The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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While most suspect a resource grab for oil and natural gas, undeveloped minerals that could support the green energy transition are also falling under Putin's hand. In July 2021, Ukraine and the European Union (EU) signed a Memorandum on Strategic Partnership in Raw Materials. Such agreements were also signed with Canada that year and with Kazakhstan and Namibia in 2022, with many more to follow as Western democracies have been investing in renewable energy and sustainable...
New study pinpoints critical metal accumulation around edges of ancient continental cores. In a groundbreaking study, researchers from Macquarie University have uncovered an ancient, hidden network of geological formations like "metal highways" beneath the Earth's ancient continental cores. Shaped over millions of years, these geological formations serve as corridors for deposits of critical metals such as cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. The discovery provides a new...
Scientists enhance next-generation battery manufacturing tech with new carbon nanotube powder. A team led by Joong Tark Han at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Nano Hybrid Technology Research Center has developed an improved carbon nanotube (CNT) powder that resolves a problematic tendency for these hollow tubes of rolled-up graphene to clump together and resist thorough mixing with other materials in dry processing. A dry process is a chemical-free...
Samsung's oxide-based battery with record-busting energy density is on time for mass production this year. In a move to stay ahead in the battery technology race, Samsung launched into solid-state battery chemistry and production research in 2020 with confident targets set, initially projecting the debut of its first prototypes by 2025 and their subsequent integration into electric vehicles by 2027. All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) have a solid electrolyte instead of the liqu...
Partners with the leading network provider will connect robot and human lunar occupants. With a boost into space on the fenders of a lunar lander and intrepid rover, Nokia intends to prove cellular technology's potential for connecting future lunar explorations with NASA's upcoming IM-2 mission. After many long months of testing, the partnership announced the successful final integration of Nokia's Lunar Surface Communication System (LSCS) "network in a box" into Intuitive...
Days before Trump's inauguration, proposed Chinese export restrictions target processes for battery components, critical mineral extraction and refinement. Critical mineral processing and battery tech exports from China appear to be the next casualty in a burgeoning trade war between Washington and Beijing, key players in the global economy with opposing views and a worldwide net-zero emissions goal in the balance. Earlier this month, China's Ministry of Commerce proposed...
After successfully discovering copper via machine learning technology, the company has attracted eager investment and notable names. At the end of 2023, KoBold Metals, a software-driven mining startup out of Berkeley, California, made headlines by utilizing machine learning technology to expand its search for lithium across several continents, including projects in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Zambia. KoBold's innovative approach utilizes artificial...
Automated on-site resource utilization will likely be first wave of lucrative off-world industry. NASA's multibillion-dollar Artemis program isn't just about America returning to the Moon or even extended visits – it's also paving the way for lunar resource mining operations, with a lunar economy expected to include mining metals like aluminum, iron, manganese, rare earths, and titanium. But surprisingly, its first product will most likely be mundane by Earth standards – water...
DOD invests $2.5 million from the 2024 Defense Appropriations Act for research and development. Talon Metals Corp. is being awarded a $2.47 million research and development contract from the Department of Defense's Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) through its wholly owned subsidiary Talon Nickel (USA) LLC, to support new approaches for extracting nickel, cobalt, and iron from domestic sulfide ores and tailings. DLA will provide the funding over a 15-month period for Talon to...
Teams up with CATL to build $4.3 billion large-scale lithium iron phosphate battery plant. Automaker Stellantis, producer of leading automotive brands including Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep, and others, plans to build a $4.3 billion (4.1 billion euro) lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in northeastern Spain with Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL). The two industry leaders have a long-term collaboration via a non-binding memorandum...
World's largest deposit could rewrite geological history and lock the country in as industry leader. As global demand for iron continues to rise, geologists in Australia have uncovered the largest iron ore deposit ever documented in the Hamersley province of Western Australia, challenging long-held theories about Earth's mineral formation. The region is already home to some of the richest established iron ore reserves on Earth, with the scale and value of this discovery...
Recycled copper and aluminum raw material imports get a break to go green. Chinese import tariffs on certain recycled copper and aluminum raw materials will be reduced effective Jan. 1, the government said last weekend. Lower provisional tariffs will also be implemented for ethane, cycloolefin polymers and ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers, which are basic materials used by the petrochemical industry. "These tariff cuts will effectively reduce the production costs of...
