The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Following recent visits by heads of state such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to its lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Ontario, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. welcomed U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly to a similar spoke facility in Gilbert, Arizona. "The Biden-Harris administration has a vision for a clean energy economy that is powered by American workers, innovators, and...
ExxonMobil's latest carbon capture and storage (CCS) agreement is with one of North America's largest steel producers, Nucor Corp. North Carolina-based Nucor produces steel products that go into industrial and domestic goods such as automobiles, appliances, and heavy equipment. Steelmaking, however, is an energy-intensive endeavor that accounts for roughly 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Nucor has set in motion a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of...
Inspired by some of history's greatest artistic geniuses, one company sought to emulate these peerless masters through the use of artificial intelligence. With the help of AI, coupled with its own cutting-edge technologies, Sandvik Coromant called upon five of humanity's most remarkable sculptors to engineer a never-before-seen combination of their works into an impossible masterpiece. While not as mainstream as other mediums, especially these days, sculpting has definitively...
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...
Developing on another element to the growing list of two-dimensional materials, researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have demonstrated that germanene, a 2D material made of germanium atoms, can behave as a topological insulator – the first to consist of a single element – meaning it is comparable to transistors in that it can switch between on and off states for potentially more energy-efficient electronics. Topological insulators are materials wit...
Marking the first of its kind and possibly the beginning of the next generation of computing, researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have designed and demonstrated the world's first 2D microchip using synthetic materials. Since the first fabrication of atomically thin layers of graphite, graphene, in 2004, there has been intense interest in such materials for advanced and novel applications due to their exotic and promising...
Introducing the next generation of audio experience, global computer accessory and software company Logitech recently revealed its Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED wireless gaming headset. What sets these headphones apart from the rest? Graphene. "The core philosophy of the Logitech G PRO series is about creating gear that meets the demanding needs of professional esports athletes and competitive gamers," said Chris Pate, principal product manager, Logitech G PRO Series. "With...
2-year-old discovery offers breakthrough in thermoelectric sustainability. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and collaboration with the University of Colorado, have created a novel method using gallium nitride that could drastically increase the conversion of heat into electricity. If perfected, this technology could help recoup some of the roughly $100 billion of heat energy lost in the U.S. each year, according to NIST. The new...
The U.S. Department of Defense has developed the Materials Recovery Technologies for Defense Supply Resiliency initiative in support of President Biden's 2021 directive to identify and address risks in the supply chain for critical minerals. The project is being run through Army Research Labs as a multi-year and multimillion-dollar international collaborative partnership between seven universities and five industry participants including Gopher Resource, the founding member...
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...
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...
Despite what their name may suggest, the suite of 15 elements known as rare earths is not all that scarce. One thing that is hard to come by, however, is technology up to the difficult task of efficiently separating this suite of tech metals into their lone elements – Cyclic Materials aims to change that. Founded in 2021, Canada-based Cyclic Materials has been working toward creating a sustainable, domestic supply chain for rare earths and other metals through an innovative r...
Carbon neutrality goals worldwide are being propelled by new government initiatives, improved regulatory frameworks, and heightened customer awareness and scrutiny. Several countries now leading the green revolution have also announced grants and aid for businesses and end users that promote the development of low- and zero-carbon technologies and their rapid adoption. Affected industries – with mining being no exception – are in a mad dash to make use of developing tec...
Forever scribed in the annals of scientific achievement, the U.S. Inertial Confinement Fusion program supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration has produced not one but two significant breakthroughs – the burning of plasma with a yield of 1.3 megajoules, then the legendary breakeven for nuclear fusion. With these results, the Department of Energy has announced a $45 million grant to continue this potentially utopia-creating work. "The exciting results from NIF...
Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a soft polymer impregnated with gallium-indium liquid metal and silver micro-flakes to create a conductive material with self-healing properties. This marks a big step in the advancement of new materials for robotics, electronics, medicine, and the lesser-known field of "softbotics." This study, published in Nature Electronics, showcases the first material of its kind to maintain enough electrical adhesion to support...
Researchers out of China and Singapore have discovered that zinc oxide nanoparticles may be the secret to finally achieving high-resolution 3D holograms that are often promised in science fiction but yet to be delivered in reality. Although rudimentary 3D light shows that play off particles in the air, reflections to trick the eye, spinning lights, or projectors to present an illusion of depth have become more prevalent in recent years, a true-blue 3D hologram has seemingly...
In an interesting turn, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. has signed a three-way memorandum of understanding with SK ecoplant Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Engineering Co. to conduct research and development for carbon-free hydrogen production. Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear is a leader in vertical integration of nuclear technologies and services, including its micro modular reactor (MMR), fully ceramic micro-encapsulated nuclear fuel, and nuclear power and propulsion for space exploration....
While lithium-ion batteries have become omnipresent for nearly all portable energy needs, we have quickly found that they are ultimately limited in what they are capable of. Enter Vienna University of Technology, where German scientists have found a way to harness the most abundant element on earth to breathe new life into the future of energy storage. Exploring new battery chemistries for the green energy transition, researchers at Vienna University of Technology, or TU Wien,...
Throwing a curveball at the scientific community, an international team of researchers headed by the University of Geneva, Switzerland, has designed a quantum material that allows the control of electrons within its structure by essentially curving the fabric of space in which they occupy. Expanding into the fields of information and communication technologies presents scientists and industry with new hurdles to overcome, especially if they want to breach into the cutting...
Top electric vehicle battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, which supplies Tesla and other automakers, announced on March 24 that it will invest approximately $5.5 billion in a complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. This investment marks the largest ever made for a stand-alone battery manufacturing facility in North America. Construction of the complex will break ground on two facilities this year; with $3.2 billion of the company's investment going to build a cylindrical EV...
When examining additive manufacturing solutions, the military requires technology that can quickly produce parts from well-known metal alloys to address real-time needs and in the field wherever armed services are typically located – this is where Australia-based SPEE3D enters the battlefield. Founded in 2015, SPEE3D spun out of a successful engineering venture that provided the capital necessary for the founders to explore their next undertaking – additive manufacturing. What...
Solid and durable, concrete is the second-most consumed material on Earth, surpassed only by water. The gray, porous building material is also the foundation of modern infrastructure. But concrete leaves a hefty carbon footprint on the environment. During its manufacture, large quantities of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, both as a chemical byproduct of cement production and in the energy required to fuel the process. Despite its advantages, which include...
A research team at The University of Manchester led by Nobel Prize-winning Professor Andre Geim has discovered yet another superlative capability for graphene. Materials that strongly change their resistivity under magnetic fields are highly sought for various applications. Such materials are rare, and most metals and semiconductors change their electrical resistivity only by a tiny fraction of a percent at room temperature and in practically viable magnetic fields...
An international team of researchers led by Drexel University has found that a thin coating of MXene could enhance a material's ability to trap or shed heat. The discovery, which is tied to the 2D material's ability to regulate the passage of ambient infrared radiation, could lead to advances in thermal clothing, heating elements, and new materials for radiative heating and cooling. "This research reveals yet another facet of MXene materials' versatility," said research lead...
After partnering together mid-2022, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., has expanded its existing collaboration with Redwood Materials Inc. by adding Redwood recycling bins at participating Volkswagen dealerships to conveniently recycle rechargeable devices or lithium-ion batteries. "Volkswagen's goal is to provide more accessible and more sustainable electric mobility for American drivers," said Andrew Savvas, executive vice president, chief sales and marketing officer,...
