Canadaa-based Prairie Lithium has commissioned the third iteration of its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) pilot plant at the Emerald Park testing facility. The DLE pilot is designed to process deep subsurface brines sourced from Prairie Lithium’s Fall 2022 drilling program when 600 m3 of lithium rich brine was reserved for... Read more →

LanzaTech and Sumitomo Riko Company have entered into a joint-development agreement to reuse rubber, resin and urethane waste for the production of a key chemical intermediate, isoprene. Isoprene is produced by plants, and along with its polymers, is the main component of natural rubber. Natural rubber is widely regarded as... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK On to secure a supply of EV batteries in North America. Under the MOU, both parties will cooperate to provide SK On batteries to the Group’s plants in the US after 2025 for the EV production. Further details on... Read more →

Rio Tinto is planning to invest a further $600 million in renewable energy assets in the Pilbara as part of the company’s efforts to decarbonize its Western Australian iron ore operations. The investment will fund the construction of two 100MW solar power facilities as well as 200 MWh of on-grid... Read more →

Finland-based Keliber’s long-planned lithium project is progressing into the construction phase, as preparatory work on the lot of the lithium hydroxide refinery will be kicked off before Christmas. The refinery will be built in Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP), and it will produce lithium hydroxide. Starting the construction of the refinery... Read more →

Norway-based research organization SINTEF is currently heading a major EU-funded project called HARARE, which aims to use hydrogen to recover copper and aluminum from copper slag and bauxite residues (red muds), respectively. HARARE stands for “Hydrogen As the Reducing Agent in the REcovery of metals and minerals from metallurgical waste”.... Read more →

Rio Tinto has shown the effectiveness of a low-carbon iron-making process using ores from its mines in Australia in a small-scale pilot plant in Germany, and is now planning the development of a larger-scale pilot plant to further assess its potential to help decarbonize the steel value chain. The process,... Read more →

Niron Magnetics, a developer of high-performance, rare earth-free permanent magnets (earlier post), announced that the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded the company a $17.5-million grant as part of its Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program.... Read more →

LG Chem today has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state of Tennessee to establish a new cathode manufacturing facility in Clarksville with an investment of US$3.2 billion. The new Clarksville plant will be the largest of its kind in the United States, covering 420 acres with a... Read more →

Rare earth elements (REEs), especially heavy REEs (HREEs), are important in modern industry. However, conventional mining techniques apply excessive usage of ammonium-salt-based leaching agents to recover HREEs from ion-adsorption rare earth deposits (IADs), which exhibits low efficiency and devastating environmental impact on the local ecosystem. A research team led by... Read more →

Constellium SE is supplying aluminum auto body sheet for the all-new Maserati Grecale SUV. Constellium is the primary supplier of auto body sheet solutions for the closures of the Maserati Grecale, including the hood, liftgate, and doors. For the outer surface of the hood and liftgate, Constellium provides Surfalex, its... Read more →

The US Department of Agriculture has awarded Bridgestone and several partners a $35-million grant to continue its investment in desert shrub guayule (earlier post) to advance a climate-smart domestic rubber industry and offer a solution for growers amid the ongoing water crisis in the Southwestern US. The grant will be... Read more →

Vale Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Vale S.A., and General Motors signed a term sheet for the long-term supply of battery grade nickel sulfate from Vale’s proposed plant at Bécancour, Québec, Canada. This agreement secures for GM a supply of nickel sulfate from a US free-trade partner to support GM’s... Read more →

Sakuu, the developer of Swift Print solid-state battery technology (earlier post), entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LiCAP Technologies, a provider of sustainable and scalable electrode coating solutions. Under the MOU, the two companies will partner to establish best practices for end-to-end development and the reliable commercial supply... Read more →

Following initial contracts with European suppliers, the BMW Group has now concluded further agreements for the supply of CO2-reduced steel in the US and China. In the medium-term, the BMW Group will increase CO2 savings through agreements with additional steel suppliers and thus consistently drive forward the decarbonization of its... Read more →

by Brent Wilson, president and CEO of Galvanic Energy It’s no secret that a steady supply of lithium is essential to the growth of the electric vehicle industry both here and abroad. We can find the lithium. The catch is identifying lithium that can be harvested economically and in a... Read more →

