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The Canadian miner said it wants to achieve a zero-carbon footprint at both its Phase 1 anode materials plant and its Matawinie graphite project in Québec.

Mining.com

Nouveau Monde launches climate action plan to achieve carbon neutrality

Over $21 billion in global investments in 2020 shows the urgency in expanding the global EV battery supply chain, Fitch says.

Western Europe claims 43% of global investments in battery manufacturing projects — report

Proxy adviser Glass Lewis is pushing investors to vote against the company’s plans to pay Gary Nagle up to $10.4 million.

Glencore faces shareholders revolt over CEO’s pay

The company will power its copper, iron ore and nickel operations in Chile, Peru and Brazil by green energy by 2022.

Anglo American to run South America mines 100% on renewables

The Vancouver-based miner says quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within the Sarcobatus Valley, where Bonnie Claire is located.

Iconic Minerals ready for permitting Bonnie Claire lithium project

Mining companies and marine scientists want to know whether harvesting blobs of useful materials from the seafloor harms ocean life.

Wired

Will Future Electric Vehicles Be Powered by Deep-Sea Metals?

Everyone who's explored in Canada has a bear story, but the holy grail of close shaves is the polar bear story.

Odds ‘n’ Sods: Close encounters of the polar bear kind

The bank, until now cautious in its predictions for the battery metal, has followed lithium enthusiasts with an optimistic set of forecasts.

Macquarie joins peers on bullish lithium price outlook

IronRidge Resources reported multiple high-grade lithium pegmatite drill intersections at new targets adjacent to its Ewoyaa lithium project.

IronRidge encouraged by high-grade lithium grades at Ghanaian project

Goldman Sachs sees prices averaging $11,000 per tonne over the next 12 months.

Copper price scales $9,000 after Goldman calls it the new oil

The Space Resources Week runs from April 19 to 22 as a free phygital event — combining physical and digital channels.

Space mining enthusiasts to discuss legal framework, funding

Lithium prices received by the company were up nearly 90% over the last six months.

Orocobre shares up on higher lithium prices

The news follows a $29.5 million investment in NextSource announced in February by Vision Blue Resources.

NextSource partners with processors in Tesla supply chain to build battery anode plant

Nickel’s attempt at a comeback from  the Tsingshan-induced slump was knocked back on Monday after successive warnings from China’s top politicians about rising raw material prices.

Nickel price falls as China warns on raw material prices

New research by the Argonne National Laboratory looks at the role of perovskite oxides that contain lanthanum or strontium, and cobalt combined with oxygen.

Scientists provide new insight to move the hydrogen mobility needle a notch

Roskill believes demand for silicon metal will continue the upward trend it has experienced in the past two decades.

Silicon metal market may benefit from EV boom – report

Mining minister Juan Carlos Jobet said President Sebastian Piñera's administration is against setting a 3% royalty on copper and lithium.

Chile minister says mining royalty bill “unconstitutional”

Over 20 projects are expected to commence operations until 2024.

Copper production in Chile to rise by 3.7% in 2021 — report

If the newly created Entreprise Générale du Cobalt is able to capture all production from artisanal miners, it will compete with Glencore, ERG and China Moly.

Artisanal miners could help Congo become world’s fourth-largest cobalt producer

Controlled Thermal Resources has kicked off construction of its Hell's Kitchen Lithium & Power project in California.

Think GeoEnergy

Construction kicks off for California lithium+power project

An international team working at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used a unique X-ray instrument to learn new things about lithium-rich battery materials that have been the subject of much study for their potential to extend the range of electric vehicles and the operation of electronic devices.

Tech Xplore

X-ray study recasts role of battery material from cathode to catalyst

The $2 trillion infrastructure bill would help create bull conditions in commodity markets, particularly in steel, cobalt, lithium and copper.

Biden’s EV plan would create bull conditions for energy metals — report

Chile’s top lithium regulator is preparing to slash the red tape that investors have long said stymies output and new projects in the world’s No. 2 producer.

