The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Articles from the October 16, 2024 edition


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  • A burned container being hoisted onto a trailer by a crane.

    Redwood recycles natural disaster batteries

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    From natural disaster recovery to sustainable solutions, Redwood leads the charge in active battery recycling. As natural disasters and major accidents become more frequent, Redwood Materials Inc. steps in to ensure that lithium-ion batteries, often damaged in these events, are safely recovered and recycled, preventing further harm to affected communities and the environment. In just a few short years, Redwood has grown from a small recycling startup into a critical player in...

  • A puck-shaped Clean Earth Magnet with Niron logo.

    Minnesota permanent magnets minus the REEs

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    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...

  • SoHyCal plant rendering with three electrolysis units and a tube-trailer truck.

    Building North America's largest H2 plant

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    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...

  • Computer graphic of a LEO satellite collecting and transmitting geological data.

    The path to mineral exploration innovation

    Flavia Tata Nadini, Fleet Space Technologies|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    Satellite connectivity, quality 3D multiphysics data, and AI offer faster decision-making at every stage of the exploration journey. Technological innovation is the cornerstone of human progress. At their best, the foundational technologies of the modern world – such as the global internet, digital technologies, space travel, clean energy, and AI – fill me with the belief that hard problems are not permanent fixtures in time and space. They are mutable barriers humanity must o...

  • Samples of 3D-printed superalloys to be scanned with a neutron beam.

    Subatomic insights improve superalloys

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    Researchers use subatomic particles to examine and improve 3D-printed superalloys for nuclear, aerospace, automotive, and other industries. As industries push for stronger materials capable of withstanding extreme conditions, researchers are turning to advanced metal 3D printing and atomic-level analysis to create superalloys designed to endure the harsh environments that future technologies may find themselves in. Alloys are created by blending two or more metals to achieve...

  • A pile of blue-green colored nickel sulfate powder.

    Clean battery-grade nickel from BC project

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 15, 2024

    Pilot tests demonstrate that a mine site hydrometallurgical refinery at Baptiste could produce high-quality, low-carbon nickel sulfate. A recently completed pilot-scale program has confirmed the idea that a hydrometallurgical refinery built alongside a mine at FPX Nickel Corp.'s Baptiste project in British Columbia could offer a significant supply of low-carbon battery-grade nickel sulfate for North America's energy transition. "Baptiste would represent an almost 50% increase...

  • AI-generated photo of battery in a pile of salt with blue lightning bolts.

    Sodium battery anodes in just 30 seconds

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 14, 2024

    The secret to serving up the perfect sodium-ion battery is to slow-cook the cathode and microwave the anode. On the heels of an Argonne National Laboratory discovery that demonstrates slow heating is the secret to more durable and longer-lasting sodium-ion battery cathodes, a research team at the Nano Hybrid Technology Research Center of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) found that the best way to prepare the anode material is to stick it in the microwave...

  • Up close picture of a Rio Tinto hard hat on the job site.

    Rio Tinto to buy lithium producer Arcadium

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 11, 2024

    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,...

  • AI rendering of copper world globe on top of a pile of copper.

    Rio Tinto backs six mining tech startups

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 10, 2024

    Founders Factory unveils first cohort of companies developing innovative solutions for more productive and sustainable mining. Founders Factory has unveiled the first cohort of startups under its Mining Tech Accelerator, a program being advanced in partnership with Rio Tinto to discover and foster breakthrough technologies with the potential to transform the way mining companies deliver the minerals and metals the world needs. To build upon its legacy of innovation and...

  • Row of drums filled with HALEU fuel for advanced nuclear reactors.

    DOE grants contracts for domestic HALEU

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 9, 2024

    Funding supports deconversion essential for nuclear fuel supply chain. Amid growing efforts to secure a reliable domestic nuclear fuel supply, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded contracts to six companies as part of an $800 million initiative to bolster the deconversion of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a critical component of the supply chain for advanced nuclear reactors. Over the past few years, the U.S. has been actively working to elevate nuclear energy...

  • Rendering of engine eating space rocks and converting them to blue flames.

    Asteroid-eating infinite thruster

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 8, 2024

    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...

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