The Elements of Innovation Discovered

tech metals


Sorted by date  Results 26 - 50 of 660

Page Up

  • U.S. military version of the Hummer EV charging through mud on an autumn day.

    DOD funds faster lithium at Thacker Pass

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 16, 2024

    Lithium Nevada receives Department of Defense grant to accelerate the domestic production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. To help meet growing demand for the batteries powering America's energy transition and military hardware, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Lithium Nevada Corp., a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp., $11.8 million to accelerate the extraction and processing of lithium carbonate at its Thacker Pass mine project in Nevada. "It is critical that...

  • Cover of IDTechEx’ Critical Material Recovery 2025-2045 report.

    EV recycling set to unlock $100 billion value

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    IDTechEx report examines potential of critical materials recovery from EVs to drive a circular economy by 2045. As the automotive industry shifts toward electrification, recycling end-of-life vehicles is becoming an increasingly important source of critical materials, potentially surpassing traditional mining. According to a recent report by IDTechEx, the recovery of valuable metals from electric vehicle batteries and motors is expected to generate over $100 billion annually...

  • Up close photo of three F-35 fighter jets flying in close formation.

    DOD backs Rare Earth Salts in Nebraska

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Awards innovative company $4.2 million to recycle the terbium needed for military and industrial applications from fluorescent lights. Toward achieving its mission to establish reliable and secure supplies of minerals critical to national security, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Nebraska-based Rare Earth Salts $4.22 million to advance its technology to recover terbium from recycled fluorescent light bulbs. "This award adds a domestic source for one of the most...

  • Industrial buildings and living quarters at a 1940s-era mine in Idaho.

    US antimony mine reaches permit goal line

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    After eight years of permitting, U.S. Forest Service issues draft decision for Perpetua's Stibnite Gold project in Idaho. In a move that is being hailed as a win for national security, the economy, and the environment, the U.S. Forest Service says it plans to approve the federal permits needed to develop Stibnite Gold, a mine project in Idaho that will be a significant domestic source of antimony critical to a number of military, high-tech, and consumer goods. "We believe...

  • Line of humanoid robots working in a factory setting.

    Robots to take over rare earth markets

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Adamas Intelligence forecasts that robotics and advanced air mobility will be large drivers of rare earth magnet demand in the coming years. Pullover electric vehicles, robots are expected to be the biggest driver of demand for magnet rare earths by 2040, according to the latest market outlook by Adamas Intelligence. "From a small demand category today led by industrial and consumer service robots, we forecast that robotics will grow to become the single largest NdFeB...

  • Pile of fine metal powder with two 3D-printed dodecahedrons.

    Greener 3D printing with recycled metals

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    Desktop Metal qualifies Continuum Powders' recycled superalloy for additive manufacturing. In a significant step toward advancing sustainable additive manufacturing (AM), Desktop Metal Inc. has qualified Continuum Powders Corp.'s 100% recycled Mar-M247 superalloy for use in its binder jet 3D printers, marking the first time a fully recycled alloy has been approved for the company's metal printing platforms. The adoption of recycled metals in 3D printing has faced significant... Full story

  • Solid gallium forms a liquid drop as it comes in contact with an open hand.

    Liquid gallium is stranger than assumed

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Sep 4, 2024

    New study upends what scientists thought they knew about why gallium melts in your hand. As a metal that turns to liquid at near room temperature and has the uncanny ability to take on the catalytic properties of other metals, gallium is an enigmatic element that intrigues material scientists. The understanding of why gallium melts at 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit (29.8 degrees Celsius), however, may have been built on a foundation as solid as this strange metal during the midday... Full story

  • Wireframe illustration of electric vehicles charging.

    U.S. lithium price consistency needed

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 27, 2024

    In a Fastmarkets interview, Nevada's Surge Battery Metals chairman discusses the need for transparency. Slackening growth in electric vehicle sales and an oversupply in China's battery capacity are weighing on demand for battery metals. While lithium, cobalt and nickel remain in oversupply, the response from producers cutting output will influence the long term, especially by slowing and halting the promise of U.S. lithium production. Demand will continue to increase over the... Full story

  • Three rows of columns on steel framework with connecting pipes in a warehouse.

