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  • Brilliant Earth sets net-zero gem targets

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Dec 5, 2024

    Global leader in ethically sourced fine jewelry confirms official Science Based Targets initiative verification. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) develops criteria with public consultation and global experts to develop standards for businesses, outlining what they need to do to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and how quickly, to limit global temperature increases to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius and preventing the worst effects of climate change predicted by...

  • Liebherr’s hydrogen-powered L 566 H loader shoveling gravel into a truck.

    Liebherr tests hydrogen-burning loader

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Dec 5, 2024

    Heavy construction equipment powered by a modified combustion engine that burns hydrogen instead of diesel will be tested for two years in Austria. Construction and mining equipment giant Liebherr is working with STRABAG, the largest construction company in Austria, to pilot the world's first hydrogen-burning loader prototype in a two-year test project at STRABAG's Kanzelstein quarry. Liebherr's hydrogen-powered L 566 loader is serving as a proof-of-concept pilot for a loader...

  • 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 Dec 5, 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...

  • Gloved hand holds flask over stream, zoomed view shows yellow sulfur particles.

    Scientist shines light on mine remediation

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Dec 5, 2024

    Various methods, such as using bacteria, can remove elements like selenium from water; a new test using specialized light verifies the effectiveness of these solutions. Heather Shrimpton, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo, and her team are on the hunt for selenium, a naturally occurring nutrient with a nasty habit of causing neurological problems, infertility, and death at higher concentrations. Selenium a...

  • Sparks arc from molten steel being poured into a vat.

    Rio Tinto forges green steel partnership

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Nov 18, 2024

    Joins forces with GravitHy in to produce an ultra-low-carbon iron product for steelmaking. Continuing its global leadership in decarbonizing steelmaking, Rio Tinto is helping to accelerate GravithHy's project aimed at slashing ironmaking-related carbon dioxide emissions by more than 90%. From the humblest of paper clips to the tallest skyscrapers, steel forms the framework for modern living. The process of transforming raw iron ore into steel, however, is responsible for...

  • Truck with HYDROGEN written across the tank.

    DOE invests $62 million in U.S. hydrogen

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Funds go to 20 projects across 15 states for clean hydrogen infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded nearly $62 million to fund 20 projects across 15 states to accelerate research, development, and deployment of next-generation clean hydrogen technologies. These selected projects aim to advance critical elements of hydrogen fueling infrastructure, hydrogen-powered container-handling equipment for use at ports, and to improve processes essential to the efficient...

  • Computer graphic of a mining haul truck being towed by an electric trolley.

    Antofagasta, ABB forge net-zero alliance

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Aug 22, 2024

    Chilean copper miner leverages ABB's global automation and electrification expertise to power its net-zero goals. Toward an overarching goal to "develop mining for a better future," Antofagasta Minerals is collaborating with ABB to implement net-zero emissions haulage solutions at its copper mines in Chile. Antofagasta's four mines produced 715,000 metric tons (146.3 million pounds) of copper last year, making it the fifth largest producer of this metal critical to energy...

  • Rendering of Toyota's hydrogen combustion engine prototype.

    Toyota unveils hydrogen-fueled prototype

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 20, 2024

    Tested on the racetrack, this clean-burning fuel offers an alternative to EVs for zero-carbon emissions transportation. With the automotive industry headed toward greener transportation, electric vehicles have been the face of the shift. Meanwhile, another promising clean technology is quietly coming to the fore – hydrogen. A future in which hydrogen vehicles share the road seems increasingly possible as numerous established automakers such as BMW, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, a...

  • Photo of the former Fortress paper plant in Thurso, Québec.

    Rio Tinto forms biocarbon venture in Québec

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Deepens partnership with Aymium to produce renewable biocarbon at new facility toward the reduction of carbon emissions in metal smelting operations. In an ambitious move toward sustainable industrial practices, Rio Tinto and Aymium have partnered to create Évolys Québec Inc., a joint venture focused on producing renewable metallurgical biocarbon as an alternative to traditional carbon sources used in metal smelting processes. In 2022, Rio Tinto, Steel Dynamics, and Nippon S...

