The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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In addition to dealing a major blow to the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on a chink in the United States' economic and security armor – an overreliance on foreign countries for the minerals and metals that lie at the frontend of American supply chains. "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how delicate our supply chains are and that should be a wakeup call for all of us," Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources Chair Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said d... Full story
Vanadium, which is in high demand today for its ability to strengthen steel alloys – specifically for manufacturing high-strength, low alloy rebar used in earthquake-resistant construction around the globe, as well as automotive, aerospace and military applications – is gradually gaining ground in the renewable energy sector. The hard, silvery-gray metal is the 22nd most abundant element in the Earth's crust, though it is rarely found naturally in its metallic form. Ins... Full story
Adapting to a future of renewable energy, trendsetters are focusing on recycling lithium-ion batteries to create a more efficient repurposing of one of the most vital and important technologies of today and possibly the future. Lithium-ion batteries have been around for decades but as we see a forward push for an electric future, the demand has changed to necessity. Global climate concerns, finite resources and the sheer growth of technology that requires mobile energy all... Full story
The sourcing of the cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and other materials that go into lithium-ion batteries, and what happens to these rechargeable cells when they are spent has many worried that electric vehicles may not be any better for the environment than their internal combustion counterparts. To address these concerns before they become a problem, the U.S. Department of Energy, Ford Motor Company and Everledger have teamed up on pilot programs to ensure EV and... Full story
The global shift to renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, and electric vehicles (EV) requires a vast amount of several minerals and metals. While supplying the huge amount of mined materials needed for the coming clean energy transition poses challenges, especially if not managed responsibly and sustainably, World Bank Group sees economic opportunities for some of the world's poorest regions. "The World Bank supports a low-carbon transition where mining is... Full story
Mercedes-Benz is investing in Chinese developer and supplier of lithium-ion batteries, Farasis Energy, in accordance with the German automaker's goal to become carbon-neutral automotive company. The renowned luxury car manufacturer has invested a purported 13 million euros into Farasis, giving parent company Daimler the option to nominate a representative for a seat on the supervisory board of the battery cell manufacturer. Present contracts with Farasis have been amended and... Full story
Recycling metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and rare earths from outmoded computers play a vital role in the United States reclaiming its critical mineral independence, according to Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. "Until our country can start mining and refining more of these materials or develop commercially viable substitutes, we must recycle as much critical mineral and REE content as we can from existing products," Brouillette penned in an editorial recently...
VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. has positioned itself along the entire vanadium-based energy storage supply chain, from Canadian mineral exploration projects that could provide future supplies of this critical metal, to new technology to sustainably produce battery-grade vanadium, and even developing its own brand of vanadium redox flow batteries. "Whether you believe in climate change, reducing pollution, or simply making the world a better place, we can all agree there is no...
House Republicans have introduced legislation aimed at breaking the United States' dependence on foreign countries such as China for the minerals and metals critical to high-tech, renewable energy and other sectors of America's economy. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), the American Critical Mineral Exploration and Innovation Act of 2020 includes mine permitting reform, advanced critical minerals development strategies and...
Up next on the cohort of companies included in the Prospect Mining Studio lineup is Carbon Upcycling Technologies; a company that believes carbon is a resource, not a problem, and is developing a system that could lead to new methods of transforming emissions into carbon nanoparticle additives for commercial applications. By utilizing carbon dioxide emissions to cultivate nanoparticles that can enhance materials like concrete, plastics and batteries, the Calgary,...
The World Bank Group estimates that more than 3 billion tons of minerals and metals will be needed to deploy the wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as energy storage, required to meet carbon reduction goals to achieve the 2 degree Celsius temperature increase limit outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The global adoption of renewable energies could power a 500% increase in the annual production of battery minerals such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, according to a...
First Cobalt Corp. has taken another step on its path to becoming a North American producer of cobalt sulfate for the electric vehicle industry. An important ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs, cobalt has been maligned due to concerns over human rights abuses, including dangerous working conditions and child labor. These worries are primarily due to the fact that 60% of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country...
Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and the Samsung R&D Institute Japan (SRJ) are working on high-performance, long-lasting all-solid-state batteries that are expected to significantly increase the range of electric vehicles. A prototype pouch cell developed by the SAIT and SRJ teams would enable an EV to travel up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) on a single charge and features a cycle life of over 1,000 charges. Compared to widely used lithium-ion batteries, which...