Chile lithium watchdog to cut red tape seen crimping sector

Warren Buffet-backed BYD says it’s opting for safer nickel, cobalt-free LFP batteries across its entire line-up as its “blade” technology overcomes driving range issues.

World no 2 electric carmaker goes entirely nickel, cobalt free

US automakers are finally making bold commitments to electrify their fleets, but in the short-term, there may not be enough lithium-ion batteries to go around.

The need for a battery gold rush in US

The Aussie junior has reported a 40% increase in its lithium resource at the North Carolina-based project.

Piedmont almost doubles lithium resource at US project

Management appointments announced this week include: Almonty Industries has appointed JH Kim as CFO at Almonty Korea Tungsten, the company’s South Korean [&#8230;]

MINING PEOPLE: Angus Gold, First Cobalt, GFG Resources, O3 Mining

The agreement is for financing the mine fleet for the Crawford nickel cobalt sulphide project in Ontario.

Canada Nickel, Taykwa Tagamou Nation ink MOU

Despite gold's price slump, strong copper and iron ore prices lifted MINING.COM's ranking of the world's 50 most valuable miners to a new record high of $1.35 trillion.

Value of top 50 mining companies surges $600 billion from covid lows

The Pakeagama claims are located in the so-called electric avenue pegmatite field of northwestern Ontario.

Musk increases lithium footprint with Ontario project buy

As the world moves away from fossil fuels, battery metals are in high demand, especially with a shortage of supply from low-geopolitical risk jurisdictions.

Eight companies developing battery metals

It could become the country's largest lithium producer if extracting the metal from waste rock proves to be successful enough.

Rio Tinto kicks off lithium production in the US

The Canadian company identified two large, anomalous sub-basins within the project’s Aparejos Salar.

Portofino Resources confirms lithium-rich brines at Yergo project in Argentina

The thin-film lithium-ion batteries used in microdevices such as portable and medical electronics may supply a good amount of power relative to their mass, but do not provide enough power for many devices due to their limited size. Researchers have introduced a fabrication process that builds microbatteries with thick, 3D electrodes using lithography and electrodeposition—and seals each unit in a gel electrolyte-filled package. The new prototype shows the highest peak power density of any reported microbatteries, the researchers said.

New 3D microbatteries stand up to industry standard thin-film counterparts

Scientists from Tohoku University have developed a new fluorine-free calcium (Ca) electrolyte based on a hydrogen (monocarborane) cluster that could potentially realize rechargeable Ca batteries.

New fluorine-free calcium electrolyte for future rechargeable calcium batteries

It is difficult to imagine our daily life without lithium-ion batteries. They dominate the small format battery market for portable electronic devices, and are also commonly used in electric vehicles. At the same time, lithium-ion batteries have a number of serious issues, including: a potential fire hazard and performance loss at cold temperatures as well as a considerable environmental impact of spent battery disposal.

A new type of battery that can charge ten times faster than a lithium-ion battery

Critical metals and minerals are a tiny sliver of a sliver of global  mining production.

GRAPH: Global metal and ore production at a glance

To support the resuming of operations, Panoramic has entered a five-year nickel and copper concentrate offtake agreement with Trafigura Group.

Panoramic Resources to restart nickel project in Australia

Scientists say coal ash from the Punta Catalina power plant revealed high concentrations of arsenic, selenium and other potentially harmful heavy metals.

Ash from largest coal-fired power plant in the DR releasing toxic heavy metals – report

The cost of harvesting solar energy has dropped so much in recent years that it's giving traditional energy sources a run for their money. However, the challenges of energy storage—which require the capacity to bank an intermittent and seasonally variable supply of solar energy—have kept the technology from being economically competitive.

Aluminum-anode batteries offer sustainable alternative

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have devised a method to identify the unique chemical makeup of every lithium-ion battery around the world, information that could accelerate recycling, recover critical materials and resolve a growing waste stream.

