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  • Syrah Resources' Balama Graphite operation in Mozambique.

    Syrah and Indonesia's big graphite deal

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

    Syrah makes large natural graphite sale to Indonesia, steps closer to developing a battery anode global supply chain outside of China. Syrah Resources has delivered a 10,000 metric ton shipment of natural graphite fines from its flagship Balama graphite operation in Mozambique to BTR New Energy Materials in Indonesia, its first large volume natural graphite sale to a battery supply chain participant outside of China. This sale follows an initial trial container shipment to...

  • Computer grapic of charger being plugged into EV on a photo of wind turbines.

    DOE puts $75M into domestic minerals

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

    U.S. Department of Energy is funding a Critical Materials Supply Chain Research Facility support a resilient and secure domestic supply chain. The Department of Energy is funding a Critical Materials Supply Chain Research Facility that will help support a secure domestic supply of minerals and materials critical to economic prosperity, national security, and the green energy transition in the U.S. This week, the DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM)...

  • Rendering of nanotubes and bubbles.

    Nickel catalyst for faster H2 electrolysis

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

    Introducing 3D nickel catalysts for faster and cheaper production of hydrogen from water. A team of researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea has developed a new three-dimensional nickel catalyst that shows promise for producing more hydrogen from water at lower costs. The production of hydrogen from water typically involves the use of platinum or other similar precious metals, which pushes up the costs of producing this...

  • The interior of WEST, a donut-shaped fusion reactor in France.

    Fusion reactors switch to tungsten

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

    Materials breakthrough improves the timeline of plasma stability, brings endless energy closer. This month in France, a donut-shaped fusion reactor the size of an eight-foot box called WEST has upgraded from a carbon interior to one made of tungsten, an improvement which successfully contained plasma hotter and longer than ever. Compared to this latest result, our own sun burns at temperatures 30% less while still powering grid-scale systems running on solar panels whose...

  • ABTC employees pose for picture at opening of recycling facility.

    ABTC exceeds battery recycling capacity

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Company ramps up recycling facility, operates at over 115% capacity. In a triumph of innovation, American Battery Technology Company announced a groundbreaking milestone: its lithium-ion battery recycling facility has been operating steadily at over 115% of its designed capacity, showcasing the efficacy of its proprietary recycling technology. Established in 2011, ABTC began its journey with a handful of mining claims out of Nevada. Stemming from a former Tesla employee's ambi...

  • Overhead view of International Battery Metals DLE plant.

    Mobile, modular direct lithium extraction

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    International Battery Metals and US Magnesium agree to install world's first modular DLE plant. This May, International Battery Metals (IBAT) and US Magnesium announced their partnership to install a first-of-its-kind modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) plant that can rapidly be deployed to a site and efficiently extract lithium from a variety of brine resources. The portable, modular design provides both a smaller footprint and scalability. The mobile facility is...

  • Graphic with bubbles depicting hydrogen supply chain against green background.

    DOE to loan Plug $1.7B for green hydrogen

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Funds will be used to build out a complete green hydrogen ecosystem in the U.S.; will create new demand for PGMs. To help support the production of green hydrogen to fuel America's clean energy economy, the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office has conditionally committed to loan Plug Power Inc. $1.66 billion to help finance the construction of up to six domestic hydrogen facilities. "Green hydrogen is an essential driver of industrial decarbonization in the United...

  • A man surveys a tidal habitat in Australian wilderness.

    AU targets critical minerals in hunt

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Latest budget's resource search focuses on battery metals and rare earth elements. Over the coming decade, Australia is prepared to spend A$566 million (US$373 million) to map out deposits of minerals critical to high-tech manufacturing and the green energy transition. "The critical minerals space is one of the reasons why there is so much attention from global and domestic investors, but we need to make sure we can attract and deploy that," Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers...

  • Aerial view of phosphor-gypsum stacks at the Phalaborwa project.

