Dear all,
The race for critical resources is intensifying and Africa intends to play more of a significant role (Bradley). Funding for mining projects is still very much needed (Mining.com). Currently, the world is falling way behind in producing enough copper (CNBC). A thorough global panorama is available for rare earths (Financial times), and interest is growing for manganese based on rocketing demand forecast (Green Car Congress). Recycling is also part of the strategy: European lawmakers are pushing for more recycling in search for improving access to critical minerals (Reuters).
Progress is also impressive both on the scientific and engineering fronts:
MIT highlights a pixel-by-pixel analysis to improve LFP battery performance. Fritz Haber Institute tests the addition of iron to cobalt oxide for lower cost anodes in the production of green H2. Also for green H2 Rice University proposes an alternative to water electrolysis by processing plastic wastes with rapid flash Joule heating. And Jülich Forschungszentrum presents molybdenene, a new material from the same family as graphene with additional properties.
Stellantis proposes a combination of new materials and processes to make batteries 50% lighter when Tesla develops new car making processes for an optimum use of materials. And a new process to inspect solar panels is implemented at NREL.
Finally Boston Metals and H2 Green Steel have both just closed major fundings in order to upscale two breakthrough technologies for green steel (Mining Technology and Reuters),
As to sustainability initiatives, we selected 4 of them: an interesting "list of actions" that could be done by scientists to accelerate progress on SDGs (Nature, a new breakthrough technology... for shoe recycling (EuroNews), and two papers in Science Daily, one highlighting how the much needed use of plastics in agriculture can be made more sustainable, and one on the use of waterfleas to remove persistent chemical pollutants from wastewater.
Last but not least, 13 of our Start-Up alumni were in the news this month: the opening of a large battery separator coating facility (Sepion Technologies – USA), two funding rounds: 70M $ (UBQ MATERIALS - Israel) and 40M€ (Mecaware - France), some partnerships announced (CITRINE INFORMATICS - USA with Sion Power, CUBERG - USA with Safran) and many exciting press articles as usual (ANTHRO Energy - USA, BEFC - France, BRIMSTONE ENERGY - USA, CYCLOPURE - USA, ETS - USA, GRAPHENEMG - Australia, POLYSTYVERT - Canada, UBIQD - USA).
