The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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In a discovery that is approaching an "alchemist's dream", a team of scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and Tokyo Tech has transformed glass into a light-powered semiconductor that could be the window into future clean energy generation. Interested in the behavior of atoms in tellurite glass when exposed to ultrafast bursts of high-energy laser light, the researchers were surprised that a short burst of energy over one femtosecond, or one quadri...
With the groundwork laid out for its THERMAL-XR graphene-based HVAC coating, Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. (GMG) recently expanded its product reach to North America, receiving approval from Canada and awaiting the final okays from the U.S. Based out of Richlands, Australia, GMG is a clean-tech company that, instead of mining or sourcing graphite to refine into graphene, makes the wonder material through a unique synthetic process. The company has devised a proprietary...
The Kapolei Energy Storage (KES) facility run by Plus Power has begun operations in Oahu, Hawaii, touted as the most advanced grid-scale standalone battery energy storage system in the world. The facility replaces a defunct coal power plant and will support roughly one-fifth of the population's energy needs, including moderating renewables, reducing electricity bills, and protecting against blackouts. Hawaii's infamous island prices for imported goods were never so alarmingly...
Building the infrastructure that can sustain life is the first step to living outside of Earth's atmosphere. Seeing as it is currently impractical to launch hundreds of rockets laden with all the equipment and supplies needed for a space colony, the European Space Agency is testing extraterrestrial additive manufacturing with the first metal 3D printer delivered to the International Space Station. Although several 3D printers already exist on board the ISS, the first of which...
In the next move toward zero-emissions solutions beyond battery-electric vehicles, General Motors and Honda Motor Co. announced their switch to a co-developed system producing hydrogen fuel cells commercially. Both manufacturers announced their intention to shift away from diesel and focus on hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), marking this as the first time they have been produced at scale. Honda and GM engineers focused on lowering costs by advancing the cell...
Further positioning itself as a future domestic supplier of battery materials, American Battery Technology Company announced a substantial expansion of resources at its Tonopah Flats lithium project in Nevada. The Tonopah Flats lithium project encompasses one of the largest known inferred lithium claystone deposits in the United States. While ABTC only began exploration of this lithium deposit in Nevada's Big Smoky Valley in 2021, the company has quickly turned out an...
DOE national lab verifies stronger and more flexible 3D-printed metal. As additive manufacturing continues to shift from hobbyist to mainstream, research has ramped up to delve deeper into its expansive applications. A significant focus lies in the materials, such as those being called high-entropy alloys, that unlock unprecedented compositions unattainable through conventional methods. This innovation being explored by scientists has now been examined to its very atomic...
A new room-temperature liquid-metal battery of the University of Texas may provide more power than lithium-ion batteries while competing with solid-state batteries for their chance under the hood of the electric vehicle of the future. A report published in the journal Advanced Materials, describes a design which combines the strengths of both solid-state and liquid-state batteries while circumventing several of their disadvantages. This new battery has increased energy...
Researchers at MIT have demonstrated a lithium-ion battery cathode made with organic materials, offering a more sustainable way to power electric vehicles, and Lamborghini is all-in. "I think this material could have a big impact because it works really well," said Mircea Dincă, W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper on the findings published in the journal ACS Central Science. "It is already competitive with incumbent technologies, and it can save...
Introducing yet another innovation out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers have developed an additive manufacturing technique that can rapidly print liquid metal into large-scale parts like table legs and chair frames in a matter of minutes. To date, nearly 20 different methods of 3D printing are being utilized, most employing a technique of heating the material after it has been prepared. This is due to various factors, but generally because the material in...
"At the time, physicists were just starting to talk about the potential of quantum technologies and quantum computers," 36-year-old Mickael Perrin recalled of his career beginnings 12 years ago. "Today there are dozens of start-ups in this area, and governments and companies are investing billions in developing the technology further. We are now seeing the first applications in computer science, cryptography, communications and sensors." Perrin's research has married...
Making some headlines so far this year, a research paper published in "Advanced Quantum Technologies" by leading quantum technology company, Terra Quantum, details a topic that swept the world up in a storm last fall – room temperature superconductors – and much like the excitement of LK-99, this superconductor is also made of a fairly benign ingredient, graphite. Superconductivity is the ability of a conductor to transmit electrical current without the loss of any ene...
Further advancing the disease-fighting products it developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zentek Ltd. has released the details of a new study focused on the logistics and costs for commercial facilities that adopt its graphene-based ZenGUARD Enhanced Air Filters, as well as the benefits its product provides to mitigate the spread of airborne transmissive pathogens. "We have learned through the pandemic that viruses spread almost exclusively when people are indoors, and one...