    Ucore nabs Meteoric rare earth feedstock

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 21, 2024

    Companies enter into preliminary deal to process Brazilian rare earth carbonates at Ucore's Louisiana SMC. As part of its plan to forge a sturdy rare earth supply chain outside of China, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has cut a deal for the supply of 3,000 metric tons of total rare earth oxides (TREO) from a future mine at Meteoric Resources' Caldeira project in Brazil. "Ucore is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Meteoric and its world-class Caldeira project as we... Full story

  • Rows of cylindrical LEU+ fuel pellets at Westinghouse’s Springfield facility.

    U.S. succeeds in first HALEU production

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 20, 2024

    Westinghouse Electric creates LEU+, a middle-ground to more efficient and safer nuclear fuel. Marking a pivotal milestone that aligns with years of United States government planning to secure domestic nuclear energy resources, Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it has produced its first batch of Low Enriched Uranium Plus (LEU+) fuel pellets, a development that not only marks a significant technological achievement but also strengthens America's push to reduce... Full story

  • Infographic detailing $1.6 trillion of lithium battery investments by 2040.

    Heavy lithium battery investments needed

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 20, 2024

    Benchmark forecasts that $1.6 trillion for minerals, battery materials, gigafactories, and recycling will be required by 2040. As the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerates the buildout of lithium battery gigafactory capacity in the United States, battery supply chain experts at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimate that at least $1.6 trillion of investment into the battery supply chain is needed to meet demand by 2040 – almost triple the $571 billion estimated to meet d... Full story

  • A vial of red powder labeled CoSO4, the symbol for cobalt sulfate.

    Pentagon funds Ontario Cobalt Refinery

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech New|Updated Aug 20, 2024

    DOD awards Electra Battery Materials $20 million to help bring online enough North American cobalt supply for 1 million EV batteries. As part of its mission to shore up reliable and sustainable supply chain minerals and metals critical to America's economy and security, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Electra Battery Materials Corp. $20 million to complete the construction and commissioning of North America's only refinery capable of producing cobalt sulfate,... Full story

  • Three fully equipped U.S. combat soldiers during desert training exercises.

    China restricts critical antimony exports

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 16, 2024

    The U.S. relies on imports for 82% of its supply of this strategic mineral; China is the world's largest supplier. In its latest move to tighten controls of critical minerals, China has announced that it is placing state-controlled restrictions on the export of antimony, a vital ingredient in a wide range of household, industrial, high-tech, and military goods. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, American manufacturers use nearly 50 million pounds of antimony each year... Full story

  • Artist's rendition of undersea life and mineralized nodules.

    Abyssal dark oxygen defies early theories

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Deep sea mining has a new discovery to contend with. Deep sea mining has brought many abyssal research theories to light, including the vibrancy and delicacy of the sunless seafloor ecosystem, the amazing accretion of desirable minerals over millions of years into priceless little nodules that have been suggested could nearly eliminate land-based battery mineral mining in its entirety, and a new mystery – dark oxygen – defying previous theories about the origins of life on...

  • Two Komatsu mining trucks being assisted uphill by overhead trolley assist.

    Trolley lowers Baptiste nickel CO2 intensity

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Study shows that trolley assist for trucks would halve CO2 intensity of what is expected to be one of the world's cleanest sources of nickel. A recently completed engineering study has found that a trolley assist system for haul trucks would significantly reduce the carbon intensity of nickel produced at Baptiste, a project in central British Columbia being advanced by FPX Nickel Corp. that is already shaping up to be one of the cleanest sources of future nickel on the...

  • A close-up image of lumps of coal.

    DOE invests more in coal-derived REEs

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Funding to support additional research in extracting rare earth elements from coal byproducts, enhancing sustainability and domestic supply. As part of ongoing efforts to bolster domestic supplies of critical minerals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced an additional $10 million investment aimed at lowering costs and reducing the environmental impact of producing rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal... Full story

  • Marie Perrin in lab holding fluorescent bulb and reagent.

