The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Adamas forecasts NdPr prices to hit $150/kg to ensure supply keeps pace with auto demand Despite a widely held belief that soaring neodymium-praseodymium prices would press automakers to look at alternatives to these rare earths for magnets going into electric vehicles, Adamas Intelligence forecasts that NdPr oxide prices will double by the end of the decade. NdPr is a combination of the rare earths neodymium and praseodymium used in the powerful neodymium-iron-boron magnets...
Funds 5 national labs to streamline critical minerals recovery process. In yet another round of funding, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $5.3 million in grants for five cutting-edge projects intended to advance research supporting the domestic production of rare earth elements and other critical minerals that are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells. Under the purview of DOE's...
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $2.8 billion in grants for 20 projects to expand the domestic manufacturing of materials for lithium batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. Here is a brief rundown of the grants and projects under this American-made battery materials initiative. 6K Inc. will receive $50 million in federal funds and plans to invest another $57.4 million to demonstrate the ability to domestically produce NMC 811 and lithium...
Enters deal with Element 25 for battery-grade manganese from Australia mine. In a move to secure an oft overlooked lithium-ion battery ingredient, Stellantis has cut a deal with Australia-based Element 25 Ltd. to supply a high-purity manganese product that the global automaker needs for the battery packs that power its growing line of electric vehicles. Element 25 plans to mine manganese from its Butcherbird deposit in Western Australia and ship a concentrate to a processing...
PEA outlines plan for 500,000 tpa graphite mine at Lac Guéret in Northern Quebec. As it ramps up to commercial production at its Matawinie graphite mine and Becancour battery materials plant in Quebec, Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. released the results of a preliminary economic assessment for developing a much larger graphite mining operation at the world-class Lac Guéret deposit on Mason Graphite Inc.'s Uatnan project in Northern Quebec. A road-accessible project about 175 m...
Critical materials explorer samples historical adits at high-grade rare earth project in SW Montana. A fall program of underground exploration and sampling by US Critical Materials Corp. further confirms the idea that Sheep Creek is one of the highest-grade rare earth discoveries in the United States and supports the need for drilling to fully understand the scope of critical minerals mineralization at this project in southwestern Montana. High-grade rare earths were found at...
REIA urges EU to secure rare earth supplies to ensure adequate battery materials to meet 2030 EV targets. Securing an adequate supply of magnet rare earths to help make the most out of the highly competitive lithium battery materials should be an essential element of the European Union's electric vehicle strategy, according to the Rare Earth Industry Association. REIA delivered this message in response to the European Commission's call for input on the proposed European...
To seize upon a once-in-a-century opportunity to leverage Canada's already world-class mining sector to supply the minerals and metals needed to build the clean energy future, Ottawa has unveiled a strategy backed by a $3.8 billion (US$2.8 billion) investment to bolster the resiliency of critical mineral supply chains in the northern nation. Ottawa began positioning Canada as a major player at the front end of the emerging green energy supply chains with a 2021 list of 31...
Going against all known rules of conductivity, researchers from the University of Chicago are astonished by a strange material that can be made like plastic but conducts electricity like metal, being likened to conductive Play-Doh. Conventional electronics, whether it be an iPhone, solar panel, or television, use conductive materials; otherwise, they would be no different than the raw materials they are transformed from. Metals, such as copper, gold, and aluminum, are by far t...
Senators Sullivan, Romney introduce bill to reduce DoD overreliance on China for minerals critical to security. Concerned that America is too reliant on China for the minerals and metals critical to national defense and energy security, U.S. senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) have introduced the Critical Mineral Independence Act of 2022 – legislation aimed at bolstering critical minerals production in the United States and allied countries. Over the past...
Rare tellurium has emerged as vital metalloid in next-gen solar, solid-state batteries. From longer-range electric vehicle batteries to long-lasting solar panels that efficiently charge those EVs with sunshine, tellurium is quietly becoming one of the most important energy metals that most people have never heard of. "It has flown largely under the radar, even though it's essential for cadmium-telluride solar panels and new lithium-tellurium batteries that could revolutionize...
Glencore plc, one of the world's largest natural resources companies, has entered into a long-term supply agreement to purchase 100% of the products to be produced by battery recycler ACE Green Recycling. "Our partnership with ACE furthers our objective of creating a leading, global circularity platform for battery metals," said Kunal Sinha, head of recycling at Glencore. Intended to intake recycled lead and key battery metals from recycled lithium-ion batteries, this 15-year...
