The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Canadian tech company EnviCore and nickel mining company Talon Metals are teaming up to pioneer a "full value mining" technology that converts mine waste into products for the building, construction, and infrastructure industries. This new technology has the potential to transform waste from nickel mining – called tailings – into additional products with added value for stakeholders. The resulting byproduct would replace primary raw materials in legacy cement and concrete prod... Full story
American electric vehicle manufacturers are under pressure from the massive federal legislation aimed at creating a robust domestic value chain for several key battery minerals and rare earths. These materials are predominantly being imported for EV batteries – as well as the battery cells themselves in many cases – from problematic sources like China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Russia. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress in August 2022 inc...
In recent years a great deal of research has gone into creating revolutionary nanomaterials capable of self-assembling into a wide range of dimensional structures at an atomic level. Transition metal chalcogenide (TMC) nanofibers are structures consisting of transition metal atoms such as tungsten, compounded by an element from the oxygen family on the periodic table (like sulfur or tellurium), called chalcogenides. They are known for their unique electrical and optical...
In spite of a robust collection of new hybrid and electric vehicle models coming out, Volkswagen's hottest project may not be a car. With batteries being the most expensive component in an EV, at roughly 40% of the overall cost, Europe's largest automaker is going straight to the source by investing in Canadian mines. For now, plans for what potential sites are being investigated and what investments are being made have not yet been disclosed. Partnerships between vehicle manu...
Installing fuel cells in more than 400 mining trucks for Anglo American. Only two months after a $1.5 billion transaction that transformed First Mode from a Seattle-based space mission engineering startup into a clean-energy subsidiary of global mining company Anglo American, the clean-energy firm is already busy retrofitting massive mining trucks with hydrogen fuel cells produced by Ballard Power Systems. Given First Mode's rapid ascent in the clean energy space, it is...
Australia-based Magnis Energy Solutions has signed an agreement with Tesla for North American anode active material (AAM) production. This offtake agreement outlines Tesla's purchase of a substantial part of the output produced at the company's planned U.S.-based facility moving forward. Magnis is a battery tech and materials company focused on scalable lithium-ion battery manufacturing and is positioning itself to join the only graphite industry supply chain outside of China...
Fleet Space Technologies has just completed its third fundraising round (Series C), more than doubling the company's valuation to over A$350 million (US$228 million). This financial achievement is a reflection of the company's innovative ExoSphere technology, which utilizes a constellation of low-earth-orbit nanosatellites for rapid 3D subsurface imaging that will help mining companies locate valuable minerals and metals. When combined with artificial intelligence and machine...
Stellantis Ventures has invested in accelerating the development and commercialization of Lyten's various 3D Graphene applications for the mobility industry, including the LytCell lithium-sulfur electric vehicle battery, lightweight composites, and groundbreaking onboard sensors. "We are delighted that Stellantis Ventures, as the venture investment arm of a global automotive innovator, has demonstrated a strong belief in our company and our Lyten 3D Graphene decarbonizing...
Starting this year, Swedish mining group Boliden will begin incorporating heavy battery-electric trucks into its underground transport fleet, beginning with two vehicles from Volvo Trucks. Diesel engines are a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions and hydrocarbons in underground mines – this poses a safety challenge that must be managed to ensure the health of below-ground miners. Diesel exhaust also increases the carbon footprint of mining companies seeking to r...
Like flying cars and jet packs, space travel, colonization and resource mining are all lagging behind the imaginations of Hollywood, scientists, and billionaire CEOs. This is partly because NASA and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (and any other nation's government-supported agencies) have a problem – the project ambitions of the U.S. Congress-funded space agency is hedged by the variable length of a presidential term and the resulting appointments. Therefore, it is up to the p... Full story
The last few years have seen big industries' social accountability come to the fore, with growing pressure to engage more holistically with the workforce, local communities, and environmental concerns. Evolving from this, a new business model of corporate performance has arrived in boardrooms, comprising a trifecta of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibilities. Keeping pace is the mining industry's collective push to be more sustainable and accountable,... Full story
In 2019, Exxon chemist Stanley Whittingham won the Nobel Prize for developing an early iteration of the lithium-ion battery while working at ExxonMobil's Clinton, New Jersey, corporate research lab back in 1973. Exxon even began a short run of manufacturing them in 1976, with early applications including camcorders, laptops, and cell phones. In 1972, the consensus among scientists was that we'd run out of oil in 50 years and had better find new technologies by the year 2000,... Full story
At first glance, it appears that mining giants have been slow on the uptake during the booming market for battery materials. This may demonstrate an unusual lack of forethought, or over the next few years, may actually prove they've been two steps ahead. In less than a decade, the likes of lithium, cobalt, and graphite went from minor materials to a demand so intense that several electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturers are jumping the usual supply chain and investing...