    New process pulls europium from e-waste

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential building blocks for the world's electronics and a host of developing energy transition technologies. Found in smartphones, computers, screens, and batteries, they are essential in everything from smartwatches to wind turbines. This suite of 15 elements, however, are notoriously challenging to separate. Conventional processes are often chemical-heavy and energy-intensive, requiring multiple extraction and purification steps, which are sl...

  • An SSD placed on top of an HDD, which can now be recycled for REEs.

    Microsoft backs Cyclic Materials recycling

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund invests in recycling REEs from hard drives. Signaling its commitment to a circular economy, Microsoft has made a notable endorsement by strategically investing in Cyclic Materials, a promising startup in advanced metals recycling. Announced July 16, this move by Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund highlights the tech giant's interest in sustainable innovation, particularly in recycling rare earth elements (REEs) from computer hard drives....

  • Image of the various erosion marks found within the Grand Canyon.

    Battle over mining near the Grand Canyon

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Decades-long clash continues over Colorado's uranium mines with implications for economy and national security. Mining near the Grand Canyon has been an embattled topic for decades, with an outcome that has implications for American jobs, the future of green energy, the economy, and national security. Uranium fuels nuclear power, a sustainable, efficient, plentiful and practically carbon-free energy. Miners like Colorado-based Energy Fuels Resources Inc. and the current...

  • Coin battery cells being held by clamps connected to a diagnostic machine.

    Rare tellurium gets national notice

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    US Department of Defense recognizes potential of critical energy metal; National Science Foundation offers First Tellurium grant opportunity. Tellurium is a rare element with some powerful properties that are being leveraged in American-made solar panels, solid-state batteries that could significantly extend the range of electric vehicles, and thermoelectric generators that convert temperature variations into clean electricity. Recognizing tellurium's criticality to clean ener...

  • A digital image of a globe overlaid with a graph and statistics.

    Investors are hedging cobalt bets

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    A few investors have been buying up cobalt amid battery metal slump. While sustainable domestic mines like Jervois Idaho Cobalt Operations in the U.S. fight to stick to opening targets and investors struggle with problematic environmental and social costs of battery metals from overseas, a glut of overproduced cobalt has driven prices down, and savvy investors are buying up physical material for when demand surges or geopolitical issues come to a head. Anchorage Capital...

  • The bright red mountains found in Kuska, Chile, South America.

    Lithium prices, investments flounder

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    BASF withdraws investment plans for Chile amid global slowdown of EV sales. A worldwide slowdown in electric vehicle sales has left lithium prices languishing at pre-2020 levels, quashing investments in bringing new supplies of the battery metal to market. The oversupply of lithium, in particular, is stifling new investment in the Lithium Triangle, a region of the Andes spanning parts of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. The triangle's lithium is concentrated in arid salt pans...

  • Shaking hands with sleeves representing Australian and Indian flags.

    Australia, India critical minerals collab

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 13, 2024

    Countries combine interests in security, defense, and the growing need for raw materials and processing for the oncoming energy transition. Australia is expanding its cooperation with India on critical minerals, batteries, and electric vehicles, batteries. Critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements are essential components in today's rapidly growing clean energy technologies, from adapting power grids to powering EVs. Both countries have...

  • Aerial view of industrial development at the site of a former cobalt mine.

    EXIM offers a U.S. Strategic Metals loan

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 9, 2024

    Export-Import Bank of the United States invites USSM to apply for a $400 million loan to develop critical minerals mining, processing, and recycling hub in Missouri. In what is shaping up to be a major boost to its mission to provide the United States with sustainable sources of metals critical to the energy transition, U.S. Strategic Metals (USSM) has been invited to apply for a $400 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to fund the development... Full story

  • Closeup of the rear taillights of a Lucid Air electric sedan.

    Lucid cuts supply deal with Graphite One

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 25, 2024

    Silicon Valley-based EV manufacturer to buy anode material from G1's coming graphite plant in Ohio. Toward its goal of creating sustainable mobility with cars that make the best possible use of the world's resources, California-based Lucid Motors has entered into an agreement to buy domestically produced graphite for the batteries powering its electric vehicles from a processing and recycling plant to be built by Graphite One Inc. in Ohio. "We are committed to accelerating... Full story

Page Down