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  • DexMat CEO Bryan Hassin holds a roughly one-foot section of Galvorn cable.

    A low-carbon future built from thin air

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 3, 2024

    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...

  • A massive row of hundreds of CdTe thin-film solar panels by First Solar.

    Upgrading First Solar with quantum dots

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 31, 2023

    Joint development agreement for research into quantum dots for solar modules. Looking to evolve its already impressive proprietary cadmium-telluride thin-film solar technology, First Solar Inc. has partnered with UbiQD Inc., a New Mexico-based nanotechnology company, to explore the possibilities of incorporating quantum dot technology into a next-gen solar system. In its simplest form, a quantum dot is a man-made nanoscale crystal that can conduct electricity, consisting of a...

  • Workers install First Solar thin-film panels in a desert setting.

    First Solar selects Louisiana for growth

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 29, 2023

    Announces $1.1B solar plant in the Bayou State; adds more demand for critical tellurium. In a boost for American-made tellurium-based solar technology, First Solar Inc. has selected Louisiana as the location for a $1.1 billion manufacturing plant with the capacity to produce 3.5 gigawatts of the company's thin-film cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar panels per year. "We are pleased to partner with Louisiana as we lean into our commitment to creating enduring value for America by e...

  • Graphene Manufacturing Group staff pose for successful 1,000-liter production.

    Australia cools down with graphene paint

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 29, 2023

    Beginning to see some of the innovative ways that graphene can be used in everyday consumer technologies, Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. has brought its specially reduced-methane graphene to supplement something that has become so universal to living – temperature control. Based out of Richlands, Australia, GMG is a clean-tech company that, instead of mining or sourcing graphite to then go through the painstaking process of refining into graphene, makes the wonder m...

  • ABTC employee inspecting recycled battery powders.

    ABTC, TechMet-Mercuria forge partnership

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 22, 2023

    To further leverage its lithium-ion battery recycling expertise, American Battery Technology Company has entered into a strategic partnership with technology metals managing platform TechMet-Mercuria, which includes the manufacturing, sales, and marketing of ABTC-produced recycled metal products and a non-dilutive investment into the company for up to $20 million through the pre-purchase of future recycled battery metal products. TechMet-Mercuria SA is a Switzerland-based...

  • Dozens of solar panels lined out in a snowy field.

    Sunshine to power Diavik's sunset years

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 22, 2023

    Rio Tinto to build largest solar plant in Canada's North at diamond mine. Signaling its commitment to clean renewable energy, mining powerhouse Rio Tinto announced its intention to construct the largest solar power plant in Canada's North at its Diavik Diamond Mine – more than 6,600 solar panels that are expected to provide up to 25% of the electricity needed at this iconic operation in Northwest Territories. "I am delighted that we will be significantly increasing our renewab...

  • Rendering of molecules floating in outer space.

    Graphene is abundant and useful in space

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 16, 2023

    Long put forward as a wonder material, graphene undeniably has astounding properties – stronger than steel, a better electrical conductor than copper, and lighter than almost anything else with similar properties – and while it has been partially adopted into space-faring technologies, many theoretical uses remain where a pure form of the material could dramatically benefit a future in the stars. To detail those opportunities, a group of scientists from the Italian Space Age...

  • A rendering of layered molecules absorbing a ray of light.

    Near-perfect light absorption by UMN team

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 16, 2023

    Utilizing the bizarre capabilities of two-dimensional materials, researchers from the University of Minnesota, for the first time, have engineered an atomically thin material made from layers of molybdenum disulfide and graphene that can absorb nearly 100% light at room temperature, a discovery that could prove efficacious for a wide range of applications from optical communications to stealth technology. The scientists detailed their finding in "Achieving near-perfect light...

  • An EV motor with casing partially cutaway to show the internal parts.

    Rare earth supply for USA magnet plant

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

    USA Rare Earth has entered a deal with Australian Strategic Materials to supply magnet rare earths for Oklahoma plant. With its sights set on producing rare earth magnets at its new Oklahoma plant next year, USA Rare Earth LLC has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Australian Strategic Materials Ltd., a producer of metals for clean energy and high-tech devices. "Having a supply agreement in place with ASM plays a critical role in delivering on our vision of...

