Hyundai Motor Group announced a significant investment of US$21 billion in the United States from 2025 to 2028. This latest US investment builds on the Group’s existing allocation of approximately US$20.5 billion since entering the US market in 1986. To reinforce its production capabilities, the Group will invest a total... Read more →

Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring Material Technology have decided to start the construction of the CAM plant. The plant to be constructed in Kotka, Finland will produce cathode active material (CAM). The plant’s first-stage capacity will be 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material per year. The plans also include... Read more →

Belgium-based multinational John Cockerill signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) to drive innovation in steel decarbonization technology, green hydrogen value chain, and defense products development contributing to the growth of India’s infrastructure, national security, and sustainability agenda. The MoU will facilitate joint... Read more →

Researchers from Wenzhou University, with colleagues from other universities in China and Argonne National Laboratory in the US, have engineered niobium tungsten oxide (NbWO) to accelerate the charging process in a Li-ion battery significantly. In an open-access paper in Nature Communications, the team reports that engineered NbWO (rGO/NbWO) exhibits a... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz is transforming its production network by reinforcing Berlin-Marienfelde’s role as the center of innovation for MO360 digital production technologies, now enhanced with Artificial Intelligence (AI), humanoid robots, and innovations such as the production of high-performance electric axial-flux motors. In 2022, Berlin-Marienfelde established itself as the global center of expertise... Read more →

Pure Lithium Corporation, a vertically integrated lithium metal battery technology company, has received funding from the Vehicle Technology Office to scale production of lithium metal anodes from recycled lithium metal, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory. Lithium metal waste is produced by certain industrial processes in the United States. Recovering... Read more →

Rio Tinto and Edify Energy have signed two new solar and battery hybrid services agreements (HSAs) to increase the supply of reliable, competitively priced electricity to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone aluminum operations in Queensland. Under the agreements, Rio Tinto will purchase 90% of the power and battery storage capacity generated by... Read more →

The USGS released projections for world production capacity for seven critical minerals and helium for the next five years in the first World Minerals Outlook, a forward-looking assessment that is part of a larger effort to provide forecasts and scenarios for global mineral supply chains. The world’s capacity to produce... Read more →

C-BATT presented its US-sourced Obsidia high-capacity battery anode material (earlier post) at the NAATBatt 2025 Annual Conference in Orlando, where the focus was on the urgent need for energy dominance in United States. C-BATT’s fully domestic production model ensures that every stage of the Obsidia lifecycle—from raw material sourcing to... Read more →

Angola has set a target to become a key exporter of value-added critical minerals in the next 10 to 15 years. Angola has identified 34 of the 54 critical minerals recognized by the European Union across its mineral-rich basins and is ramping up exploration, production and downstream projects to unlock... Read more →

To implement the green transition according to the scenarios developed by the European Commission, Europe will require between 15 and 60% of the world’s supplies of critical metals according to a study conducted by researchers at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Uppsala University, as part of the Fairtrans research... Read more →

LANXESS is offering a new solution for the rapidly growing battery industry. The Lewatit MK 51 ion exchange resin from LANXESS selectively removes boron from metal concentrates, thus enabling the extraction of high-purity raw materials for use in batteries. In contrast to solvent extraction, ion exchange technology does not employ... Read more →

Rio Tinto has completed its acquisition of Arcadium Lithium plc for $6.7 billion, following the sanctioning of the Scheme of Arrangement by the Royal Court of Jersey on 5 March. Rio Tinto is now the ultimate parent company of Arcadium Lithium, which will become Rio Tinto Lithium, and will also... Read more →

The Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario have signed letters of intent (LOIs) to support Frontier Lithium’s planned Lithium Conversion Facility in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The LOIs are non-binding and serve as an initial step in ongoing discussions with the respective government agencies. The LOIs express an interest... Read more →

This season will be the first time in which innovative sustainable carbon fibre composites will be used in Formula 1 on the W16. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team efforts in this space have been made possible through close partnership between the team and INEOS Nitriles, and collaboration with Toray, Syensqo and... Read more →

24M Technologies expanded its portfolio of Eternalyte electrolytes that significantly improve charge rate and cold temperature performance of today’s batteries. Initially unveiled in February 2024 and designed for lithium-metal batteries, the new enhanced offering is ideal for silicon- and graphite-based batteries used in applications that require high power and low... Read more →

LANXESS’ new rubber additive Vulkanox HS Scopeblue supports tire manufacturers in producing more sustainable, longer-lasting tires and in achieving their sustainability goals. The antidegradant from the specialty chemicals company is the sustainable variant of the proven antioxidant Vulkanox HS (TMQ), which tire manufacturers use to protect their products from adverse... Read more →