  • View of Ugitech’s Ugine steel plant in France.

    EU steel made with green hydrogen

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

    The trend towards increased sustainability within the steelmaking process, "green steel" practices are catching on around the world. Under a pioneering memorandum of understanding, Lhyfe will install a green hydrogen production unit at Ugitech's plant in Ugine, France, capable of generating around 13 tons of hydrogen per day. This comes at a time when "green steel" practices are making headlines around the world, from Boston Metal's molten electrolysis to Rio Tinto's latest...

  • An upshot of the fans at Climeworks’ Mammoth facility.

    Swiss CO2 capture tech heads to Louisiana

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 30, 2024

    Climeworks has started operations at the world's largest direct air carbon capture plant in Iceland; stashing CO2 in Louisiana's salt aquifers is next. Over in Iceland two massive direct air capture (DAC) plants priced in the low triple-digit millions to build are costing close to $1,000 per metric ton to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But that's only the beginning – they will build even bigger next time. Climeworks' carbon capture technology is coming to America. E...

  • Molten metal from a conventional blast furnace being poured into a mold.

    Boston Metal is forging green steel

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 28, 2024

    World-changing molten electrolysis process spun out of MIT can make steel with no emissions, may also be applied to other smelting processes. In the crucible of industrial progress, steel stands as both the foundation and obstacle. Armed with its molten oxide electrolysis process, Boston Metal aims to revolutionize steelmaking that will join innovation with sustainability and offer a path toward greener steel production. The advent of steel in industrial applications quickly s...

  • Rendering of Vantaan Energia’s cavern thermal energy storage facility.

    Grid batteries might not all be mechanical

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

    Thermal energy storage cavern twice the size of Madison Square Garden could heat Finland's fourth-most-populous city of Vantaa all year. Engineering advancements have recently made strides in sustainability by imitating nature as opposed to conquering it. In the case of storage, the global energy transition demands more powerful and efficient batteries as well as earth-friendly processes to get the technology where it needs to be, and one city in Finland is building the...

  • University of Arizona campus that features 20 colleges.

    Arizona paves streets of copper for U.S.

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 13, 2024

    University convened with key leaders across government, industry, and academia on Capitol Hill to discuss sustainable production and cultivating the next generation of miners. In a pivotal move to safeguard the U.S. critical mineral supply chain, the University of Arizona has taken center stage in pioneering sustainable mining practices, nurturing a skilled domestic workforce, and powering the national transition to renewable energy and next-gen defense technology at an event...

  • Overhead view of the Karuizawa house surrounded by trees.

    Building green with CO2-absorbing concrete

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    Japan's Kajima Corp. is well on its way to supplying the world with carbon-negative concrete. A little over an hour from Tokyo, nestled in the mountains near Nagano, a house has been built in Karuizawa with the world's first carbon dioxide-removing concrete walls produced by replacing a percentage of the cement content with an industrial byproduct and adding a CO2-absorbing admixture of dicalcium silicate. Karuizawa is one of Japan's oldest and most famous forested mountain re...

  • Semi-truck cab painted with Metallica’s '72 season album-inspired graphics.

    A Metallica catalyst for Iveco fuel cells

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 18, 2024

    Iconic heavy metal band will use electric trucks produced by Italian automaker on European leg of 2024 tour. In what may be the perfect metaphor for the heavy metal needed as a catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells, Italian automaker Iveco is providing electric and natural gas trucks and busses to transport crew and gear during the European leg of Metallica's M72 World Tour. Representing the environmental and social values embraced by both the legendary heavy metal rock band and...

  • Artist's rendering of an infinity symbol made up of batteries.