Aluminum-sulfur, iron-phosphate, nickel-hydride, solid-state, redox flow, molten-salt, the growing list of potential alternatives to lithium-ion batteries has exploded onto the scene in the past few years as experts quickly determined a single battery technology could not withstand the torrent of technologies vital to power a future of clean, sustainable energy. One of the most promising contenders is sodium-ion batteries, and with support from automaker giant Stellantis, it...
Naturally occurring hydrothermal systems have always been a limited, localized energy source, offering steady production that doesn't vary with the weather or time of day – as long as there are very specific conditions of heat, water, and permeable rock. These specific conditions do not always occur where energy is needed, which is a primary reason why geothermal power provides less than 1% of global renewable energy capacity. Recent advances in the emerging technology of e...
As silicon reaches its limits, Georgia Tech and Chinese researchers have created graphene semiconductors that may usher in new era of next-gen electronics. Silicon, which has been the foundational material for computers and electronics over the past seven decades, is reaching its limits in terms of making the next generations of faster and smaller electronic devices. The creation of the world's first graphene semiconductor by a team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of...
Accelerating efforts to broaden its rare earths and critical elements supply chain, American Resources Corp. announced that its affiliated company, Novusterra Inc., has signed a strategic partnership with key industries leaders, including the United States Air Force, for its patented technology on the production of carbon nanomaterial additives for future sustainable infrastructure. "We are honored to serve alongside our partners at Kenai Defense, Texas Tech University and...
The world's transition away from fossil fuels to sustainable green energy sources is rapidly increasing the demand for economical storage methods that has thus far centered on lithium-ion batteries. The limited availability in the West of lithium and other critical metals, such as cobalt and rare earth elements, raises significant concern about the sustainability of the lithium-ion technology. One potential alternative may be the sodium-ion battery. According to the European...
After successful incentives and mobilization, federal agency says to keep eyes peeled for more development. With a resurgence of nuclear energy in 2022 marking possibly the most significant year for nuclear energy since its inception, 2023 was the year to see if legislation put forth by the Biden administration to reinvigorate this stigmatized power supply would lift off. And according to the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, it appears to have been a...
As the world continues to shift away from older technologies and carbon-emitting energy production, researchers have sought ways to reimagine their uses and align them with modern ideals. The number one candidate – coal – has been an energy lynchpin and an economic keystone for more than a century. Instead of cutting away the lifeline, science seeks to utilize this ancient material in new, high-tech ways. With companies turning coal into clean technologies such as bui...
The current industry standard for electric vehicle batteries targets a 20% capacity loss over 700 charging cycles, which means an EV that rolls off the lot with a 250-mile range could end its life with a range of 50 fewer miles per charge by the time the odometer clicks to around 150,000 miles. (For some vehicles like the Tesla Model S, the pricier 100-kilowatt-hour batteries degrade faster than 85- and 70-kWh options.) Meanwhile, U.S. company QuantumScape's solid-state cell...
Enlisting the expertise of a former senior executive at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and national security expert to its board of directors, ReElement Technologies Corp. is better positioned to launch its patented rare earths and critical minerals separation and purification technology beyond the borders of the United States. A former intelligence community senior executive who retired from the CIA after 30 years of distinguished service, Kevin Higgins brings ample...
From Trudeau's visit to Vital REE plant to a Chinese firm buying Vital stock and Canada rare earths, MTN counts down the 10 most popular articles of 2023. From the energy transition driving enormous new demand for technology metals to advances in technologies that make the mining of those materials more efficient and sustainable, 2023 was a big year for tech metals and mining tech news. Here are the 10 most popular Metal Tech News articles of 2023: No. 10 - Trudeau tours Vital...
Chance graphene discovery leads to tech company pushing forward next generation of K-State research. In a similar serendipitous fashion that enabled the original discovery of graphene, scientists from Kansas State University were astounded when an experiment predicted to create aerosol gel failed, leaving their material in a smoldering pile. Instead, the researchers were left with a sooty black substance that would result in an explosive new way to produce the wonder...
Wielding the capability of Germany's largest chemical manufacturer, BASF launched a new solution to recycled metals that will enable companies to verify carbon reductions and track sustainability goals through its newly launched Verdium treatment. Independently validated by leading safety science company UL Solutions, with the approval from a third party, BASF felt confident in releasing what it believes will counter emissions from the recycling of critically valuable...
