Elon Musk reportedly discussed with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the potential of Tesla building a battery factory in South Africa. The conversation between Musk and Ramaphosa reportedly happened earlier this year, but it was only now reported by Bloomberg. According to the report, Musk approached the president of his home country to ease regulations […]
Metals Tech
AI replaces humans in identifying causes of fuel cell malfunctions
Dr. Chi-Young Jung’s research team from the Hydrogen Research & Demonstration Center at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) has successfully developed a method to analyze the microstructure of carbon fiber paper, a key material in hydrogen fuel cells, at a speed 100 times faster than existing methods. This was achieved by utilizing digital […]
Supply-demand imbalance looms for critical battery raw materials by 2030: McKinsey
Ensuring a reliable supply of critical battery raw materials will be crucial to the global push to net-zero, especially with demand for battery electric vehicles (BEV) picking up pace towards the end of this decade, a new report by McKinsey finds. By 2030, McKinsey estimates that worldwide demand for passenger cars in the BEV segment […]
First autonomous electric loaders in North America get to work
Swedish multinational Sandvik says it’s successfully deployed a pair of fully autonomous Toro LH518iB battery-electric underground loaders at the New Gold Inc. ($NGD) New Afton mine in British Columbia, Canada. The heavy mining equipment experts at Sandvik say that the revolutionary new 18 ton loaders have been in service since mid-November, working in a designated […]
New material for sodium-ion batteries brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp
While lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to technology for everything from smartphones and laptops to electric cars, there are growing concerns about the future because lithium is relatively scarce, expensive and difficult to source, and may soon be at risk due to geopolitical considerations. Scientists around the world are working to create viable alternatives. An […]
Machine learning helps researchers develop perovskite solar cells with near-record efficiency
An international team of scientists has used machine learning to help them develop perovskite solar cells with near-record efficiency. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they used the machine-learning algorithm to help them find new hole-transporting materials to improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Currently, one part of […]
Study: EV battery material supply challenges loom by 2030
Increased global demand for electric vehicles could tax supplies of raw materials by the end of the decade, according to new analysis from McKinsey & Company. The firm estimates that EV sales will increase sixfold, from approximately 4.5 million vehicles globally in 2021 28 million in 2030. But analysts believe producers of raw materials may […]
Electrolyte engineering: Paving the way for the future of energy storage with solid-state batteries
Rapid advancements in solid-state battery technology are ushering in a new era of energy storage solutions, with the potential to revolutionize everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems. Advances in electrolyte engineering have played a key role in this progress, enhancing the development and performance of high-performance all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). A review paper dived […]
Hydrogen from waste: Bio-electrochemical cell design cuts power loss for large-scale implementation
A research team has achieved a significant breakthrough in clean energy technology. The team has successfully enhanced a crucial component of a bio-electrochemical cell, enabling more efficient hydrogen production from microorganisms found in waste. This advancement resolves longstanding power loss challenges in conventional processes, offering a transformative pathway toward large-scale, cost-effective hydrogen production. The work […]
Engineers grow ‘high-rise’ 3D chips, enabling more efficient AI hardware
The electronics industry is approaching a limit to the number of transistors that can be packed onto the surface of a computer chip. So, chip manufacturers are looking to build up rather than out. Instead of squeezing ever-smaller transistors onto a single surface, the industry is aiming to stack multiple surfaces of transistors and semiconducting […]