Recycling – A batteries passport

Finnish researchers used simulation-based life-cycle to account for emissions and energy and water consumption in the recycling process.

Raw materials from EV battery recycling have smaller carbon footprint – study

Francis Fannon also previously served as Senior Director for Government Affairs for Murphy Oil Corporation.

Former US assistant secretary for Energy Resources joins Standard Lithium Board

Top iron ore producer forecasts 50% fall in price; Vital Metals to become Canada’s first rare earths miner; Vale sells New Caledonia nickel assets to Trafigura

MINING.COM MINUTE: Biggest stories of the week

MINING PEOPLE: Agnico Eagle, Argonaut, Arizona Gold, GoldMining

Highlights include 9.5 metres grading 0.39% cobalt and 0.62% nickel starting from 77.5 metres.

UEX hits high-grade cobalt-nickel mineralization at West Bear

The promotion of electric cars has dramatically increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries. However, cobalt and nickel, the main cathode materials for the batteries, are not abundant. If the consumption continues, it will inevitably elevate the costs in the long run, so scientists have been actively developing alternative materials. A joint research team co-led by a scientist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed a much more stable, manganese-based cathode material. The new material has higher capacity and is more durable than the existing cobalt and nickel cathode materials—90% of capacity is retained even when the number of charging-recharging cycles doubled. Their findings shed lights on developing low cost and high efficiency manganese-based cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Doubling the charging-recharging cycle of lithium batteries

The facility will be designed to accept lithium mineral concentrates and produce lithium hydroxide and other lithium battery materials.

Avalon, Fort William First Nation to jointly develop lithium refinery in Ontario

Supporting a deep-sea mining moratorium is backing the environmental and social ills that come from land extraction, the company says.

DeepGreen hits backs at firms opposing seafloor mining

US-based Livent will supply the lithium directly to BMW’s battery cell manufacturers from 2022 on.

BMW signs $335m lithium supply deal

Battery | Battery Metals

Since the days of General Motors crushing EV1s and Tesla's dealer battles, auto dealerships have represented a substantial barrier to EV car sales. Many have been a skeptical and uneducated interface to a car buyer's first experience with electric transportation. 
But now that electric cars are expected to start taking off, will auto dealers finally get on board? 

GreenBiz

Getting U.S. car dealerships on board the EV train

QuantumScape says its technology is ready to move from the lab to VW’s dealerships. But this secretive startup is very familiar with failure.

Bloomberg

Quantum Leap

Aligning its climate and industrial policies, the European Union (UE) is introducing sustainability requirements for the whole life-cycle of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This initiative would not only ensure that EVs fit with Europe’s climate-neutrality and resource-efficiency pledges, but also give European new entrants a better chance to compete.

IFRI

Green Batteries: a Competitive Advantage for Europe’s Electric Vehicle Value Chain?

Will the lightning pace of battery innovation last? A report by the European Patent Office and International Energy Agency has shown the massive growth of battery technology innovation since 2000 and given an insight into how and where innovation will continue.

Power Technology

Is this the golden age of battery innovation?

President Biden on Sunday praised news of a settlement between two South Korean electric vehicle battery makers engaged in a costly trade dispute, calling it a "win for American workers and the American auto industry."

The Hill

Biden praises settlement in dispute between electric vehicle battery makers

Biden hails resolution to disagreement that threatened Ford and VW’s plans to build electric cars in America

Financial Times

South Korean EV battery groups settle high-stakes US dispute

Lucid, Fisker, Rivian and Canoo are among the well-funded startups racing to release new electric vehicles. WSJ asked CEOs and industry insiders how new auto companies plan to challenge Tesla’s market dominance and take on legacy car makers.

The Wall Street Journal

Not a Tesla: The Startups Racing to Make Your Next Electric Car

Solid state batteries are safer and use fewer raw materials. Are they the answer to technology’s power problem and a threat to Tesla’s dominance? 