Along with BlueScope and Woodside Energy, Western Australia iron ore is on its way to being a world leader when it comes to low-carbon. In the first partnership between Rio Tinto and BHP on a downstream project, the two top iron ore miners and BlueScope, Australia's biggest steelmaker, are teaming up to construct the country's largest groundbreaking low-carbon electric smelting furnace (ESF) at a facility in the Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth. The ESF will process...
From enhancing virtual reality to controlling tiny scientific samples, dynamic rippling movement manipulates objects magnetically. In science fiction, magnetism has been used to manipulate all manner of materials without touching them, from flying vehicle suspension to containing spheres of antimatter. Meanwhile, a seemingly unrelated long-standing design challenge is communication through touch, a key missing technology in accessibility. There has been a growing demand for...
Launched with Imperial College London as part of an energy transition acceleration program. The global transition to renewable energy will require significant growth in the production and supply of metals and minerals vital to its generation, use, and storage of electricity. The AI boom, increased urbanization, electrification of transportation, and reshoring of mineral production are all playing a role in the growth of a fast-paced and transformative materials industry. As...
Capable of absorbing 99% of multi-frequency EM waves, improves electronics performance. Electromagnetic waves produced by electronics can generate unwanted currents or voltages within the circuits of nearby devices, disrupting normal operation; this phenomenon is called electromagnetic interference (EMI) and can manifest as performance degradation, data corruption, or system failure, depending on the strength of the interfering frequency and the sensitivity of the electronics...
Collaboration to develop lithium-sulfur EV batteries announced. A collaboration between Stellantis and Zeta Energy aims to develop a lithium-sulfur electric vehicle battery that is lighter but delivers the same usable energy as contemporary lithium-ion batteries – enabling greater range, enhanced performance and the potential to improve charging speed by up to 50% – reducing range anxiety, the top reason potential buyers in the automotive space are reluctant to go all-electric...
Lifts suspension holding back development at Energy Fuels' Toliara critical minerals project. With approval from the Malagasy Council of Ministers, Energy Fuels, one of the largest uranium producers in the United States, is resuming its Toliara project in southwest Madagascar after a five-year suspension of development. "The lifting of the suspension by the Malagasy Government is a very significant step in the development of the Toliara rare earths, titanium, and zirconium...
Norway's attempt to open up a U.K.-sized section of Arctic seabed to mineral exploration and potential mining has been halted – for now. Several official studies and commercial forays into deep-sea mining have discovered a wealth of vital energy transition minerals secreted at the bottom of the world's oceans, globally available and hotly contested. Countries large and small are now peering eagerly into the depths of territorial and international waters to find incalculable a...
American Battery Technology Company is working with industry partners to develop EV and battery workforce. Public and private industry partners from every sector of the electric vehicle supply chain have been selected to establish a real-world training environment to foster the next generation of battery and EV personnel in a new U.S. energy manufacturing workforce. At the top of their industry representing battery recycling is American Battery Technology Company (ABTC),...
Leaving cities dark and businesses in ruin, the skyrocketing demand for recycled copper has a seedy underbelly. The Upper Midwest Chapter of Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), a trade group representing scrap metal workers, has sued the Minnesota Department of Commerce, alleging that a new law imposing a $250 license fee involving copper recyclers meant as a "barrier to entry" could hinder the majority of recycling efforts without deterring copper wire thieves. The Copper...
Study suggests Martian rocks may be saturated with fuel-building ingredients. Onsite production of materials such as fuel and construction resources have been under study to extend the distances and livability of space exploration. Rockets that can make or collect fuel can go farther, and astronauts that don't need to bring their own tools and building materials can stay in space longer. This use of the surrounding environment to produce new materials has its own discipline...
Commercial partnership to close the loop on a circular North American rare earth magnet supply chain. ReElement Technologies Corp., a leading rare earth and critical battery element recycler, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with POSCO International, a global leader in steel production and advanced materials. This powerhouse team-up promises to supercharge the North American landscape of clean energy infrastructure, national security, and commercial...
Coal ash waste stream might become feedstock for extracting much-needed domestic rare earth elements. The U.S. has relied almost entirely on imports for its supply of rare earth elements (REEs) – nearly 75% of which comes from China, whose geopolitical tensions with the West have put several critical mineral supply chains onto shaky ground. Meanwhile, at a special landfill in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, researchers have discovered massive potential for this suite of elements h...
Global leader in ethically sourced fine jewelry confirms official Science Based Targets initiative verification. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) develops criteria with public consultation and global experts to develop standards for businesses, outlining what they need to do to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and how quickly, to limit global temperature increases to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius and preventing the worst effects of climate change predicted by...