With mining for critical minerals like cobalt embattled on many fronts, the preference for fair trade options, need for source transparency, and massive investments in battery recycling infrastructure are being keenly felt. To meet demand, two ReSource electric vehicle (EV) battery passport pilots were successfully issued in January by the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) and its founding consortium of China Molybdenum (CMOC) mining group, Eurasian Resources Group (ERG),...
The U.S. Department of Defense has developed the Materials Recovery Technologies for Defense Supply Resiliency initiative in support of President Biden's 2021 directive to identify and address risks in the supply chain for critical minerals. The project is being run through Army Research Labs as a multi-year and multimillion-dollar international collaborative partnership between seven universities and five industry participants including Gopher Resource, the founding member...
Swedish researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology have developed a recovery method for recycling 100% of the silver and about 85% of the indium contained in thin-film solar cells in an environmentally friendly, room temperature process. "The problem is that the demand for indium and silver is high, and increased production is accompanied by a growing amount of production waste, which contains a mixture of valuable metals and hazardous substances," the scientists...
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...
Engineers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a soft polymer impregnated with gallium-indium liquid metal and silver micro-flakes to create a conductive material with self-healing properties. This marks a big step in the advancement of new materials for robotics, electronics, medicine, and the lesser-known field of "softbotics." This study, published in Nature Electronics, showcases the first material of its kind to maintain enough electrical adhesion to support...
In a surprising move, automotive multinational Stellantis has announced the acquisition of a 14.2% equity stake in McEwen Copper, a subsidiary of McEwen Mining, becoming the Canadian company's second-largest shareholder. This is an insightful move in Stellantis' sweeping decarbonization plan, placing the company over an aspect of its own strategic metal production as well as complementing its commitment to becoming a sustainable mobility tech provider. The industry leader's...
While not quite as easy as whipping up a science experiment in the kitchen, a research group from the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Engineering has developed an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to condense various rare earth elements (REEs) from natural water sources using common, food-safe ingredients. The research group, led by Professor Masayuki Azuma and Associate Professor Yoshihiro Ojima, have successfully tested an adsorbent material using dry...
Top electric vehicle battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution, which supplies Tesla and other automakers, announced on March 24 that it will invest approximately $5.5 billion in a complex in Queen Creek, Arizona. This investment marks the largest ever made for a stand-alone battery manufacturing facility in North America. Construction of the complex will break ground on two facilities this year; with $3.2 billion of the company's investment going to build a cylindrical EV...
Epiroc, a leading Swedish equipment and tech innovator for the mining and infrastructure industries, has partnered up with Japanese automation and AI startup iSpace and its Luxembourg-based subsidiary iSpace EU in a long-term collaboration agreement for developing commercial Moon missions. International space agencies' attentions have been focused on the principal chemical elements of the lunar surface that would provide for self-sustaining lunar habitation and the mining of...
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) announced it is allocating $450 million in grants to repurpose 1.5 million acres of current and former coal mining sites as green energy projects. "We share a belief, which is that the workers who powered the last century of industry and innovation can power the next one. They have the infrastructure, they have the expertise, they got the...
Global electrification of an extensive amount of industrial processes necessitates a counterbalance to the wave of new mining required for the electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure to meet carbon neutrality imperatives without doing further damage to the environment or simply displacing problems to other areas of the value stream. Technologies for capturing carbon dioxide are improving, but the captured CO2 still needs a rock-solid alternative to expensive... Full story
Geothermal power has generally represented region-specific and niche clean energy in the public consciousness for over a century. Today, thanks to a profusion of social outreach and government incentives, investors and leaders across both public and private sectors are exploring lesser-known applications and exciting advancements in the field. Just a few feet below the surface, the earth maintains a near-constant temperature that belies the seasonal extremes of aboveground... Full story