Lex in depth: a solid case for the next generation of batteries 

Within President Joe Biden's $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan — the American Jobs Plan — unveiled last week, the White House is proposing a massive $174 billion investment "to win the EV market." It's a historic move that will have deep implications for the emerging U.S. EV industry. If it passes Congress mostly intact, we could see Americans' use of plug-in vehicles jump considerably.



The key things to know about Biden's EV infrastructure plan

The acceleration toward lowering carbon output through alternative energy sources is likely to revolutionize the automotive sector in the coming decades. Although all eyes are on the battery metals of cobalt, lithium and nickel in terms of electric vehicle production, investors should not underestimate the role of copper. Not only is copper used within vehicle production, but it’s also intrinsic in the various elements of electric vehicle infrastructure

Why You Can't Make (or Charge) an Electric Vehicle Without Copper

Elon Musk’s highly valued automaker posted delivery figures that topped analysts’ expectations but that were up only modestly from the previous quarter.

Forbes

Tesla’s Quarterly Electric Vehicle Deliveries Top Expectations, But Growth Pace Cools

The deal comes as both companies prepare to list shares through SPAC mergers.

Proterra, Lightning eMotors Partner On Electric Commercial Van Batteries

US president aims to dramatically increase number of public charging stations as part of green push

Vehicle chargers follow Wall Street buzz to plug into Spacs 

When it comes to electric vehicles, particularly for heavy-duty trucks, the limitations of battery technology are often seen as the main barrier to widespread adoption. However, a new analysis concludes that it's the lack of appropriate policies around adoption incentives, charging infrastructure, and electricity pricing that prevents widespread electrification of commercial trucking fleets.

Commercial truck electrification is within reach

Volkswagen is ramping up its EV plans with the start of deliveries of ID.4s to U.S. dealers.

VW Starts Delivering ID.4 Electric Cars In U.S.

Fast-falling battery costs mean electric freight trucks could soon cost 50% less to own than diesel trucks, generating billions in savings and cutting air pollution.

Plummeting Battery Prices Mean Electric Freight Trucks Could Be 50% Cheaper To Own Than Diesel

Fitch expects nickel demand for EV battery manufacturing to average 29% annual growth rate until 2030.

Nickel demand for EVs to outpace lithium and cobalt – report

Europe’s largest carmaker orders $14bn of batteries from Northvolt over next decade

VW plans six European battery factories by 2030 as it bets on electric future

Roskill forecasts some Tier 2 battery makers will boost their standing and reach Tier 1 status in the next 2-5 years.

Tier 2 Li-ion battery manufacturers’ gigafactories expanding capacity

The European Union’s efforts to ethically source a key battery metal is facing headwinds that could make it more expensive for automakers to go electric.

Electric Cars Will Cost More Using Ethically Sourced Batteries

The Ohio-based electric truck maker is the latest target of short seller Hindenburg Research, which accuses the company of misleading investors.

Lordstown Motors Stung By Short Seller’s Accusations Electric Truckmaker Misled Investors

European firms will have the capacity to supply all the lithium-ion batteries needed for the continent's automakers by 2025 as they ramp up electric vehicle output to meet strict pollution limits, EU officials said Friday.

Europe sees e-vehicle battery self-sufficiency by 2025

South Korean company makes commitment after winning US trade secrets ruling over rival.

LG to invest $4.5bn to meet growing US electric vehicle demand

Even if new mines and processing plants cannot open overnight, the threat of new supply is real

Lithium/electric vehicles: a necessity for batteries, not investors

The Biden administration's decision to restart the clean energy loan guarantee program will be an instrumental part to achieving carbon neutrality.

Biden’s Clean Energy Loan Program Will Give Tomorrow’s Teslas A Jolt

Few months in, LFP Model 3 already commands 5% of global EV market, counts for 21% of Tesla battery capacity hitting roads–even before key patent expiry next year.

Cobalt, nickel free electric car batteries are a runaway success

Luxury British carmaker Aston Martin will make its fully-electric vehicles in Britain from 2025, its chairman told the Financial Times, in a boost to the country's beleaguered auto sector.