Higher charging performance and the increasing relevance of bidirectional charging are key priorities in the ongoing development of on-board chargers (OBCs) for electric vehicles. WEVO-CHEMIE GmbH offers thermally conductive silicone potting compounds (materials used to encapsulate and protect electronic componenets), gap fillers and gels that do more than simply enable... Read more →

Among the many executive orders coming from the White House, President Trump signed an executive order to investigate copper imports into the US, citing “significant vulnerabilities” and “increasing reliance on foreign sources”. The United States has ample copper reserves, yet our smelting and refining capacity lags significantly behind global competitors.... Read more →

UniMetal, a provider of precious metal and commercial finishing services for the electronics, medical, aerospace, and automotive industries, announced the production scaling of C100 Silver Graphite Dispersion, a novel electrolyte plating that’s proved particularly beneficial for high power components. C100 provides superior resistance to fretting corrosion, oxidation, vibration and high... Read more →

Talga Group Ltd has signed a non-binding MOU with Altilium to secure a sustainable supply of graphite for use in EV battery anode products. Under the MoU framework, Altilium proposes to supply Talga with up to 16,000 tonnes of recycled graphite over three years commencing 2026. Talga is building Europe’s... Read more →

Evonik is building a pilot plant in Marl, Germany, for the production of anion exchange membrane (AEM). Developed by Evonik, the membrane is marketed under the name DURAION. A central element in AEM water electrolysis, DURAION membranes enable the cost-competitive production of green hydrogen. Evonik is investing a low double-digit... Read more →

Constellium announced its participation in ‘Project M-LightEn,’ a new initiative to develop ultra-lightweight, sustainable vehicle chassis structures. Led by Gordon Murray Group (GMG), the initiative is supported by Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), and includes as partners Constellium, Carbon ThreeSixty, and Brunel University London. Over the next... Read more →

Researchers from Sichuan University have encapsulated bismuth particles in plate-like carbon shells to enhance structural stability and improve ion transport rates, ultimately achieving a high-performance sodium storage anode with nearly no capacity decay during charge-discharge cycles. A paper on their work is published in the Journal of Power Sources. Li... Read more →

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is acquiring a 40% interest in the Rhodes Ridge iron ore project in Australia (RRJV). (Earlier post.) The acquisition is composed of the two transactions stated below, with the total acquisition price for both transactions of US$5,342 million (approximately 800 billion JPY). A definitive sale and... Read more →

A new study carried out by Imperial College London has found that Altilium’s recycled EV battery materials can match, and even surpass, the performance of virgin mined materials. Imperial’s analysis of Altilium’s recycled cathode active materials (CAM) confirmed distinct improvements in purity, morphology and electrochemical performance, compared to commercially available... Read more →

IperionX Limited has been awarded a contract for up to US$47.1 million in funding by the US Department of Defense (DOD) to strengthen the US Defense Industrial Base by accelerating development of a resilient, low-cost, and fully-integrated US mineral-to-metal titanium supply chain. This partnership represents a combined investment of US$70.7... Read more →

Canada Nickel Company has been selected for funding of $3.4 million from the Government of Canada to support the development of Canada Nickel’s proprietary In-Process Tailings (IPT) Carbonation process at the pilot plant level. The IPT Carbonation process transforms nickel mining tailings into a permanent carbon storage solution and Canada... Read more →

Continental has developed a line for cooling in the hydrogen powertrain of commercial vehicles, which considerably reduces the penetration of ions into the media circuit. The synthetic rubber line has a mixture of materials the special properties of which make them less susceptible to the leaching of ions from the... Read more →

ArcelorMittal is proceeding with plans to build an advanced, non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NOES) manufacturing facility in Alabama. The new facility, wholly owned by ArcelorMittal, will be capable of producing up to 150,000 metric tons of NOES annually, depending on the product mix, in support of automotive and mobility, renewable electricity... Read more →

A joint computational and experimental study has examined how adding certain dopants to a solid electrolyte could improve its interaction with a lithium metal electrode. The result could be safer, more energy-efficient batteries. In a paper published in ACS Materials Letters, a team led by researchers at the US Department... Read more →

California Catalysts (Calicat), formerly H2U Technologies, announced that generation 3 of its flagship product, the Amplifier zero-iridium PEMwe OER catalyst, has achieved an unprecedented activity milestone of 2 Volts at a current density over 2 A/cm². This breakthrough performance represents a long-sought step change in the pursuit of cost-effective green... Read more →