    Billions in rare earths for U.S. at risk

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Without investors, the future of South Africa's rare earth elements enriched Phalaborwa site may depend on Washington support. Bordering South Africa's renowned Kruger National Park stands Phalaborwa, a mine sporting two rare earths-enriched phospho-gypsum waste piles that could mean over a billion in critical minerals for the U.S. – if the project can get enough support to run. To challenge China's near monopoly on rare earths, Washington has committed funds to a little-known...

  • Outside of a newly built manufacturing plant with landscaping being carried out.

    MP awarded $58.5M for REE magnet plant

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 19, 2024

    Will use federal funds to establish the first fully integrated mine-to-magnets rare earths supply chain in the U.S. In support of the development of a complete mines-to-magnets rare earths supply chain in the United States, the Department of Energy has awarded MP Materials $58.5 million to help build a fully integrated rare earths metals and magnet plant in Texas. MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass Mine in California's Mojave Desert, is already a major global produ...

  • US Strategic Metals battery materials recovery facility in Madison County, MO.

    Missouri sparks battery materials collab

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 17, 2024

    Missouri University of Science and Technology, US Strategic Metals; lithium-ion battery precursor cathode active material research. Pioneering a transformative shift in the American battery landscape, US Strategic Metals joins forces with Missouri University of Science and Technology to advance research on precursor cathode active material, leveraging the Show Me State's abundant natural resources and cutting-edge facilities in green innovation. Transforming from humble...

  • A smartphone displaying the EXIM website homepage.

    NioCorp takes step toward $800M U.S. loan

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 15, 2024

    Critical minerals company receives preliminary term sheet for mine financing from EXIM. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has extended an offer to loan NioCorp Developments Ltd. $800 million to help fund the development of Elk Creek, a critical minerals project in Nebraska that would provide a domestic source of niobium, titanium, scandium, and rare earths. "Our goal is to make North America less dependent on foreign suppliers for the critical minerals we...

  • Photo of a splash resulting from a droplet of water into a pond.

    More green hydrogen with less iridium

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech New|Updated May 13, 2024

    Riken researchers have developed a green hydrogen catalyst that reduces the amount of rare and expensive iridium needed by 95%. One of the most elementary chemistry lessons taught to schoolchildren is that water is a molecule made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Now, scholars at the highest level of academics are working to find the most efficient and sustainable means of breaking those hydrogen atoms off of water to produce a green fuel that turns back into...

  • The outside of the UN building located in Geneva, Switzerland.

    UN establishes responsible minerals panel

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    "The objective of the panel ... is to build trust and certainty towards harnessing the potential of these minerals to be utilized to unlock shared prosperity, leaving no one and no place behind." With the growing demand for minerals critical to renewable energy technologies, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has utilized the organization's convening power to unite governments and stakeholders along the entire mineral value chain. The goal: to establish global...

  • A broken hourglass surrounded by pennies and glittering dirt

    Mineral demand surges as mines struggle

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    Despite rising EV sales, miners are unable to finance projects for battery metals. Amidst a green tech boom, fierce global competition is pushing down company margins, and a surprising number of mining industry leaders, like Albemarle, First Quantum Minerals, Glencore, and BHP, are cutting budgets, lowering dividends, and laying off workers. In the U.S., where the Biden administration is pushing to develop a domestic mineral supply but has halted many projects that would meet...

  • Closeup picture of high-quality pure copper cables.

    BHP makes a bid to buy Anglo American

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    Megamerger would reshape global energy metals sector. The proposed merger between BHP Group Ltd. and Anglo American plc would create a $200 billion mining behemoth that would control 10% of the global production of copper, a metal that has experienced a 23% price spike since early February on supply concerns. "As part of its strategy to expand its copper assets, BHP intends to acquire Anglo American realizing the significant growth potential for copper in the future, as...

  • A thin sheet of gold leaf resting on a book beside a brush.

    Meet goldene, the first gilded 2D metal

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 3, 2024

    Joining the family of monoelemental crystals first set forth by graphene, Swedish researchers successfully develop the first one-atom-thick metal from gold. Meet goldene, the latest addition to the family of xenes – a remarkable lineage of monoelemental crystals that began with graphene. Like its carbon cousin, gold was synthesized down to a thickness of one atom, which now boasts the distinction as the world's thinnest gold leaf. Since the pioneering discovery of e...

