The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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One way to extend the range of an electric vehicle, or even get better gas mileage out of a conventional internal combustion automobile, is to lighten the load. NioCorp Developments Ltd. is working with automakers to develop strong and lightweight aluminum-scandium auto parts in the United States that will do just that. NioCorp has been advancing a strategy to commercially produce aluminum-scandium master alloy, which only needs a small dose of scandium to bolster the...
Company to build Oklahoma refinery that will provide a domestic supply of battery-grade lithium for EVS. Marking a major milestone on its quest to curb America's reliance on China for a battery material critical to transitioning to low-carbon energy and transportation, Stardust Power Inc. has finalized a deal valued at $490 million that will list the emerging domestic lithium refiner on the Nasdaq stock exchange. "Stardust Power aims to solve one of the largest challenges of t...
In 2023 alone, the federal geological survey invested $51M into Earth MRI scans of 35 states as part of a nationwide critical minerals search. From rare earths in Northern Maine to lithium in Southern California and titanium in Florida to 29 critical minerals in Alaska, the United States Geological Survey is investing heavily in strengthening domestic supply chains for the 50 minerals and metals critical to every sector of the American economy. This nationwide search for...
The start of ExxonMobil's new lithium production unit in southwestern Arkansas in mid-November highlights rapidly growing industry interest in producing the white mineral from the briny aquifers that proliferate in this region of the United States. Lithium is a crucial component in the manufacture of batteries needed for electric vehicles, and demand for the white mineral is projected to quadruple by 2030. ExxonMobil said its new unit is expected to begin producing the white...
The Salton Sea geothermal reservoir in Southern California could produce up to 3.4 million metric tons of lithium, which is plenty to make batteries for enough electric vehicles to replace all cars currently on U.S. highways, according to a comprehensive analysis carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy. The analysis, funded by the Geothermal Technologies Office and conducted by DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, confirms the region's significant potential to...
Reinterpretation of FEOC widens pool of potential critical mineral sources eligible for federal tax credits, funds. The Biden administration needs help understanding the meaning of "foreign entity of concern" (FEOC) as this term relates to investing billions of taxpayer dollars into bolstering the supply chains for materials critical to electric vehicles and renewable energy. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act allotted billions of dollars for...
Ucore is awarded C$4.3 million to produce magnet REEs for EVs and other high-tech uses at its demo plant in Ontario. To support the commercialization of a technology poised to help break North America's dependence on China for rare earths critical to the clean energy and technology sectors, the Canadian government has awarded Ucore Rare Metals Inc. C$4.28 million (US$3.1 million) to demonstrate the capabilities of its RapidSX rare earths separation platform. "We would like to...
DOE finishes NEPA review needed to build demo plant that will process a high-grade rare earth sample from the Bear Lodge project north of Upton, Wyoming. Clearing another hurdle on its path to offering a reliable domestic alternative to China for the rare earths needed to propel the clean energy transition, Rare Element Resources Ltd. Nov. 16 announced that the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has finalized its National Environmental...
From being the priciest and hardest-to-come-by, lithium-ion battery metal during the budding energy transition to a massive surplus and wavering demand, cobalt mining has had a nail-biting year as sales have stalled and prices have begun to fall (global benchmark cobalt prices have dropped by more than half since May of last year). Cobalt is a lustrous ferromagnetic metal with a high melting point used increasingly in renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines and...
Vital Metals turns to Chinese firm to fund Nechalacho, home to first REE mine in Canada. Drifting further away from the original vision of establishing a rare earths supply chain in Canada that would help to break the West's heavy reliance on China for this suite of tech elements, Vital Metals Ltd. has turned to Shenghe Resources Holding Co., Ltd. for funding that will allow the Australia-based REE mining company to move forward with its plans for a larger mine at its...
Major milestone along the road to supplying Tesla and others with the nickel needed for EV batteries. Passing a major landmark on its path to developing a domestic battery metals supply chain that begins at its high-grade Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota, Talon Metals Corp. has reached definitive terms with the U.S. Department of Energy for a $114.8 million grant to build a battery minerals processing facility in North Dakota. "Our team is excited to reach this funding...
Seeking every advantage when it comes to the efficient and sustainable production of lithium and boron at its Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada, Ioneer Ltd. has signed a research and development memorandum of understanding with Korea-based EcoPro Innovation Co. Ltd. to study the lithium clay resources at this prospective lithium-boron property. Situated about 200 road miles southeast of the Tesla Gigafactory Nevada, Rhyolite Ridge is a development-staged lithium-boron project t...
