ArcelorMittal Tubarão and EDP, a company that operates in all segments of the Brazilian electricity sector, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a pilot plant for the production and use of green hydrogen in the steel manufacturing process. The initiative is part... Read more →

Globally 58,423 tonnes of graphite were deployed in newly-sold electrified cars in August 2023, representing a 53% increase compared to August 2022, according to data from Adamas Intelligence. Full-electric passenger cars (BEVs) registered during the month were responsible for 43,396 tonnes of graphite deployed globally, an increase of 48% year-on-year.... Read more →

Ionic Mineral Technologies, a US-based producer of advanced nano-silicon battery anode technology, announced the opening of its new production facility, technical center and flagship headquarters located in Provo, Utah. This facility represents Utah’s premier enterprise-scale production facility dedicated to the development of nano-silicon battery anodes for electric vehicles (EVs) and... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $5 million in funding to three projects to evaluate the feasibility of extracting Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) from macroalgae for use in energy applications. REEs are critical to produce high performance electric motors and generators, and PGMs... Read more →

Asahi Kasei will invest ¥40 billion (US$365 million) in additional equipment for coating Hipore lithium-ion battery (LIB) separators. New coating lines will be installed at existing Asahi Kasei LIB separator facilities in the United States, Japan, and South Korea, with start-up scheduled in succession from the first half of fiscal... Read more →

Porsche AG and the Swedish energy start-up H2 Green Steel have signed an agreement for the supply of CO₂-reduced steel: The aim is to further improve the emissions balance of Porsche vehicles by using CO₂-reduced steel. H2 Green Steel plans to produce steel using renewable energy in Boden, Sweden, starting... Read more →

SSAB has entered an agreement with Spain-based Gestamp, a global tier-one automotive supplier of lightweight and safety components, to deliver fossil-free steel for body-in-white and chassis system products. Gestamp is a multinational company specialized in the design, development and manufacture of highly engineered metal components for the main vehicle manufacturers.... Read more →

Urbix, Inc., a US-based developer of graphite processing technology, has secured a significant strategic investment from funds managed by Appian, an investment advisor to long-term value-focused private capital funds that invest solely in mining and mining-related companies. In addition to the investment into Urbix, the parties have executed a JDA... Read more →

Orion S.A., a global specialty chemicals company, launched PRINTEX kappa 10—a high-quality conductive additive that will supply surging demand from producers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer applications. The new product, produced with furnace technology in Europe and eventually in Asia, marks an expansion of... Read more →

Traditionally, the synthesis of layered lithium cobalt oxide cathode materials for Li-ion batteries requires temperatures above 800 °C and takes 10 to 20 hours to complete. Now a team of researchers at Hokkaido University and Kobe University, led by Professor Masaki Matsui at Hokkaido University’s Faculty of Science, have developed... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and Visolis, a sustainable technology company, will collaborate to produce isoprene through the upcycling of biobased materials. This collaboration is supported by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awarded to Visolis earlier this year. Isoprene, an important precursor for some types of synthetic... Read more →

LG Chem and LX Hausys have developed a material delaying battery thermal runaway which can withstand a flame at 1,500 ˚C for more than 20 minutes. The Special Flame Retardant Continuous Fiber Thermoplastic (Special Flame Retardant CFT) can withstand strong flames and high pressure for more than 14 times longer... Read more →

Epsilon Advanced Materials (EAM), India’s leading battery materials company, plans to build a $650-million graphite anode manufacturing facility in Brunswick County of North Carolina. The facility is the first Indian investment in the US electric vehicle (EV) battery industry. The company plans to break ground in 2024 and begin manufacturing... Read more →

Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) signed a new Master Research Agreement with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) to continue the research partnership at the Volkswagen Innovation Hub in Knoxville through 2028. The partnership currently supports 27 active research projects and has already produced 15 publications and multiple pending patents.... Read more →

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that it will impose export controls on certain kinds of graphite, effective on 1 December. China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of graphite, which is, among other applications, pervasively used in the anodes of Li-ion batteries. According to the US Geological Survey... Read more →

Elcora Advanced Materials and Mincape SARL are partnering to establish manganese mining operations in Morocco and West Africa. This collaboration aims to support the ever-expanding EVbattery market and secure a sustainable source of high-quality manganese ore. Manganese can play a pivotal role in enhancing the energy storage capabilities and overall... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Justice announced a modification to a 2015 consent decree today between the United States and state of Michigan and the Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation (formerly AK Steel) to resolve Clean Air Act violations at the company’s Dearborn, Michigan, steel manufacturing... Read more →