Vulcan Energy Resources Limited has successfully developed, tested and demonstrated its own in-house lithium extraction sorbent, VULSORB, for sustainable lithium extraction from the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field and the Zero Carbon Lithium Project. (Earlier post.) VULSORB demonstrated higher performance and lower water consumption for lithium extraction in Vulcan’s pilot... Read more →

As demand for electric vehicles (EVs) soars, spurred by government incentives and a push to decarbonize the transportation sector, the global battery industry is set to attract significant attention and investment. Rystad Energy forecasts total EV sales this year will reach nearly 10 million units, a 43% jump from 2021... Read more →

As the world’s first truck manufacturer to do so, Volvo has begun using fossil-free steel in its trucks. The first electric trucks with fossil-free steel are now being delivered to customers. In September, Volvo Trucks started series production of heavy-duty electric, 44 tonne trucks, as the first global truck manufacturer... Read more →

6K Additive, a division of 6K, a leader in the sustainable production of engineered materials for additive manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries, and Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT are collaborating to create a complete life cycle assessment (LCA) for additive manufacturing. The study will use sustainably manufactured Ni718 powder produced... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a $12-million Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE‐FOA‐0002823) to support the extraction and conversion of lithium from geothermal brines to use in batteries for stationary storage and electric vehicles. Geothermal brines are a byproduct of geothermal power that contain a host of minerals, including lithium.... Read more →

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI) and Ames National Laboratory have improved the properties of a rare-earth-free permanent magnet material and demonstrated the process can be upscaled for manufacturing. The researchers developed a new method of manufacturing manganese bismuth (MnBi) magnets based on microstructure engineering. This... Read more →

Global chemical company BASF and Moleaer, a developer of industrial-scale nanobubble technology, announced an exclusive partnership. This partnership will combine expertise in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, gas transfer, and nanobubble technology to develop innovative processes for mining. The initial aim is to target the copper leaching process and improve extraction rates... Read more →

The Government of Canada has ordered three Chinese companies to divest from three Canadian critical mineral companies: Power Metals, Lithium Chile, and Ultra Lithium. (Earlier post.) Ultra Lithium has now issued a statement noting that the company has been advised that Zangge Mining Investment (Chengdu) Co. Ltd. (Zangge) received the... Read more →

Battery manufacturer SK On signed a lithium hydroxide supply deal with Chile’s SQM, a move that will further strengthen SK On’s supply chain for critical battery materials in coping with the US “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA) following its recent deals with Australian lithium developers. Under the deal, SK On will... Read more →

The Government of Canada has ordered the divestiture of the following investments by three Chinese companies in Canadian critical mineral companies: Sinomine (Hong Kong) Rare Metals Resources Co., Limited is required to divest itself of its investment in Power Metals Corp. Power Metals Corp is a Canadaian mining company exploring... Read more →

Earlier this year, Australian lithium miner Core Lithium entered into a binding term sheet with Tesla for the supply of up to 110,000 tonnes of Li2O spodumene concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project over a term of 4 years, with pricing referenced to the market price for spodumene concentrate, subject... Read more →

Solvay and Orbia have entered into a joint venture framework agreement to create a partnership for the production of suspension-grade polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), creating the largest capacity in North America. The total investment is estimated to be around $850 million, and is expected to be funded in part by a... Read more →

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has released recommended steel industry greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculation guidelines to provide consistent and comprehensive data across the industry on GHG emissions from steel production, with a focus on product-level disclosures and corporate-level reporting. The proposed guidelines are the result of months-long... Read more →

General Motors and battery manufacturer Microvast will work together to develop specialized EV battery separator technology and build a new separator plant in the US. This work will be supported by a $200-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing initiative. Separators are safety-critical... Read more →

Meta Materials, a developer of high-performance smart materials and nanocomposites, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in partnership with DuPont Teijin Films and Mitsubishi Electric Europe. Using META’s PLASMAfusion, the parties plan to scale a proprietary, high-volume, roll-to-roll manufacturing system for film-based, coated copper current collectors. PLASMAfusion uses a... Read more →

In mid-October, TMC the metals company Inc. (earlier post) successfully collected an initial batch of seafloor polymetallic nodules, and transported them up a 4km riser system to the surface, in what represents the first integrated system test conducted in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean since the 1970s.... Read more →