As lithium-ion battery and electric car companies seek reliable and ethical sources of cobalt, Fortune Minerals Ltd. has sights set on supplying some of that cobalt – along with copper, gold and bismuth – from its Nico mine project in Northwest Territories and associated refinery in Canada. Over the past two decades, Fortune has advanced Nico from an in-house mineral discovery to a development stage project that could produce two critical metals, a third metal vital to an ele...
Detroit-based auto giant General Motors has taken an enormous leap towards an all-electric vehicle future with the reveal of their new Ultium battery and a plan to rapidly grow its EV portfolio, further ushering in the next generation of transportation. Household names from the Detroit carmaker, such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick have gone all-in towards the production of their electric vehicle models, expanding the EV lineup under GM to 22 vehicles by 2023, including...
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has rolled out plans to get more electric vehicles into and less carbon dioxide emitting from Canadian mines in the coming years. To help Canada achieve its climate goals and keep its mining sector and other industries competitive, the federal government plans to include off-road vehicles to the current zero-emission incentive for electric vehicles on Canadian highways. Trudeau introduced the plan during a March 2 speech at the Prospectors &...
BMW Group has unveiled its Concept i4, a gran coupe that brings fully electric vehicles to the core of the BMW brand. "The design is dynamic, clean and elegant. In short: a perfect BMW that happens to be zero emission," Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design said when describing the Concept i4. The concept revealed on March 2 represents a look ahead to the BMW i4, slated to enter production in 2021. BMW said the Concept i4 blends a modern, elegantly...
Mining powerhouse Rio Tinto is raising the renewable energy standard for all global industrialized sectors by completely powering its future Koodaideri iron mine in Pilbara, Australia with solar energy. Having approved of a US$98 million-dollar (A$144 million) investment in a new solar plant as well as lithium-ion battery storage at Koodaideri, Rio Tinto seeks to achieve a fully renewable mine site as early as 2021. This is expected to be Rio Tinto's first company-owned solar...
The United States depends on foreign countries for more than 50 percent of its supply of 31 minerals considered critical to the nation's economic wellbeing and national security, including 100 percent import-reliant for 14 of them, according to Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report. The list of mined commodities for which the U.S. is fully reliant on foreign nations for its supply is littered with high-tech minerals and metals needed for rene...
As security concerns mount over the nearly total reliance of the United States on foreign sources of rare earth elements, mostly from China, researchers in public and private laboratories across the country are aggressively searching for ways to spur domestic production of these critical minerals in the face of rapidly growing global demand. Rare earths, which in reality are plentiful in natural settings, can be found most everywhere. But the prohibitive financial and environm...
Growing demand for electric vehicles has prompted the BMW Group to accelerate the expansion of production capacity and staff at its Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing, Germany. "We are embarking on a massive expansion of our Competence Centre for E-Drive Production in Dingolfing – from 8,000 square meters currently to 80,000 in the future. This is where we produce powertrain components for our fully and partially electric models," said BMW Group Head of P...
Understanding that the transition to renewable energy is going to require a vast amount of metals yet mining them consumes a lot of energy, Teck Resources Ltd. is joining a growing number of mining companies with aims of becoming carbon neutral. On Feb. 3, the diversified Canada-based miner announced a goal to be carbon neutral across all operations and activities by 2050. "Setting the objective to be carbon neutral by 2050 is an important step forward in our commitment to...
"I care deeply about the environment, which is why I work in the mining industry," is how Lucy Crane, opened a TEDx talk on mining's role in battling climate change. A geologist who completed her undergraduate in earth sciences at Oxford and earned her Master's in Mining Geology at the Camborne School of Mines, Crane is all too familiar with the stigma mining has and the disconnect between clean energy and the mined materials that make that energy possible. And she is tired of...
Tesla Inc. needs an increasing amount of lithium, graphite, nickel and cobalt for the lithium-ion batteries that power its growing lineup of electric vehicles. With its own rapid expansion, coupled with every major automotive brand in the world adding increasing numbers of EV models to their lineups, securing sustainable and ethical supplies of the lithium, cobalt, graphite, and nickel that go into the batteries that power these zero-emission automobiles has become crucial....
Whether it is a necklace from Tiffany & Co., an Apple iPhone or a pre-ordered Tesla Cybertruck, many buyers want to know that the metals going into the products they are purchasing are sourced ethically and sustainably. Metals pass through many hands on their way from mine to consumer, which can make it hard to ensure the source of the minerals. This adds time and cost and origins tend to become convoluted and even questionable. As we evolve into the digital age, recording...
