The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Becancour, a small Quebec town along the shores of the St. Lawrence River about midway between Montreal and Quebec City, is rapidly emerging as an epicenter for producing the advanced materials needed for lithium-ion batteries powering the electric vehicle revolution. This rural Canadian town of around 12,800 people surfaced in the battery space about a year ago when Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. announced plans to build a facility there to produce the coated spherical purified... Full story
Ontario has developed a mines-to-market critical minerals strategy that leverages rich stores of critical minerals in the northern reaches of the Canadian province, the already well-established mining sector found there, and the robust manufacturing sector that has been developed in the south. "The Critical Minerals Strategy is our government's blueprint to connect industries, resources and workers in our province's north to the future of manufacturing in the south as we...
Adding to a growing list of deals to source the materials and components needed for its vision to get everybody in on its transition to an all-electric future, General Motors is working with POSCO Chemical to develop a roughly $400 million plant in Quebec to produce cathode active material for Ultium batteries that will power GM electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV, and Cadillac LYRIQ. Planning to have the capacity to build 1 million electric...
In a collaborative twist, automotive giant Honda Motor Co. Ltd. announced an agreement with Sony Group Corp. to explore the possibility of forming a strategic alliance aiming to create a new era of high value-added battery electric vehicles and commercialize them in conjunction with providing mobility services. While it may seem strange for the monolithic entertainment company that has brought into the world things like the Playstation and the original Spiderman movies, Sony...
Intrigued by Electra Battery Materials Corp.'s vision of developing a hydroelectric-powered battery materials park in Ontario, Talon Metals Corp. has joined a partnership that will investigate the potential of using this emerging Canadian facility to upgrade nickel produced at its coming Tamarack Mine in Minnesota into the battery-grade nickel sulfate needed for the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles. This partnership, which also includes the Ontario government a...
Toward its goal of eliminating 1,000 internal combustion vehicles from its fleet by 2025, Teck Resources Ltd. is piloting a fully electric on-highway transport truck to haul copper concentrates the roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) from its Highland Valley Mine in southern British Columbia and a rail loading facility in the town of Ashcroft. The Canadian miner says this will mark a world's first when it comes to battery-electric truck hauling copper concentrates from a mine....
Immediately following its partnership with Northvolt to build a 50-gigawatt-hour-per-year battery gigafactory in Sweden, Volvo Cars announced plans to invest roughly US$1.1 billion (10 billion Swedish kronor) to ready its Torslanda manufacturing plant to produce the next generation of fully electric vehicles. "With these investments we take an important step towards our all-electric future and prepare for even more advanced and better electric Volvos," said Volvo Cars Chief...
Redwood Materials Inc., an American battery recycling company that has been quietly prepping for an energy transition before it became a well-circulated buzzword, has already begun its own transition to the European market. Founded in 2017 by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, this forward-thinking recycling company has rapidly climbed to a valuation of $3.8 billion as of September 2021. In a recent interview, Associated Press journalist Tom Krishner asked Straubel whether Redwood... Full story
Battery pioneer Britishvolt, the United Kingdom's foremost investor in battery cell technologies, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lotus to develop tailor-made battery cells to go into electric vehicles produced by the premier UK sportscar manufacturer. "Britishvolt is excited to be working with such a prestigious and highly acclaimed OEM as Lotus," said Britishvolt Chief Commercial Officer Oliver Jones. "This MoU demonstrates that the legacy one-size-fits-all...
Alberta has been chosen as the best locale to develop a critical minerals refinery that would process concentrates from Fortune Minerals Ltd.'s planned Nico cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. A mine at Nico and an associated hydrometallurgical refinery in a Canadian province would produce an average of 1,800 metric tons of battery-grade cobalt sulfate; 1,700 metric tons of bismuth; 300 metric tons of copper; and 47,000 ounces of gold annually ov...
On the heels of Rio Tinto's order for four battery-electric locomotives to pull trains of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, BHP has placed an order for four of its own battery-electric locomotives to be trialed on its Western Australia Iron Ore rail network. Both of these global miners see electrification of mining and transport equipment as an important facet of achieving their steep carbon dioxide emission reduction targets moving forward. "Replacing... Full story
Seeking greener and more efficient technology for the production of advanced lithium materials for rechargeable batteries, Australia-based Albemarle Corp. has entered into a joint development agreement with 6K, a United States-based company that has developed a cutting-edge microwave-controlled plasma technology for producing advanced materials. Dubbed UniMelt, this patented technology leverages the physics of plasma chemistry to produce high-purity and customized materials...