  • A scoop pours black graphene onto a pile.

    US graphene to boost Asian solar storage

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 2, 2024

    Volfpack selects HydroGraph graphene for supercapacitors in its hybrid renewable energy storage systems. HydroGraph Clean Power Inc.'s flagship graphene product will soon be a key ingredient in Volfpack Energy Ltd.'s hybrid battery system, which was engineered to help store solar energy and stabilize power grids in Asia. Keeping power grids fed with stable solar is challenging. The best-known and most widely understood of these dilemmas is storing enough energy during the day...

  • Artist’s rendering of electrical discharge between materials.

    Fast-charging sodium hybrid battery

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 29, 2024

    Korean researchers present a high-power sodium-ion battery that can be charged in seconds. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-energy and high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of charging within seconds. Interest in developing batteries based on sodium has taken off due to concerns over the sustainability of lithium, as well as safety concerns due to the combustibility of lithium-ion batteries....

  • Nevada high-desert framed by a lithium-boron mineralized outcrop.

    Nevada lithium project passes milestone

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    BLM completes draft EIS for Rhyolite Ridge, closing in on final federal permitting decision for energy transition metals mine. Marking a major milestone on the path toward a domestic supply of lithium for nearly 370,000 electric vehicles per year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has finalized a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for developing a mine at Ioneer Ltd.'s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. "This news sets a clear path forward to...

  • Dignitaries shake hands after signing an international agreement.

    Saskatchewan critical mineral partnerships

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    Canadian province signs strategic minerals partnership with France; Saskatchewan Research Council secures rare earths feedstock for Saskatoon processing plant. Saskatchewan's strategy to become a North American hub for the minerals and metals critical to clean energy and other future-leaning technologies was bolstered by two agreements signed on Monday. The first agreement was a letter of intent signed with France to explore, develop, and cooperate on new strategic mineral...

  • Union Jack flag flying in front of an old building.

    UK critical minerals policy still vulnerable

    K. Warner|Updated Apr 22, 2024

    Dods’ “Vital but Vulnerable: UK Critical Minerals Policy” report cautions that more needs to be done. Dods Political Intelligence, an advisory service, has published a report to provide context and evaluation of current critical mineral policies in the United Kingdom. These are increasingly crucial for contemporary defense manufacturing, which acts as a deterrent against conflict. Meanwhile, global economies in a rush to transition to green industries are going to colle...

  • Lithium-tellurium button cells being held by wired clamps during testing at UBC.

    Tellurium: from solid-state to generators

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

    First Tellurium's partnerships promise a safer solid-state technology ready to replace lithium-ion batteries, and a hardy thermoelectric generator. First Tellurium's strategic partners have made headway in the production of two exciting products – a safer lithium-tellurium battery manufactured in partnership with Fenix Advanced Materials and a new tellurium-based thermoelectric generator capable of withstanding temperature extremes while in operation. "This is another key a...

  • Sodium-ion batteries next to the periodic symbol for sodium.

    Improving sodium-ion batteries with graphene

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 9, 2024

    Researchers find way to make crack-free nanocellular graphene to upgrade low-cost sodium-ion energy storage systems. Looking to solve a critical failure during the manufacture of nanocellular graphene, researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have discovered that by using this specialized form of graphene in a dealloying process effectively "heals" the cracks formed during its making. Ever since its discovery in 2004, graphene has been revolutionizing the field of...

  • Two men in safety gear collect water samples from a stream.

    US offers $1.8B loan for antimony mine

    Shane Lasley|Updated Apr 9, 2024

    Perpetua Resources receives Stibnite Gold Mine debt financing letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has extended an offer to loan Perpetua Resources Corp. $1.8 billion to fund the development of a mine at Stibnite Gold, which would round out an all-of-government effort to establish the historic project in Idaho as a future domestic source of antimony critical to America's economic and national...

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