The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Developing bigger and better for long-term energy storage. Rising battery demand and geopolitical tensions have elevated vanadium from a niche material valued for its strength-enhancing role in steel production to a key player in the clean energy transition – powering durable, scalable, and non-flammable redox flow batteries built to store renewable energy at grid scale. Now, the U.S. is making a push to reduce reliance on China, Russia, and South Africa – nations that dom...
Politics, policy, and the year deep-sea mining got real. After decades of research and speculation, between missed deadlines, robotic trials, backroom deals, and environmental outcry, the prospect of retrieving battery metals from the ocean floor is no longer theoretical, crossing from fringe concept to near-future reality. Conventional sources of energy transition minerals like cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements are increasingly inhibited by geopolitical instability,...
Course correcting from a price crash to cautious recovery. After lithium prices plummeted to four-year lows in 2024, this year may mark either a turning point or a series of course corrections for the critical mineral powering global energy storage. Stabilizing prices and rising demand from green tech signal a shifting landscape marked by technological disruption, regulatory reforms, and intensifying geopolitical competition. As the namesake metal in the batteries powering ele...
A rollercoaster year for manganese pricing and demand. Humanity has used manganese throughout the centuries in cave paintings, superior Spartan weaponry, potent chemistry, and as a versatile element in manufacturing steel, iron, and several alloys. Today, manganese is gaining recognition as a critical mineral for the clean energy transition. Over the past year, a surge in battery-related demand, geopolitical tensions, and policy support have transformed the manganese market,...
Economic and environmental realities define critical metal. As governments tighten critical mineral policies and investors hedge their bets, this year's global nickel market is recalibrating under intense pressure, with the metal playing two major roles in modern industry: approximately 70% of global output provides strength and corrosion resistance to stainless steel and other alloys, while high-purity nickel underpins energy-dense lithium-ion battery chemistries used in...
Innovation, policy, and demand converge at a critical crossroad. As China maintains control over battery metal supply chains, the United States is countering with an all-of-government initiative to fund and fast-track the production and processing of battery materials in the U.S. and abroad. Yet the road to American battery independence remains long and complex. Driven by electrification, emerging technologies, and sustainability, the battery sector is rapidly reinventing...
Must adapt to shifts in innovation, geopolitics, and ethics. Cobalt is undergoing a strategic transformation in 2025 as evolving battery chemistries, reshaped supply chains, technological advances, and stricter regulations shift its role in the energy transition. As market forces change, cobalt's importance is less about supply volume and more about resource security and geopolitical factors. The United States remains a marginal producer of cobalt. In 2024, just 300 metric...
New process skips toxic solvents in rare earth recovery and exposes new magnet chemistries. In a leap toward a more circular economy, researchers at IOCB Prague have unveiled a novel method of recycling rare earths that uses only water and a specially designed molecule to separate metals from used magnets. This approach bypasses the complexities, hazardous acids, organic solvents, and high-temperature treatments typically used in conventional separation and recovery. It...
Test near remote island marks a first in ultra-deep critical mineral recovery. Japan is set to commence a trial representing the world's deepest attempt at rare earth element (REE) extraction from the ocean floor. Scheduled for January 2026, the operation will involve the retrieval of mineral-rich sediment from a depth of 5,500 meters (3.4 miles), marking an unprecedented milestone in subsea mining. Currently, China dominates the global rare earths market, controlling nearly... Full story
Quino and TerraFlow team up on organic flow batteries for AI data center and microgrid energy storage. As demand for increased power and grid resilience surges during this global energy transition, a Texas-California partnership is quietly challenging the dominance of metal-heavy battery chemistries. TerraFlow Energy Pvt. Ltd., a developer of long-duration storage systems, has joined forces with Quino Energy Inc., a startup commercializing quinone-based electrolytes, to bring...
Commits billions to creating its own U.S. hydrogen demand amidst shaky policy changes. Hyundai is betting big on Louisiana's clean energy future with plans to build a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-integrated steel mill in Ascension Parish. Unveiled before the Louisiana Clean Hydrogen Task Force on June 23, the project is being framed as the cornerstone of Hyundai's broader vision to establish the state as a national hydrogen hub. Slated to begin operations by 2029, the mill will...
Lithium phosphate, iron-sodium, and organic flow batteries are headed to critical infrastructure sites. When the grid goes down, so can the interconnected systems of water treatment plants, health centers, emergency services. To bridge those critical gaps, the U.S. Department of Energy is investing in a trio of next-generation energy storage technologies that could help safeguard vital infrastructure. To keep critical infrastructure running through the next blackout, the U.S....