ACE Green Recycling (ACE) and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop further and to optimize ACE’s environment friendly and low-cost lithium-ion battery recycling technology for recycling of graphite, lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) and other cathode active materials.... Read more →

Umicore is proceeding with the construction of a 35 GWh equivalent battery materials production plant in Loyalist, ON, to serve the North American market for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Given the significance of the plant for the North American EV supply chain and a strengthened EV battery ecosystem, Umicore will... Read more →

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, are presenting a new and efficient way to recycle metals from spent electric car batteries. The method, which uses the organic acid oxalic acid, allows recovery of 100% of the aluminum and 98% of the lithium in electric car batteries. At the same... Read more →

In July 2023, high-nickel cathode chemistries (including NCM 6-9 series, NCA and NCMA) captured 47% of the passenger EV market by MWh deployed onto roads, up from 45% the same month the year prior according to the Adamas Intelligence EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker. Low-nickel alternatives, including NCM... Read more →

South Africa-based Sibanye-Stillwater approved the commencement of the second phase of its Keliber lithium project which includes the construction of the concentrator and the development of the Syväjärvi open pit mine in Päiväneva in Finland. (Earlier post.) Delivery of ore from the Syväjärvi open pit mine will be timed to... Read more →

The newly-founded Brussels-based European EV battery materials producer IONWAY—a joint venture backed by Volkswagen Group-owned PowerCo SE and Umicore (earlier post)—will build its first cathode active material (CAM) production plant in Nysa, Poland, adjacent to Umicore’s existing CAM plant. The JV is scaling up the EU footprint in the e-mobility... Read more →

X-BATT, a developer of advanced battery materials, is partnering with CONSOL Innovations, a subsidiary of CONSOL Energy Inc., to accelerate the development of coal-based anode technology. The work will be performed by C-BATT Innovations LLC, a newly formed joint venture between the companies, which is focused on advancing domestic battery... Read more →

Altilium, a UK-based clean technology group, is partnering with Lunaz, Europe’s largest upcycling and vehicle electrification business, to develop a low-carbon logistical solution for the safe transportation and discharging of end-of-life EV batteries. The project, which has received funding from the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), is the latest addition to... Read more →

The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) has awarded £89 million (US$109 million) of funding to 20 net zero tech projects including hydrogen-powered offroad vehicles, a new lithium scale-up plant and revolutionary new EV battery systems. The funding package includes four collaborative R&D projects, five scale-up projects to assess if businesses... Read more →

Researchers from the US and China have identified a previously unknown reaction mechanism that addresses the very short lifetimes of Li-sulfur batteries.Their paper is published in the journal Nature. Lithium-sulfur batteries can store two to three times more energy in a given volume, resulting in longer vehicle ranges. Their lower... Read more →

Nickel weighting in BEV batteries jumped 8% year on year to average 25.3 kilograms in July as carmakers continue to opt for high-nickel batteries for long-range, performance and even many entry-level new models, according to Adamas Intelligence. Most of the nickel mined around the world still ends up as stainless... Read more →

Umicore and Volkswagen Group-backed battery company PowerCo announced the name and branding of their first-of-its kind cooperation: IONWAY, their Brussels-headquartered joint venture for large-scale industrial production of CAM and pCAM in Europe. IONWAY is designed to supply PowerCo’s European battery cell factories with key battery materials and cover a large... Read more →

A team from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia has demonstrated that the reversible self-discharge of LiFePO4–graphite (LFP) cells can be virtually eliminated by replacing the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) jellyroll tape commonly used to prevent electrode stacks from unwinding during assembly with chemically stable polypropylene (PP) tape. A paper on their... Read more →

Outokumpu, a global supplier of sustainable stainless steel, has been exploring opportunities to secure sustainable molybdenum supplies from western suppliers as a part of its long-term strategy for value-chain integration. Molybdenum is a critical and strategically important raw material for Outokumpu’s stainless steel production. Molybdenum improves the corrosion resistance; stainless... Read more →

Tribonex AB, a developer of innovative surface treatments for friction and wear reduction, recently raised 13.2 million SEK (US$1.2 million) in a new share issue. Taking the forefront in this investment round is EIT InnoEnergy, a major investor in the sustainable energy innovations arena, with a significant participation also from... Read more →

A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed a framework for designing solid-state batteries (SSBs) with mechanics in mind. Their paper is published in Science. One of the critical aspects of SSBs is the stress response of their microstructure to dimensional... Read more →