  • Hands holding a scoop of ashes with potential critical minerals.

    Coal ash to critical minerals funding

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 15, 2023

    DOE is awarding $32M to support projects that will recover domestic critical minerals from coal waste. Seeking to leverage the ash and other byproducts from a fuel that powered America through the 20th century, the U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $32 million to help launch projects that will recover rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal ash and waste. Coal deposits often have trace amounts of gallium, germanium, rare earths, and other minerals...

  • A rendering of electricity being transmitted through stone.

    Ancient tech helps MIT make supercapacitor

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

    Common cement and carbon black pave the way for a foundational tech for efficient future energy storage. Channeling the power of the ancients, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced they have developed a supercapacitor from two of humanity's most ubiquitous historical materials – cement and carbon black. Possibly the foundation of a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study, this technology could facilitate the use of renewable e...

  • 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plugged into a solar charger in a rural setting.

    Stellantis to expand US battery factories

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 8, 2023

    Second US battery gigafactory to be built under a JV with Samsung SDI powers Stellantis' electric ambitions in North America. Adding to the skyrocketing demand for lithium battery materials, global automaker Stellantis and battery manufacturer Samsung SDI have agreed to build a second gigafactory in the United States. The newest facility to be constructed under the StarPlus Energy joint venture forged between the two companies last May is slated to have the capacity to...

  • A magnet levitates above a liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductor.

    A superconductive LK-99 controversy erupts

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 1, 2023

    Possible Nobel Prize-winning invention has the wider science community in a frenzy; initial claims shrouded with skepticism. If you follow any kind of cutting-edge, pioneering, and borderline science fiction-level technology news, you may have come across LK-99. What had started as a likely dubious claim by more doubtful researchers has become a veritable online race for a room-temperature superconductor that, by the apparent furious attempts to replicate the claims, lends...

  • A simple gray stone tile that holds roughly 30% sequestered CO2.

    DOE supports DioQuest carbon capture

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 26, 2023

    With a singular purpose of reimagining and revolutionizing sustainable technologies, Semplastics subsidiary DioQuest has been awarded $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue to focus its research on capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide in practical applications. "Our DioQuest technology not only allows large volumes of CO2 to be permanently locked away, but we are also able to take the waste streams and create sustainable products such as important building...

  • A dark square object overlaying a ring of light.

    Nanomaterial opens door to hydrogen fuel

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 26, 2023

    Drexel scientists discover titanium nanomaterial that is an extremely efficient hydrogen fuel photocatalyst. Much like many of Mankind's discoveries, such as those that happened through some serendipitous result contrary to the predicted outcome, Drexel University researchers may have stumbled on the method of producing hydrogen fuel – with a photocatalyst 10 times more efficient than the closest commercially viable material. Sustainable technologies produce electricity as t...

  • Photos of folded liquid metal-coated paper in various states of expansion.

    Liquid metal for flexible smart materials

    K. Warner, For Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 26, 2023

    Flexible technologies are emerging, from foldable smartphones to freeform public information displays, and Chinese researchers have made a discovery that could elevate this technology to the next level. The high electrical conductivity and flexibility of liquid metals are the keys to this technology, with potential applications in wearable sensors, actuators, smart switches, printable circuitry for robotics, and technologies that not only move but stretch, such as...

  • Xuilin Ruan (left) and Joseph Peoples (right) measure their whitest paint.

    Cool upgrade to Purdue's whitest paint

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 25, 2023

    In an effort to curb global warming, Purdue University researchers developed a cool solution – paint. But not just any paint, with what they believe to be the closest opposite of the blackest black, this ultra-white paint can not only repel heat but cool down the interior of the surface it is painted on. In September 2021, the Purdue team created an ultra-white paint that earned the Guinness World Record for an unintended side effect to reducing global warming, creating the w...

  • A Pacific Bobtail squid off the coast of New Zealand.