Reducing, reusing, recycling EV batteries saves money, minerals, and the planet. Known for its growing role in battery recycling, Redwood Materials Inc. is expanding its focus with the launch of Redwood Energy, a venture that aims to repurpose electric vehicle batteries that have reached the end of their life on the road into stationary energy storage systems for AI data centers. This move marks a strategic evolution for founder JB Straubel, who sees energy storage as not...
$200K investment to advance technology that tackles the challenge of arsenic in mineral processing. In Northern Ontario, a small Canadian mining company is turning toxic waste into battery-grade metals using a shipping container-sized chemical system that could rewrite the rules of tailings management in old and new mines alike. Nord Precious Metals has received a $200,000 grant from Canada's Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network to further develop... Full story
Shrewd use of funding for critical infrastructure will enable a smooth transition to construction. As North America races to secure its critical mineral supply chains, Electra Battery Materials is laying the foundation for a full restart and final push toward production at its Ontario cobalt refinery – North America's only project to produce battery-grade cobalt sulfate. Electra's early works program at its cobalt refinery, about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Toronto, m...
Lithium-vanadium design could help the U.S. sidestep the need for Chinese-sourced critical battery minerals. Boston-based startup Pure Lithium is racing to build a fully domestic plant for manufacturing lithium metal batteries that offer a homegrown alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries that are heavily dependent on Chinese-sourced minerals. "We're working as hard as we can to build a prototype pilot facility," CEO Emilie Bodoin said in a Bloomberg Television...
Through a newly signed agreement, plans are underway to establish one of the largest rare earth oxide supply chains outside China – linking Pensana's high-grade Longonjo mine in Angola with ReElement Technologies' advanced refining capabilities in the United States. Positioned as a cornerstone of a geopolitically resilient supply chain, the partnership being forged under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the companies aims to provide allied industrial and defense s...
Wood Mackenzie analysts define how divergent tariff scenarios could impact metal markets through 2030. As the U.S. recalibrates its trade stance, global research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie has released a new report to help metals and mining companies navigate an increasingly uncertain policy landscape – one that could unfold along three distinct paths through 2030 – a trade truce, trade tensions, or trade war. According to Wood Mackenzie, the Trump adm...
Japanese battery manufacturer suspends construction on a $1.6 billion facility in SC, citing uncertainty. A major Japanese battery manufacturer has suspended construction on a $1.6 billion facility in South Carolina, signaling unease among global manufacturers as U.S. economic policy volatility casts doubt on long-term investment strategies and underscoring how policy shifts and geopolitical uncertainty are affecting the electric vehicle supply chain in the United States....
ASU professor, undergrads build and deconstruct batteries to improve graphite recycling. Under pressure to scale green energy storage faster than materials can be mined, researchers are shifting their focus to the most overlooked battery component: graphite. Making up more than half the mass of a battery, graphite is routinely damaged during recycling due to processes never designed to preserve it – a problem one professor and her team at Arizona State University are w...
Startup to deploy micro-factories to process battery waste across Asia. As lithium demand surges in the race to electrify the global economy, a Hong Kong startup is betting that artificial intelligence – and mobility – could be the key to revolutionizing battery recycling, easing environmental strain, and satisfying China's appetite for battery recycling feedstock. Despite surging global demand that could reach 450,000 metric tons annually by 2030, less than 5% of lit...
Long mining history; REE potential, gains vocal support from DOI. With rare earths at the heart of today's tech and trade wars, the U.S. government has thrown its weight behind a long-dormant gold mine in California's Mojave Desert, raising hopes that the project could become a new domestic source of critical minerals, even as questions linger over what lies underground. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has formally voiced support for Dateline Resources' Colosseum...
Standard Lithium develops more efficient low-temp process for producing the solid-state battery ingredient. Standard Lithium, working with Telescope Innovations, has developed a low-temperature method for producing lithium sulfide – a material vital to solid-state batteries like those under development by Toyota – that operates below 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and eliminates the high heat and complex infrastructure required by conventional processes. For over...
Cleveland-Cliffs walks back plans for flagship U.S. hydrogen steel project. Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest producer of flat-rolled steel in North America, has signaled that it is pulling away from its original plan to build a hydrogen-ready green steel facility at its Middletown Works plant in Ohio, touted as an up-and-coming landmark in U.S. industrial decarbonization. The project, supported by a $500 million federal grant, aimed to replace coal-fired blast furnaces with... Full story
Canadian battery recycler announces president and veteran strategist. Marking a milestone for Indigenous leadership in cleantech, Aki Battery Recycling – Canada's first Indigenous-led lithium-ion battery recycling company – has formalized its governance structure, appointing Reggie George as President and Andre Marais as Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, while advancing due diligence and shortlisting technology partners for its planned operations. "The Aki ven... Full story