Lyten announced further progress in building its US supply chain to meet rapidly growing demand for its Lithium-Sulfur batteries. Lyten has signed agreements with California Sulphur Company, at the Port of Los Angeles, and a Port of Stockton company to supply domestically-sourced, industrial-grade sulfur to Lyten’s manufacturing facilities in San... Read more →

SABIC has launched NORYL GTX LMX310 resin, the first in a new family of resins with enhanced dimensional stability. This innovative material is well-suited for inline paintable automotive applications, such as service flaps for electric vehicles (EVs). In particular, this new grade addresses the challenges of larger, asymmetrically shaped service... Read more →

BMW i Ventures has invested in GreenSpark Software, a New York City-based company building modern operating software for the metal recycling industry. Existing investors Zero Infinity Partners and Third Prime also participated in the investment round. This investment positions GreenSpark to fast-track its product roadmap, expand into larger enterprise segments,... Read more →

Nissan Motor announced that it will expand the use of low-CO2-emission steel manufactured in Japan. Through this initiative, the proportion of low-CO2-emission steel Nissan uses in Japan in fiscal year 2025 is expected to increase by a factor of five compared to fiscal year 2023. Nissan aims to reduce CO2... Read more →

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has launched a new research and development (R&D) grant opportunity to accelerate the growth of the domestic battery industry and open up export opportunities, especially in the United States of America. Under the grant opportunity, successful mining and manufacturing small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) will be offered... Read more →

Critical Metals Corp., a mining development company focused on critical metals and minerals and producing strategic products essential to electrification and next generation technologies for Europe and its western world partners, entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing that is expected to... Read more →

The overall value of US mineral production edged up by $1 billion in 2024 to $106 billion, according to the US Geological Survey’s annual Mineral Commodity Summaries. Record prices for gold and silver buoyed the total, more than compensating for a 40 to 60 percent fall in the value of... Read more →

Cyclic Materials, a recycling company building a circular supply chain for Rare Earth Elements and other critical materials (earlier post), announced a $2-million investment from InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). This latest backing lifts the company’s Series B round to $55 million. Rare Earths Elements... Read more →

Rio Tinto and Hydro will partner to identify and evaluate available carbon capture technologies for future implementation in the aluminum electrolysis process. The companies have signed a partnership agreement that provides for the sharing of certain information, results and costs covering specific R&D activities from lab tests with external suppliers... Read more →

Researchers at The George Washington University, University of Chicago and The University of Texas at Austin have developed a new method directly to extract and to purify lithium hydroxide from geothermal brines. An open-access paper on their work is published in Nature Communications. In this work, we design an economically... Read more →

Mattiq, a clean chemistry company, announced a strategic partnership with Heraeus Precious Metals, a global leader in the precious metals industry, to develop and commercialize advanced electrocatalyst materials for green hydrogen production. The companies will engineer low-iridium catalysts to reduce significantly the amount of this rare and critical raw material... Read more →

As part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions across every area of its business, Volvo CE is now for the first time implementing low carbon emission steel into serial production of all its articulated haulers built in Braås, Sweden. The announcement was made as part of the company’s biggest articulated... Read more →

C-BATT, a developer of advanced battery materials, has established a fully domestic supply chain for its upcoming Obsidia high-capacity battery anode material. This development ensures that every component and precursor of Obsidia—a tunable silicon-carbon composite battery material—is sourced and produced within the United States. One key ingredient is domestically mined... Read more →

Korea-based Doosan Fuel Cell is targeting both maritime and stationary applications for its fuel cells. Mass production of SOFC will start in 2025 at a new production plant in Korea. Sweden-based Alleima, a global manufacturer of high value-added products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys as well as solutions... Read more →

Alignment with future market requirements though production of thinner, highly silicized, non-grain-oriented electrical steel with optimized mechanical and magnetic properties Electrical steel is the key material for efficient motors and generators Total investment at the Bochum location of around 300 million euros, of which around 150 million euros are for... Read more →

Heraeus Precious Metals signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jolt Solutions, a Barcelona-based company specialized in the coating of metallic catalysts for electrochemical applications. Both companies aim to optimize the use of platinum group metals (PGM) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis utilizing Jolt’s proprietary Sparkfuze technology. This coating... Read more →

Anglo American is partnering with the University of Birmingham and venture-builder Cambridge Future Tech to launch PeroCycle, a new venture aimed at developing and commercializing carbon recycling technology for implementation in steelmaking. PeroCycle will build upon innovations made at the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering by Professor Yulong... Read more →

Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Ma’aden, the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East and North Africa region, signed non-binding Heads of Terms, which envisages the formation of a minerals exploration and mining joint venture (JV) in the Kingdom of... Read more →