Global miners BHP and Rio Tinto have formed a partnership agreement to accelerate the development of technology that could significantly increase water recovery from mine tailings, and in turn reduce potential safety risks and environmental footprints associated with tailings storage facilities. Tailings usually takes the form of a liquid slurry... Read more →

POSCO Holdings has moved up the scheduled investment in the second stage of a lithium production operation in Argentina from next year to now, due to increased demand for lithium amid booming investment in the secondary battery sector resulting from the “Inflation Reduction Act ” in the United States. The... Read more →

A new method to ensure consistency and quality in rubber manufacturing, developed by a research team from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Eastman, is likely to show real-world impact on material sustainability and durability for products such as car tires. An open-access paper on their approach, “Sulfur Dispersion Quantitative... Read more →

Indonesia is both the world’s largest nickel producer and the country with the biggest nickel reserves. (Most of Indonesia’s nickel output is currently Class 2 nickel, a low-purity type used for stainless steel. The country’s government and the mining sector are determined to transform its nickel industry to meet the... Read more →

Epsilon Advanced Materials, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon Private Limited, and Finnish Minerals Group have agreed to set up a framework for assessing the possibilities of establishing an anode material production plant in Vaasa, Finland. The companies have signed a mutual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further this cooperation.... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E) will award $39 million in funding to 16 projects across 12 states to develop market-ready technologies that will increase domestic supplies of critical elements required for the clean energy transition. The selected projects, led by universities, national laboratories, and... Read more →

The Copper Mark, an assurance framework set up to promote the responsible production of copper, is launching the pilot implementation of the Molybdenum, Nickel and Zinc Marks. Producers of these metals are able to use the Copper Mark assurance framework to achieve their respective “Mark”, thereby signaling their leadership in... Read more →

Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co., Ltd., the Japan-based parent company of the specialty chemicals manufacturer Toyo Ink Group, announced the official opening of a new wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary, Toyo Ink Hungary LLC, in Ujhartyan in Pest County, Hungary. The new entity produces and markets Lioaccum carbon nanotube (CNT) conductive dispersions... Read more →

Researchers from Sogang University and Hyundai have quantitatively revealed the effect of surface topography of lithium metal anodes on dendrite growth using an electro-chemo-mechanical phase-field model. A paper on their work is published in the Journal of Power Sources. Lithium (Li) metal, which has the advantages of high theoretical capacity,... Read more →

Ascend Elements has begun construction of its largest electric vehicle battery recycling and engineered materials manufacturing facility. The facility will help meet North America’s growing demand for lithium-ion battery materials, specifically engineered precursor (pCAM) and battery-ready cathode active materials (CAM). When finished, the Apex 1 facility will produce enough pCAM... Read more →

Canada-based Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) and Panasonic Energy entered into a Framework Agreement establishing the terms of the commercial relationship between the parties to enable the next development steps of NMG’s ore-to-battery-market integrated graphite project in Québec, Canada. The strategic transaction comprises a non-binding memorandum of understanding on an... Read more →

BASF and the Catholic University of the North (UCN) in Antofagasta, Chile, have signed a collaboration agreement to promote research, development and innovation in mining. The aim of this collaboration is to strengthen the cooperation between academia, students and industry experts. In addition to leveraging synergies in the development of... Read more →

Battery-maker LG Energy Solution signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Syrah Resources Limited on partnering to evaluate natural graphite anode material. Under the terms of the MoU, LGES and Syrah will test and verify the natural graphite from Syrah’s Vidalia production facility in Vidalia, Louisiana, which is scheduled... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding a combined $2.8 billion to 21 projects to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. (Earlier post.) Of that, $75,000,000 will go to one project in... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding a combined $2.8 billion to 21 projects to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. (Earlier post.) Of that, $1.6 billion will go to 11 projects... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award a combined $2.8 billion to 20 companies for 21 projects—the first set of projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components... Read more →

Volkswagen Group and Canadian quantum technology company Xanadu have established a multiyear research program to improve the performance of quantum algorithms for simulating battery materials. The goal is to reduce computational costs and accelerate Volkswagen’s adoption of quantum computers to develop battery materials that are safer, lighter, and more cost-effective.... Read more →

Schlumberger has entered into an agreement with RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, to accelerate the industrialization and scale-up of its proprietary non-aqueous solvent (NAS) technology, which enhances the efficiency of absorption-based carbon capture. The NAS technology will be applicable to capture CO2 across a broad variety of industrial emissions.... Read more →