India-based Epsilon Group, a leading battery materials manufacturer, signed an agreement to acquire Johnson Matthey’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material technology center in Moosburg, Germany. Financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed. The facility features best-in-class technical capabilities and a workforce with expertise in LFP chemistry, comprehensive product... Read more →

Endolith, a subsidiary of Cemvita, secured a $1.1-million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to harness microbes for sustainable mining. This funding will be directed towards the optimization and expansion of sustainable lithium extraction with an eye towards field deployment alongside industry partner Arizona Lithium, and supporting companies, Lithium... Read more →

Nornickel, Russia’s leading metals and mining company, has begun extraction at the Glubokaya (Deep) shaft of the Skalisty (Rocky) mine, reaching depths of 2 kilometers. This move will enable Nornickel to substantially boost extraction of the most valuable and rich ore. To initiate the extraction, the company connected two independent... Read more →

Albemarle Corporation signed agreements with Caterpillar to collaborate on solutions to support the full circular battery value chain and sustainable mining operations. The collaboration aims to support Albemarle’s efforts to establish Kings Mountain, NC as the first zero-emissions lithium mine site in North America. These efforts include utilization of next-generation,... Read more →

Almost 50 countries from continents across the world—including large and emerging critical mineral producers and consumers—convened with leaders from industry, investment and civil society at the first IEA Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Summit to share experiences and discuss effective courses of action on critical minerals to ensure rapid and... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $19 million in funding over four years for DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory to lead the multi-institutional Center for Steel Electrification by Electrosynthesis (C-STEEL). The center’s charge is to develop an innovative and low-cost process that would replace blast furnaces in steelmaking and... Read more →

A letter sent by Ford, General Motors, Rivian, Pepsi, Ball, SunPower and eight more leading companies urges the US Department of Energy (DOE) to invest in American-made clean aluminum to retain and create manufacturing jobs, reduce industrial emissions, and grow a vitally important industry. The letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer... Read more →

Researchers from China and the US have developed a cobalt-free, Li- and Mn-rich (LMR) Li-ion battery cathode with negligible voltage decay. The new development overcomes the persistent challenge of voltage decay with LMR layered oxides and could lead to significantly higher energy storage capacity. A paper on their work is... Read more →

INVISTA, an industry leader in the nylon 6,6 value chain, is licensing its nitrous oxide (N2O) abatement technology at three adipic acid production facilities in China; those licenses will help companies in the automotive industry achieve material supply chain emissions reductions. INVISTA—which produces its own adipic acid, along with a... Read more →

Nano One Materials, a clean technology company with patented processes for the sustainable production of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, and Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM), a leading vertically integrated miner, refiner and producer of cathode active materials (CAM), agreed to a strategic equity investment in Nano One by SMM of C$16,879,949.85... Read more →

Enevate and NantG Power, two battery innovation companies enabling high-speed charge and energy density battery technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) and other markets, announced a strategic alliance to combine their proprietary cathode and anode innovations to commercialize and scale up a breakthrough silicon-dominant battery technology in the transportation, mobility, and... Read more →

BASF is expanding its growing portfolio of 14C bio-based monomers with a proprietary process for production of 2-Octyl Acrylate (2-OA). The new product underlines BASF’s strong commitment to innovation for a sustainable future with 73% 14C-tracable bio-based content according to ISO 16620. Besides the regular 14C bio-based 2-Octyl Acrylate, BASF... Read more →

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and United States Steel Corporation plan to test an advanced membrane technology to capture CO2 emissions generated by steelmaking operations at the company’s Edgar Thomson Plant, located in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The Edgar Thomson Plant, part of the Mon Valley Works, is the last integrated... Read more →

Global copper company First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has contracted with MECS, Inc. (MECS), a subsidiary of Elessent Clean Technologies, for the Kansanshi Smelter Expansion at the Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi, Zambia. The MECS scope will include a redesign of the existing sulfur-burning sulfuric acid plant into a copper smelter off-gas... Read more →

LG Chem announced that it will make inroads into the lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) cathode materials business in partnership with China’s Huayou Group. In addition, LG Chem will start vertical integration of its cathode supply chain. LG Chem and Huayou Group signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enter the LFP... Read more →

The Salzgitter Group has selected technology group ANDRITZ to supply one of Europe’s largest green hydrogen plants for the SALCOS (SAlzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) program, which aims to achieve virtually CO2-free (green) steel production. (Earlier post.) ANDRITZ will build a 100 MW electrolysis plant at the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH site... Read more →

A new study by an international team of researchers estimates that 23 million people may be affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste from metal mining contamination on rivers and floodplains across the world. A paper on the study is published in the journal Science. Firefighters from Minas Gerais... Read more →