The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Climate-tech firm Is locking up CO2 into a next-gen carbon material that outperforms energy-intensive building products. Texas-based climate-tech startup DexMat is transforming greenhouse gases into a carbon nanomaterial that is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and as conductive as copper. Boasting many of the superlatives of its carbon cousin graphene, this new wonder material called Galvorn has the earmarks of a futuristic climate-saving building material that can...
University of Texas scientists develop CO2-injection tech that breaks rocks and stores carbon. University of Texas at Austin researchers may have made a literal groundbreaking discovery for mining the nickel and cobalt needed for electric vehicle batteries – storing more carbon dioxide than is needed to produce these lithium-ion battery metals while also using the CO2 as a rock conditioner that makes the mining and processing less energy intensive. Many nickel-cobalt d...
CTR signs MOU to purchase six geothermal power plants from Fuji Electric Corp. With the signing of a contract for $1.4 billion of geothermal power facilities built by Fuji Electric Corp. of America, Controlled Thermal Resources takes one enormous step toward its goal of producing large quantities of low-carbon lithium for electric vehicles and electricity at its Hell's Kitchen project in the Salton Sea area of Southern California. "Today marks the beginning of a clean energy...
Supply constraints slow installations; WoodMac expects li-ion batteries to dominate energy storage in US over next five years. The transition to clean electricity generated from intermittent sources such as solar and wind is energizing the energy storage sector in the United States. Supply chain constraints, however, are acting as an insulator to growth of battery installations that ensure the balance between energy supply and demand. According to the fourth quarter 2022 U.S....
Breaks ground on refinery in Texas with capacity to supply lithium for roughly 1 million Tesla EVs per year. Moving another link up the electric vehicles supply chain, Tesla Inc. has broken ground on a $375 million lithium refinery just outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. Slated for completion by 2025, the South Texas refinery is forecast to produce enough battery-grade lithium hydroxide to build about 1 million Tesla EVs per year. During a May 8 groundbreaking ceremony, Texas...
Offers $15 million incentive package for REE separation plant to spur job creation, new opportunities in Gulf Coast state. Louisiana welcomes Ucore Rare Metals Inc. to the Bayou State with an enhanced financial incentive package for establishing the company's first rare earths separation and oxide production facility at a newly selected 80,800-square-foot in the central part of the state. The rare earths that are produced at Ucore's Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex are in...
ExynAero drone improves safety and efficiency at underground gold mines in Brazil. Toward its commitment to embracing new mining technologies that increase safety and efficiency, Jaguar Mining Inc. has adopted Exyn Technologies Inc.'s autonomous drones to capture critical data at its underground gold mines in Brazil. "We are thrilled to deliver innovations that help reduce risk to humans and increase efficiency and productivity in mining operations," said Exyn Technologies...
Pentagon invests $4M to test and boost readiness level of RapidSX separation tech. To help break America's dependence on China for the rare earth elements that go into modern military hardware, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Ucore Rare Metals Inc. US$4 million to demonstrate the capabilities of its RapidSX rare earths separation technology. Developed by Ucore subsidiary Innovation Metals Corp., RapidSX is a faster and more environmentally sound technological...
Azure AI, machine learning and cloud tech unlock value at largest copper mine in the world. In a move toward the digital mines of the future, mining giant BHP has forged a partnership with computing giant Microsoft to improve copper recovery at the Escondida mine in Chile. "We expect the next big wave in mining to come from the advanced use of digital technologies," said BHP Chief Technical Officer Laura Tyler. Churning out more than 1 million metric tons of copper per year,...
Arizona lawmaker defies USGS with bill that would elevate copper onto the list of minerals deemed critical to the US. Copper is critical – this is the message a group of Western lawmakers is sending to the U.S. Geological Survey with the Copper is Critical Act. This bill, which was introduced to the House by Congressman Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., on June 8, consists of one sentence that defines minerals critical to the United States as copper and whatever other minerals, e...
Less nickel, cobalt, and manganese in LFP cells offset by larger batteries in electric vehicles. A global rise of lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles has provided a lower-cost option that is helping to enable the adoption of EVs by the masses and is taking some of the demand pressure off lithium-ion battery metals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Adding more affordable but shorter-range LFP batteries to the mix, however, does little to relieve t...
Mineral explorer sees tellurium as solid-state clean energy solution, forms company to advance new tech. Before its use in thin-film solar panels, tellurium was an obscure semi-metallic element with few commercial uses. Today, this rare metalloid is a rising star of solid-state green energy that is helping to transform sunlight and heat into electricity, as well as a secret ingredient in solid-state lithium batteries with the potential to revolutionize electric vehicles....