As the competition for supplies of the minerals and metals needed to build electric vehicles heats up, Tesla Inc. has cut a deal to secure the nickel for the lithium-ion batteries to power its future EVs from Talon Metals Corp.'s Tamarack project in Minnesota. Located 54 miles west of Duluth, the Tamarack project is slated to produce roughly 28 million pounds of nickel, plus 17 million lb of copper, per year over the first nine years of mining. Talon's commitment to reducing t...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of an ultra-long fiber that can be woven into fabrics and even washed. This latest innovation could enable a wide variety of wearable electronic devices and might even be used to make 3D-printed batteries in virtually any shape. The team envisions new possibilities for self-powered communications, sensing, and computational devices that could be worn like ordinary...
The proposed list of 50 critical minerals unveiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in November shined a light on how dependent the United States is on foreign countries for rare earth elements and a broad array of other technology metals vital to electric vehicles, clean energy, high-tech, and other industrial sectors. The enormous Round Top deposit in the West Texas desert hosts nearly half of the minerals and metals deemed critical to America's economic wellbeing and national...
Upon exceeding 500,000 electric vehicles – including battery EVs and hybrids – in 2019, BMW Group announced plans to surpass 1 million electrified vehicles within two years. Fast forward, Dec. 6, 2021, and the German automaker has kept its promise. "The delivery of our one-millionth electrified vehicle marks a milestone in our transformation – and we already have the next one in our sights: We aim to break through the two-million mark in just two years," said Pieter Nota,...
As rapidly advancing technology leaves behind printed circuit boards, old computers, obsolete televisions, and other electrical devices, mountains of electronic waste, or e-waste, being stockpiled around the world is becoming a major environmental concern. Considered the fastest-growing waste stream in the developed world, scientists and policymakers worry that these end-of-life products are spawning environmental contamination and seepage into the world's food chain. Others,...
Joining the trend of world-class automakers reshaping their entire focus on a zero-carbon future, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. has unveiled Nissan Ambition 2030, a vision for delivering exciting electric vehicles and technologies over the coming decade. "The role of companies to address societal needs is increasingly heightened," said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida. "With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification, advance technologies to reduce carbon footprint... Full story
A recent analysis by the Zero Emission Transportation Association found that electric vehicle drivers save upwards of $10,000 in operating costs when compared to similar internal combustion engine cars, trucks, and SUVs. Given the increases in the cost of filling up an ICE vehicle at the gas pump, the savings of driving an EV are likely to increase. "This month's Consumer Price Index shows once again that gas prices are surging, which has been exacerbated by Putin's invasion... Full story
With its sights set on supporting North and South America's mining sectors with a growing line of equipment and technological innovations, Hitachi has broken ties with John Deere and launched Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas Inc. Hitachi and Deere have been working together since the 1960s and officially forged a partnership to build and distribute excavators in the United States during 1988. This joint venture, which brought together Hitachi Construction Machinery's... Full story
It is an inconvenient truth that the low-carbon future envisioned by world leaders that gathered for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, cannot be built without massive new supplies of minerals and metals. While battery metals, rare earths, and other critical minerals have garnered the spotlight for their role in building this future of traveling and transporting goods with electric vehicles charged with renewable energy – and rightfully so – the inc... Full story
Looking to establish itself as a major new player in the technology metals and energy transition metals space, Welsbach Technology Metals Acquisition Corp. has launched a $75 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market. Led by CEO Daniel Mamadou, a technology metals advisor with more than 20 years of experience in global banking, Welsbach is being established as a blank check company that will use the funds raised through its IPO to invest in and support... Full story
While laying out an action plan to establish the national network of electric vehicle charging stations needed to keep pace with its ambitious goal of 50% of all vehicles sold in the United States being electric by 2030, the Biden administration reiterated that domestic battery manufacturing and critical minerals supplies are key aspects of the overall EV strategy. The White House is backing up this commitment to domestic battery supply chains with roughly $20 billion in loan... Full story
Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. Dec. 9 announced that the pilot production and testing plant for its graphene aluminum-ion batteries is now operational and the first coin cells of these potential lithium-ion battery competitors have been manufactured. "The commissioning of our battery pilot plant is an important milestone for GMG," said Managing Director and CEO of Graphene Manufacturing Group Craig Nicol. "Not only will it allow us to develop, manufacture and test our own... Full story
Does the United States' electric vehicle ambitions put the cart before the horse? Or, more precisely, place the EVs ahead of the raw material supply chains needed to build them? The Biden administration wants half of all vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030. This comes at a time when the European Union has called for a complete transition away from fossil-fuel-burning automobiles by 2035, and China is making its own massive push into the EV sector. This envisioned... Full story