In a show of support for Canadian production of the minerals critical to clean energy technologies, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Vital Metals Ltd.'s rare earth processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "The world wants clean technology, and Canada has the resources, the expertise, and the skilled workers to meet that demand," Trudeau said during his Jan. 16 stop in Saskatchewan. "By developing and processing our critical minerals here in Canada – the f...
Following an AU$45 million (US$31.6 million) infusion of cash in July, Vital Metals Ltd. has gone through some significant changes that are being reflected in a new strategy that slows the ramp-up of production at the company's rare earths separation plant in Saskatchewan and focuses the company's resources on expanding production at its Nechalacho Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Shortly following this financing anchored by AU$30 million (US$21 million) contributed by...
Conditional loan signals a major step forward for ioneer's planned lithium-boron mine in Nevada. As part of the Biden administration's ongoing effort to support projects that will provide a domestic supply of the minerals and metals critical to America's transition to clean energy and transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy has committed to loaning ioneer Ltd. up to $700 million to develop the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. "Rhyolite Ridge is a major...
Argonne National Lab breakthrough advances lithium-sulfur batteries one step closer to commercial use. Increased energy density at lower costs is the ultimate goal when it comes to making better batteries for smartphones, toys, tools, and electric vehicles. Lithium-sulfur batteries have shown the potential to outperform traditional lithium-ion batteries on both these fronts. This is why scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are working to...
Enters deal for battery-grade nickel sulfate to be produced in Canada's new Battery Valley. In a deal that helps General Motors meet its electric vehicle ambitions and further solidifies Canada as the go-to North American source for low-carbon battery materials, the American automaker has cut a deal for the long-term supply of battery-grade nickel sulfate from a plant Vale Canada Ltd. is building in Quebec's emerging Battery Valley. "This new agreement with Vale reinforces...
Hoping to gain insights into processes that would create longer-lasting batteries and lighter vehicles, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington are investigating the effects of physical forces on metals at the atomic level as they undergo shear deformation. Shear deformation occurs when an object changes shape when forces are applied to it but not in the way of just becoming longer or shorter. The PNNL researchers are taking a direct look at changes...
Energy-dense, stable ceramic lithium battery electrolyte offers new use for a plentiful rare earth element. In what could be a win-win discovery for the future of long-range electric vehicles and the rare earths mining sector, engineers at California-based American Elements have invented a ceramic electrolyte material for use in solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries. Lithium-sulfur batteries can store somewhere between two and five times as much energy by weight than the curren...
Furthering its climate goals and hoping to continue strengthening the nation's battery supply chain, the Biden administration has allotted $74 million to advance technologies and processes for the recycling and reuse of electric vehicle batteries. The number of EVs on the road since Biden moved into the Oval Office has tripled and the demand for critical battery minerals, such as lithium and graphite, is projected to increase by as much as 4,000% in the coming decades....
Researchers postulate graphene can be transistor, superconductor simultaneously. With the breakthroughs in quantum technologies that graphene has enabled, among countless other discoveries this physics-bending 2D carbon has warranted, researchers need only find the right pattern to truly unlock the potential of this miracle material. Supported by the landmark discovery of "twisted graphene," scientists at ETH Zurich Laboratory for Solid State Physics have added yet another...
Cathode supply deal follows seal of approval from Argonne National Laboratory. Helping to offset the imbalance of demand to resources, battery recycler Redwood Materials Inc. will supply Panasonic cathode material for lithium-ion battery cell production at the electronic powerhouse's new Kansas plant, which is slated to begin production in 2025, marking the first time this material will be produced in North America at gigafactory scale. It is projected that in the next...
Great Plains states, CO-WY border to be scanned for critical minerals. In its ongoing quest to identify domestic sources of the 50 minerals deemed critical to America's economy and security, the U.S. Geological Survey is investing $6 million to scan northern Great Plains states and mountains spanning the Colorado-Wyoming border for 40 of these minerals essential to powering everything from household appliances and electronics to clean energy and advanced technologies. This...
In a massive leap toward establishing a domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain, the White House has awarded $2.8 billion in grants to companies advancing 20 battery materials manufacturing and processing projects in the U.S. and launched an initiative "to mobilize the entire government in securing a reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals used for power, electricity, and electric vehicles." To be administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, the grants are to...
In a move to break America's dependence on China and Russia for the antimony needed for ammunition, fireproofing compounds, night vision goggles, and other military hardware, the Pentagon is providing $24.8 million to help reestablish a domestic antimony mine at Perpetua Resources Corp.'s Stibnite Gold project in Idaho. While originally established as a gold mine, Stibnite shifted its focus to strategic metals to support the U.S. military during World War II. From 1941 to 1945...