The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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In a deal that will further support General Motors' electric vehicle ambitions, POSCO Chemical has entered into a contract to supply Ultium Cells LLC with $733 million (939.9 billion Korean won) of artificial graphite anode material over the next six years. While natural, or mined, graphite makes up much of the anode material going in the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs, artificially produced graphite is added to increase charging speed and extend the life of the...
Swiss scientists create device that makes green fuel from water vapor and sunshine. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne have created a device that can harvest water from the atmosphere and turn it into hydrogen fuel – a process powered entirely with solar energy. While inspired by the natural mechanisms of photosynthesis, the scientists devised something more akin to an electrochemical sponge. Such a device that can extract water from the air a...
In possibly one of the most significant years for nuclear since its advent, several nuclear energy milestones were achieved in 2022. Kicking off the year with a corollary incentive program to attract interest in this waning utility with enormous potential to provide clean, low-carbon energy, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. This bill included a sizable aspect to benefit present and future nuclear facilities, even so much as providing a $15 per...
Nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production has the potential to be a gamechanger. As one of the most viable options to stabilize the energy demands of the future with clean renewable sources, the Department of Energy has been exploring the possibility for the power sector to leverage its nuclear facilities to generate another source of sustainable fuel, creating a two-for-one opportunity that may alleviate climate concerns. Hydrogen has the vast potential to do just that. Able...
Being supported by a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Battey Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative, General Motors has partnered with battery manufacturer Microvast to develop specialized electric vehicle battery separator technology along with a coinciding plant. Separators are safety-critical EV battery components that serve to separate the anode from the cathode, allowing ion transfer. Contributing its cutting-edge separator and...
National Ignition Facility achieves landmark fusion energy breakeven. For the first time in history, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility have achieved one of the most significant milestones in energy research by attaining scientific energy breakeven through nuclear fusion. What this means is that for the first time ever, the output energy from the fusion reaction was more than the energy used to ignite the reaction. "This is a...
As recycling becomes more prominent in the restructuring of basically everything toward decarbonization and electrification, Redwood Materials Inc. announced its biggest move yet, a new battery materials campus in the heart of the "Battery Belt" just outside Charleston, South Carolina. Currently, anode and cathode components are not produced in North America, and battery cell manufacturers must source them via a 50,000-mile-plus global supply chain. As a result, U.S. battery...
Researchers from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, or Skoltech, in Moscow, Russia, have leveraged 3D printing to forge an unlikely union between one of Man's oldest known alloys, bronze, and one of its relatively newer discoveries, steel, that could be used to manufacture combustion chambers for aircraft and rocket engines. This 3D-printed Skoltech alloy, simply named bronze-steel, simultaneously benefits from steel's ability to withstand extreme temperatures and...
Battery recycling company RecycLiCo Battery Materials Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean electronics manufacturer Sonid Inc. signifying the first steps toward a potential commercial joint venture or licensing arrangement of the company's recycling technology. Outlining the strategic partnership and business framework for establishing a lithium-ion battery recycling facility, both companies aim to leverage their strengths for commercial collection, pretreatme...
Gemstones could offer evidence of past life and be a water source for future Martians. Martian opals discovered in a lakebed traversed by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover may be much more precious than their counterparts found on Earth. This is not due to the opals found on the Red Planet being more opalescent, dazzling, or exotic – though a pendant adorned with Martian opals would truly be out of this world – but because they may be a key to understanding past life and ena...
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology may have identified the material that will replace silicon in the next generation of tinier and more efficient computer chips. With silicon nearly maxed out in its ability to accommodate faster computing, scientists say a new large nanoelectronics platform is needed, now more than ever. In the search for a material that could replace silicon, graphene has seemed promising for decades. But its potential reportedly faltered along...
Perseverance is dropping off a batch of samples for Mars Sample Return robotic team to retrieve. While the impressive toolkit aboard the Perseverance rover provides earthbound scientists with a trove of data on the geological and biological history of Mars, the ultimate goal is to get rock and dirt samples collected by the robotic geologist back to Earth for closer examination. Toward this objective, Perseverance is wrapping up its prime mission by creating a depot of samples...
While additive manufacturing has thus far focused on the more industrial metals to produce components or parts, little attention has been paid to precious metal 3D printing, keeping to more traditional craftsmanship methods – until now. Though commemorative coins, statuettes, and even jewelry have been designed and printed, with the novelty of having something crafted with a new technology giving it a unique value, ultimately, the intangible element of having something made t...
