of its British-based space tech startup, Magdrive, can use any metal, including iron, as a fuel source to power long-range spacecraft farther for longer. These new bullet-shaped thrusters can technically be infinitely refueled on the go by the metals from mining asteroids, comets, and other space resources. The new t...
Building and powering the infrastructure AI requires to operate has already consumed double the gigawatts and may soon tax copper resources exponentially. The need for copper is steadily growing as worldwide urbanization spreads and global superpowers rush to electrify their transportation and energy industries. In addition to physical expansion, the world is also invisibly run on data centers that require vast amounts of copper for both their construction and operation. Hospi...
BHP projects copper demand to rise by 1 million tons annually, lining pockets with high prices, but will a short-term deficit hurt mining in the long run? Copper has enjoyed rising prices since 2020, all while miners face rising operating costs and declining ore quality. With new mine construction requiring at minimum a capital-intensive ten-year commitment and existing operations in key copper-producing countries – Latin America, Australia, and Africa – aging, the gre...