    Nanotechnology unlocks squid skin secrets

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 18, 2023

    Taking inspiration from one of nature's most adaptive creatures, researchers from ACS Nano have explored the transformative qualities of squid skin to create a soft film that can regulate its transparency across a large range of wavelengths – visible, infrared, and microwave – all at the same time. The skin of squid and other cephalopods have unique cells that can reversibly change their shape and appearance to mimic their surroundings, giving them an almost imperceptible ext...

  • All-electric Maserati Gran Turismo Folgore EV.

    Stellantis invests in future EV metals

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 18, 2023

    Global automaker signs deal to buy future cobalt and nickel from early-staged projects at historical mines in southern Norway. To help ensure that it has future supplies of the nickel and cobalt that will be needed for the electric vehicles produced by Alfa Romero, Maserati, Peugeot, and its other European brands, Stellantis has signed an offtake agreement to buy 35% of the future nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate produced from Kuniko Ltd.'s mineral exploration projects in Nor...

  • Gisele Azimi and Kevin Zhang pose for photo holding recovered REEs.

    Liquid CO2 to work for clean REE recovery

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 18, 2023

    A team of researchers out of the University of Toronto has pioneered a method of separating critical minerals and metals from electronic waste, such as electric vehicle batteries and wind turbine magnets, by using captured carbon dioxide and a little pressure to provide the critical materials needed for a zero-carbon future. While conventional rare earth ores typically contain 1 to 2% of these tech metals, recycling electronic waste provides an efficient avenue to obtain...

  • CGI image of solid-state lithium battery on a computer circuit board.

    Why solid-state lithium batteries fail

    Rose Ragsdale, For Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 4, 2023

    Researchers from the University of Oxford have figured out how lithium solid-state batteries fail, an advance that could lead to the development of more efficient batteries for electric vehicles and aviation. Scientists at the Faraday Institution in Oxford's Departments of Materials, Chemistry, and Engineering Science used advanced imaging techniques to determine the causes of failure in Li-SSBs, according to a study described in the June 7 edition of Nature. Unlike...

  • Artist depiction of the BlueOval City EV battery, recycling, and assembly plant.

    Historic $9 billion DOE loan to BlueOval

    K. Warner, For Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 4, 2023

    Loan will support the building of 3 Ford-SK battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. In another sweeping step in support of the transportation industry's e-mobility transition and domestic infrastructure for electric vehicle and battery production, the U.S. Department of Energy has committed a loan of up to $9.2 billion to BlueOval SK LLC for the construction of three manufacturing plants to produce batteries for Ford Motor Company's future Ford and Lincoln EVs. "The DOE's...

  • Technicians paint a plane with various coatings to protect it from corrosion.

    Zentek tests ZenARMOR coating for aviation

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 27, 2023

    Known for its ZenGUARD graphene air filters developed to help mitigate bacterial spread during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zentek Ltd. recently announced it has been awarded a research and development contract through Innovation Solutions Canada to help develop ZenARMOR, a novel graphene-based corrosion protection technology that offers self-healing properties. As a mining company that began its technology journey amid the COVID-19 pandemic to develop solutions to...

  • The word recycle stamped in all capital letters on tarnished steel blocks.

    First recycled metals market launched

    K. Warner, For Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 20, 2023

    In the next five years, the recycling industry is expected to repurpose an average of 400 million tons of scrap metal annually, growing at an unprecedented rate due to the spread of industrialization and concerns over environmental sustainability. Yet, the lack of a globally accepted and standardized authentication system has hampered the accuracy of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and has made it challenging to support the value of high-quality...

  • Prototype 18650 coal batteries developed by X-BATT.

    Coal anode 18650 lithium-ion X-BATTeries

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 20, 2023

    Exploring the potential of alternative anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, X-BATT announced the successful completion of a project that demonstrates its coal material can hold its own amidst conventional graphite in lithium battery anodes. "We are excited to have completed this project, which has the potential to make a huge impact," said X-BATT CEO Bill Easter. "The use of coal as a value-added material not only provides a domestic source for anodes but creates a new...

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