With 2022 coming to a close, NASA has announced the 15 teams moving forward to the semi-finals in the $3.5 million Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, an ongoing competition that puts research groups, robotics teams, and private companies in head-to-head trials to design future-tech rovers to harvest the most valuable commodity of all in outer space, water. "We're putting humanity back on the Moon with the Artemis missions, and this is a team effort on a global scale," said Amy...
Intricate, unique, and beautiful, snowflakes are a crystalline symbol of the wintery season that inspire wonder in children and inspiration for scientists in New Zealand that have managed to replicate these wonderous constructs of nature with gallium and zinc. A closer look at snowflakes reveals that each piece of pristine powder is a one-of-a-kind ice crystal that is awe inspiring in its beauty and symmetry. More scientifically, these natural forming ice crystals are a...
Swiss researchers have developed a transparent gold nanocoating that vanquishes the perennial nemesis of glasses wearers – fogging. Unlike traditional antifogging methods, which uses hydrophilic coatings that evenly spread condensation across the surface of the glass, the micro-thin gold layer developed by scientists at ETH Zurich harnesses sunlight to passively heat the lenses to prevent fog from forming in the first place. This works on the same principle as the heating e...
Exploring new chemistries to reduce the necessity for critical metals needed for renewable energy, especially in the form of batteries, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a method for producing lithium-ion batteries without the need for cobalt. With the future expectantly being powered with batteries, all walks of studious life have been knuckling down to improve a nearly half-century-old technology that, until recently, was good enough – given the imperative need t...
VulcanForms is elevating metal 3D printing to the next stage of AM industrialization. Spun out from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus and professor duo, VulcanForms is pushing the boundary on digital manufacturing as a service for companies using its proprietary laser powder bed fusion metal 3D printers to build industrial products at scale. While cutting-edge additive manufacturing offers a world of possibilities for companies looking to transform their...
Hoping to promote clean, renewable energy through nuclear power, the Biden administration Nov. 21 announced the conditional selection of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near Avila Beach, California, to receive the first round of funding from the Civil Nuclear Credit program. Financed through the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act, $6 billion has been portioned to the CNC program to incentivize nuclear power plants for the gene...
One of several frontrunners in the race for additive manufacturing prevalence, Desktop Metal Inc. has garnered a $9 million order from a major German automaker for its binder jet 3D metal printing systems to support digitally casted powertrain components for a popular car line. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, Desktop Metal sought to address the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make additive manufacturing an...
Canada's Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator has awarded EnviroMetal Technologies Inc. up to C$1.74 million toward the commercialization of a much more environmentally sound alternative to cyanide for leaching gold from ore, concentrates, and other feedstocks. EnviroMetal's potentially game-changing metals recovery technology is based on a proprietary blend of five ingredients that are FDA approved for human consumption that can dissolve gold contained in ores,...
From the minds behind the fully articulated robotic arm 3D printing delivery system, Meltio introduces two new innovations designed to increase the reliability of metal additive manufacturing – Meltio Horizon software and Laser Calibration System. "We have developed the Meltio Horizon software and the Laser Calibration System with the aim of facilitating the use of Meltio's metal 3D printing technology for industries around the world," said Meltio CEO Ángel Llavero. "It sh...
A team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University has developed a technology that enables electric vehicle batteries to obtain a full charge in just 10 minutes. The breakthrough in EV battery design, reported in the Oct. 12 edition of the journal Nature, produced a record-breaking combination of a shorter charge time and more energy acquired for a longer travel range. "The need for smaller, faster-charging batteries is greater than ever," said Chao-Yang Wang, the William...
To encourage greater transparency in the inevitable battery-powered world, Ford Motor Company has partnered with Everledger to deliver the world's first passport pilot for the responsible recycling of electric vehicle batteries. Founded in 2015, Everledger is an independent technology company that aims to help businesses monitor asset information with various security technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, smart labeling with near field communication (NFC)...
Advancing efforts to become truly self-sufficient at sea, the United States Navy recently announced the installation of the first metal 3D printer aboard the USS Bataan. Installed under a joint effort between Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, and Navel Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Technology Office, the newest printer includes a Phillips Additive Hybrid system, which integrates a Meltio3D laser wire deposition head on a Haas TM-1 computer numerical control mill. The...