    A one-stop, closed-loop U.S. battery supply

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 12, 2024

    With the money, permits and resources locked in, US Strategic Metals has positioned itself as a desperately needed sustainable domestic battery metals platform Intent on repairing the widening gap representing a nonexistent American electric battery industry, US Strategic Metals (USSM) has transformed from humble beginnings as a mine site cleanup and reclamation business to a one-stop green battery metals platform taking the first steps toward a secure domestic closed-loop...

  • BASF flags flying in front of the company’s Ludwigshafen site in Germany.

    BASF launches PGM carbon tracker Verdium

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 1, 2024

    Wielding the capability of Germany's largest chemical manufacturer, BASF launched a new solution to recycled metals that will enable companies to verify carbon reductions and track sustainability goals through its newly launched Verdium treatment. Independently validated by leading safety science company UL Solutions, with the approval from a third party, BASF felt confident in releasing what it believes will counter emissions from the recycling of critically valuable...

  • Missouri S&T Professor Guang Xu testing ventilation in experimental mine.

    Missouri S&T to assist in cleaner mines

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

    Awarded EPA grant for critical mineral waste and P2 prevention assistance at MO and AK mines. Wanting to better understand the effects of pollution and waste related to the mining of critical minerals, a Missouri University Science and Technology team has been awarded nearly $1 million from the Environmental Protection Agency for a study in their home state and Alaska. "The United States is facing a critical minerals crisis, and Missouri S&T is uniquely positioned to help...

  • Smoke and steam emitted from stacks at a power plant in North Bend, Ohio.

    The future of carbon management is digital

    K. Warner, For Metal Tech News|Updated May 9, 2023

    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...

  • Buildings account for roughly 30 to 40% of global energy consumption.

    New material like a jacket for buildings

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

    While air conditioning was a marvel of its time, concerns over the Earth's climate has led to the pursuit of more efficient energy consumption and management. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have designed a chameleon-like building material made with copper that changes its infrared color – and how much heat it absorbs or emits based on outside temperature. "We've essentially figured out a low-energy way to treat a b...

  • Downtown Denver features tons of buildings with most surface area being windows.

    Windows get PV treatment to save energy

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Feb 17, 2023

    Aiming to improve energy efficiency to any degree, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has found that perovskite materials – the very same active component that has been implemented in some of the most efficient solar panels on the market – can be applied to windows to decrease energy costs. According to the NREL, using thermochromic windows or dynamic windows in office buildings improves energy efficiency across all climate zones in the United Sta...

  • Closeup of an aluminum bar stamped with ELYSIS.

    A Rio Tinto-Volvo net-zero partnership

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Sep 20, 2022

    Rio Tino to supply low-carbon metals, Volvo offers low-emissions trucks Global mining giant Rio Tinto and European automaker Volvo Group have agreed to forge a partnership that will help both companies achieve their climate ambitions. "We look forward to partnering with Volvo to progress our contribution to a net-zero future, as we collaborate to deliver sustainable outcomes from the mine to the showroom floor," said Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm. Under a...

  • A graphic showing the Future 50, a Corporate Knights ranking list.

    Future 50 ranking, Li-Cycle earns top three

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    With lithium quadrupling in price over the past year, it's a great time to own this mineral, and the good times extend to Canada-based Li-Cycle Holdings Corp., which recycles metals from electronic waste – including nickel, copper and cobalt, but especially the lithium in consumer and electric vehicle batteries. In recognition for its incredible growth and potential, Corporate Knights has selected Li-Cycle as one of Canada's fastest-growing sustainable companies. "We are t...

  • Vehicle frame manufacturing at Volvo’s Luqiao plant in China.

    Volvo signs SteelZero for net-zero goals

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 12, 2022

    Volvo Cars has become the first carmaker to sign up with the SteelZero initiative, a net-zero steel pledge, which commits the European automaker to stringent carbon dioxide-based steel sourcing requirements by 2030, with the final goal of purchasing all its steel from fossil-fuel-free sources by 2050. Steel production is a major source of CO2 emission for the automotive industry, averaging 33% of all production-related emissions for a new Volvo car in 2021. Globally, steel...

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