Setting the bar for battery materials, American Resources Corp.'s ReElement Technologies announced that it has achieved an ultra-high purity of 99.96% battery-grade lithium carbonate from its unique technology developed in partnership with Purdue University. American Resources is a next-generation and socially responsible supplier of raw materials to the new infrastructure and electrification marketplace. Utilizing its patented multi-modal chromatography technology, developed...
Liquid metal again displays an almost magical ability to become a catalyst for lowering CO2 in the atmosphere A liquid metal with semiconductor properties that make it an essential ingredient in next-generation smartphones, telecommunication networks, and solar technologies, gallium already lives at the edge of science fiction and science reality. Working at this threshold, Australian scientists are demonstrating that gallium may also be a major catalyst for the green energy f...
Following gallium, germanium curbs, China announces plan to restrict its exports of critical lithium-ion battery material on Dec 1. Three months into its restrictions on exports of the critical computer chipmaking metals gallium and germanium, China announced that it will also be limiting global shipments of graphite, the largest single ingredient in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. On Oct. 20, China's Ministry of Commerce posted notices that the exports of nine...
With the ongoing difficulties in sourcing ethical, clean materials for electric vehicles and battery storage, researchers from the University of Tokyo have presented a viable alternative to the most controversial element used in lithium-ion batteries – cobalt. High-capacity and reliable rechargeable batteries are increasingly becoming a critical piece of most devices and even modes of transportation. As the need for lithium-ion batteries rises, so too does the demand for c...
A new study out of Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, presents a possible new and efficient way to recycle metals from spent electric vehicle batteries that uses an organic compound found naturally in plants – oxalate. Before the push for clean energy or renewable technologies, methods to recycle metal operated much like manufacturing metal, melting it. However, due to the carbon-intensive impacts of smelters or foundries, cleaner solutions to recycling have e...
Inching closer to the completion of North America's first battery-grade cobalt sulfate refinery, Electra Battery Materials Corp. issued an update for potential stakeholders as it seeks to secure additional funding to complete this much-needed link in a future EV battery supply chain. Starting out the month with an announcement that it would continue its black mass recycling operations following an extremely successful trial that saw roughly 40 metric tons of black mass...
Commences domestic supply of critical battery materials at new Nevada facility in less than a year. Working tirelessly and expeditiously toward commercialization, American Battery Technology Company excitedly announced the operational start-up of its commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Nevada, implementing its first-of-a-kind lithium-ion battery recycling technologies at industrial scale. "We are excited to have achieved this major milestone and to now...
The growing list of critical minerals and conflict elements like cobalt are drawing intense focus and demand for alternative sources. Investors and consumers are increasingly focused on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, provenance, and indirect emissions of these supply chains. If done right, prioritizing urban mining – specifically moving recycled materials upstream in supply chains – could provide cheaper domestic supply with a lower emissions foo...
New geophysical surveys identify potential source of the high-grade rare earths found on the surface at Montana project. A pair of recent geophysical surveys has identified a potentially larger source of the high-grade rare earths, gallium, niobium, and other critical minerals found on the surface at U.S. Critical Materials Corp.'s Sheep Creek project in southwestern Montana. Long known as a potential domestic supply of niobium, which is a critical ingredient in high-strength...
August stoppage is due to timeline to gain approvals under new export limitation process; longer-term curbs yet to be known. While gallium and germanium exports out of China dropped to zero during August, it is too early to determine just how restrictive the government plans to be on shipping this pair of semiconductor elements out of the country, or the impacts such export curbs will have on the manufacturing of computer chips, fiber optic cables, and other high-tech goods...
Delegates agree on six actions to strengthen and diversify critical energy mineral supply chains. The rapid transition away from the fossil fuels that powered the world through the 20th century and toward lower-carbon sources such as wind and solar is creating enormous new demands for critical minerals and metals like cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel. This interdependency was highlighted during the first-ever International Energy Agency Critical Minerals and Clean Energy...
Based on the success of its battery recycling trial, which showed improved recoveries of critical battery elements, higher metal content, and reduced use of reagents, thus paving the way for a higher-quality final product for its customers, Electra Battery Materials Corp. is extending processing of black mass at its refinery complex in Ontario, Canada. "Results from our plant-scale black mass trial continue to exceed our expectations," said Electra Battery Materials CEO Trent...
Following up on plans to spread its roots into the world's fastest-growing electric vehicle market, Redwood Materials Inc. has acquired the leading European Union battery recycler, Redux Recycling GmbH. Located in Bremerhaven, on Germany's North Sea coast, Redux Recycling's facility is equipped to recycle up to 10,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries with a variety of chemistries. Centrally located within Europe and near the distribution center of the Bremerhaven Port,...