Fueling the furnaces that turn iron ore and scrap metal into new steel is an energy-intensive business that accounts for roughly 7% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. Two North American companies are exploring a nuclear option for decarbonizing steel needed to build the clean energy future. Under a preliminary agreement reached on May 16, Nucor is taking a closer look at the use of NuScale Power's VOYGR small modular reactors (SMR) to provide reliable zero-carbon baseload...
NioCorp looks at using Elk Creek scandium in Al-Sc alloys; increased niobium, titanium recoveries could boost economics of future mine. From the launch of a project aimed at producing incredibly strong and lightweight aluminum-scandium alloys, to significantly improving the recovery of niobium and titanium, NioCorp Developments Ltd. has released a flurry of promising new developments that elevate its goal of building a critical minerals hub around its Elk Creek project in...
Interoperability is key to company's vision of a fully automated mine; works with Toyota to sync light trucks into future mines. From the Arctic regions of northern Sweden to the Andes Mountains in Chile and hot desert climates of Western Australia, 650 mining trucks equipped with Komatsu Ltd.'s FrontRunner autonomous haulage system have transported more than 6.2 billion metric tons of material at 22 mine sites in five countries. Self-driving haul trucks, however, are just...
Duke researchers, machine learning unveil the secrets of silver-enriched compounds that may enable solid-state batteries. With help from machine learning, a team of Duke University researchers has discovered the atomic mechanisms that make silver-rich compounds known as argyrodites among the top contenders for a solid-state battery electrolyte that would completely change the electric vehicle landscape. Whether they use these argyrodites or some other material as the...
Home to deposits and prospects enriched with 49 out of the 50 minerals deemed critical to the United States, Alaska is the single best state in the nation to explore for the minerals and metals needed for clean energy, electric vehicles, high-tech devices, and military hardware. To gain a better understanding of the 49th State's critical minerals potential, the U.S. Geological Survey is investing an additional $5.8 million to explore specific regions of the state in 2023....
Inspired by the wide variety of brilliant colors adorning the wings of butterflies, University of Central Florida researcher Debashis Chanda has created the world's lightest paint using two materials that do not have any color of their own – aluminum and aluminum oxide. The plasmonic paint developed by Chanda is so lightweight it would only take about three pounds to coat an entire Boeing 747 aircraft, which is orders of magnitude less than the 1,000 lb of traditional p...
South32 Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona is first US mining project approved for streamlined permit process. To speed the domestic production of manganese, a critical metal used in lithium-ion batteries, the U.S. Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council has added South32 Ltd.'s Hermosa project in Arizona to the Fast-41 process. "The Permitting Council is pleased to see the first-ever critical minerals mining project accepted for coverage under our unique...
In order to produce enough batteries for its expanding lineup of electric vehicles, General Motors is teaming up with Samsung SDI to invest $3 billion into building a 30 gigawatt-hour battery cell manufacturing plant in the United States. "GM's supply chain strategy for EVs is focused on scalability, resiliency, sustainability and cost-competitiveness. Our new relationship with Samsung SDI will help us achieve all these objectives," said General Motors Chair and CEO Mary...
To build electric mining equipment with potential to offer clean energy benefits that will ripple far beyond the mining sector. Building off a collaboration that was first forged in 2021, Caterpillar Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to supply Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. with electric mining equipment that will lower the carbon footprint of producing the graphite critical to lithium batteries. In turn, the junior mining company will supply the global heavy...
Global automaker signs deal to buy EV battery metals from future mine. In a deal that shows that global automakers need more battery materials to meet their electric vehicle ambitions than is currently available, Stellantis has signed a binding offtake agreement for nickel and cobalt from a Western Australia mine that has yet to be developed and is investing directly into the junior mining company behind the development project. Under the deal, Stellantis has agreed to...
DOE funds studies into processes for recovering rare earths and other critical minerals from coal waste streams and acid mine drainage. Looking to develop unconventional domestic sources of the rare earths needed for America's transition to low-carbon energy and transportation, while also providing forward-leaning job opportunities for the coal miners that powered the nation for more than a century, the U.S. Department of Energy is providing $16 million for the development of...
In a clarion call to current and future mining colleagues, IMDEX geoscience chief warns lack of copper may slow energy transition. As global governments and industries scramble to ensure there is enough lithium, graphite, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths to build the collective vision of a future where electric vehicles are charged with zero-carbon renewable energy, the geoscientists charged with discovering the mineral deposits needed to meet global demand are much more...
Material scientists look to bridge gap between perfect battery recipe in the lab and mass-producing cells in imperfect world. Researchers around the world are working feverishly to invent the perfect battery to power the burgeoning electric vehicle revolution. The perfect battery recipe baked up in the lab, however, has little use if it is too complex or expensive for the giga-scale needs of an automotive sector that is replacing 1.4 billion internal combustion engine...
