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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...