The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Articles from the June 8, 2022 edition


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  • A floating metallic cube above a supercooled superconductor, quantum locking.

    Strontium titanate, some secrets revealed

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 8, 2023

    A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has discovered how subtle structural changes in strontium titanate, a metal oxide semiconductor, can alter the material's electrical resistance and affect its superconducting properties. An oxide of strontium and titanium, strontium titanate or fabulite, has been on the radar of scientists for the past 60 years, mostly because it displays unusual properties. For one, it can become a superconductor at low...

  • Ontario Mine Rescue captain with safety gear and digital tablet.

    An Ontario Mine Rescue software upgrade

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 16, 2023

    Despite being home to one of the safest mining sectors in the world, Ontario is always looking for innovative ideas "to ensure that those who work in Ontario's mines come home healthy and safe at the end of every shift." Toward this goal, Ontario Mine Rescue has entered into a multi-year partnership with Dräger Canada and Focus FS to deploy next-generation mine rescue technology to more than 30 mines in the province. "This partnership demonstrates everyone's commitment to...

  • A Komatsu mining truck hauling copper ore at the Los Bronces Mine in Chile.

    Komatsu autonomous trucks at Chile mine

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 16, 2023

    Komatsu Ltd. will be showcasing its FrontRunner autonomous haulage system at Anglo American's Los Bronces open pit copper mine in Chile. Coupled with Komatsu's DISPATCH fleet management system, the FrontRunner autonomous technology for mining trucks has an established 14-year track record of increasing productivity, lowering maintenance costs, and improving safety at mines. FrontRunner was first commercially installed on trucks at the Codelco's Gabriela Mistral copper mine in...

  • A puddle of liquified gallium with two large beads of platinum in it.

    Gallium is platinum's new best friend

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    Researchers at the University of New South Wales Sydney and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology recently made a groundbreaking discovery in the use of platinum. By adding just a pinch of this high-priced precious metal to gallium, they created a liquid-metal catalyst with the potential to significantly extend the Earth's reserves of this valuable metal. Platinum is generally very effective as a catalyst but is only used when it is absolutely needed at the industrial...

  • A graphic showing the Future 50, a Corporate Knights ranking list.

    Future 50 ranking, Li-Cycle earns top three

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    With lithium quadrupling in price over the past year, it's a great time to own this mineral, and the good times extend to Canada-based Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., which recycles metals from electronic waste – including nickel, copper and cobalt, but especially the lithium in consumer and electric vehicle batteries. In recognition for its incredible growth and potential, Corporate Knights has selected Li-Cycle as one of Canada's fastest-growing sustainable companies. "We are t...

  • Two bloated, end-of-life lithium-ion cell phone batteries.

    DOE funding toward X-BATT recycling tech

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    Semplastics, parent company of X-MAT and X-BATT, was awarded over $200,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop novel high-capacity composite anodes for the upcycling of spent graphite from end-of-life-lithium batteries. This funding comes just a week after Semplastics announced that it had received a U.S. patent for electrode fabrication technology that dramatically increases the storage capacity of graphite recovered from recycled batteries. "Battery recycling is the...

  • Solid Power’s initial silicon lithium cells to be tested for Ford and BMW EVs.

    Critical step for Solid Power EV cells

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    With the ability to charge faster, store more energy, and be less likely to catch fire than their liquid lithium-ion battery counterparts, solid-state lithium batteries are considered by many in the automotive industry as the Holy Grail of the electric vehicle revolution. With the June 6 announcement that Solid Power Inc. has completed a pilot production line, Ford Motor Company and BMW Group are one step closer to realizing their vision of producing longer-range, lower-cost,...

  • Mud pots above geothermal lithium sources near Salton Sea in CA.

    Stellantis orders Hell's Kitchen lithium

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    Another major automaker has gotten in line to purchase future supplies of low-carbon lithium that Controlled Thermal Resources Ltd. will be cooking up from geothermal brines at its Hell's Kitchen project in the Salton Sea area of Southern California. On June 2, Stellantis signed a binding offtake agreement with CTR for up to 25,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide per year for the batteries going into Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and other electric vehicles it wil...