Aston Martin to make its electric cars in UK: FT

The flagship VW brand of German automobile giant Volkswagen said Friday it hoped electric vehicles would account for 70 percent of its European sales by 2030, doubling its previous target in the face of ever stricter legislation.

VW brand doubles sales targets for electric vehicles

The Swedish truckmaker is readying battery-electric models–but is also upbeat on a fuel choice Tesla's Elon Musk has knocked for years: hydrogen.

Batteries Or Hydrogen For Big (Clean) Trucks? Volvo Group Bets On Both

Major automakers are increasingly betting that millions of new cars and trucks over the next decade will be plugged into electrical outlets, not fueled up at gas stations. That raises a question: Is the nation’s power grid ready to handle this surge of new electric vehicles?

New York Times

Electric Cars Are Coming, and Fast. Is the Nation’s Grid Up to It?

Mobility is at the core of modern civilization, and the way people and goods move impacts many aspects of life. The next 20 years will bring significant changes as electrification, shared mobility, vehicle connectivity and, eventually, autonomous vehicles reshape automotive and freight markets around the world.

BloombergNEF

Electric Vehicle Outlook 2020

The evidence of a great green wave is now overwhelming. And it will only get better. As renewable energy prices fall, the 2020s will be the decade in which the planet finally closes the chapter on destruction and pollution by fossil fuels and enters a new realm of clean and nearly free energy.

Foreign Policy

Our Amazing Clean Energy Future Has Arrived

Hydrogen is a clean-burning molecule, meaning that it can help to decarbonize a range of sectors that have proved hard to clean up in the past. But today, most hydrogen is produced from CO2-emitting fossil fuels. Hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, known as green hydrogen, could be the solution to cutting our carbon footprint. But first, it must overcome a number of challenges.

CNBC

What Is Green Hydrogen And Will It Power The Future?

Some of the world’s largest companies are exploring hydrogen as a potential solution to growing energy needs. WSJ’s Neanda Salvaterra investigates whether harnessing the most abundant element in the universe can really mark the end of the fossil fuel era. Photo/Video: Jaden Urbi/The Wall Street Journal

Can Hydrogen Fuel the World's Fast-Growing Energy Needs?

Battery | EV

Energy Trend

BYD Rumored to Enter Automotive Li-Ion Battery Market in 2H21 in Competition with LG Chem, CATL

Daimler AG on Thursday unveiled a battery-powered counterpart to its top Mercedes-Benz luxury sedan as German carmakers ramp up their challenge to electric upstart Tesla.

Mercedes rolls out luxury electric car in duel with Tesla

Charging electric cars can put a strain on the electricity grid. And commuting to work by car can cause traffic congestion. Ph.D. student Carlo Cenedese at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, linked energy use and transportation using Game Theory and produced an algorithm that calculates how enough individuals can be persuaded to adapt their behavior to prevent both.

Discount on charging electric cars helps to solve traffic jams

While widespread EV adoption remains a top priority, EVs are still considered expensive and out of reach for the average consumer. An emerging used EV market could provide a solution to this problem by making EVs more accessible for personal vehicle use.

Growing EV Adoption: The Solution Already On The Road

Two researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a new membrane design that prevents crossover in polysulfide redox flow batteries. In their paper published in the journal Nature Energy, Zhejun Li and Yi-Chun Lu describe their work with the new membrane design. Wei Wang with Northwest National Laboratory has published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue describing problems with polysulfide redox flow batteries and the work by Li and Lu to overcome them.

Membrane design prevents crossover in polysulfide redox flow batteries

In line with its ambition to make Europe a greener place, the European Union wants to drastically reduce gas emission from transport by 2050 and promote electric cars. But according to a report from the bloc's external auditor, it is lacking the appropriate charging stations.

EU lacking sufficient electric cars charging infrastructure

Even if electric vehicles sales soar, the replacement rate means ICEs will dominate the vehicle stock for decades.

Don’t Count On EVs To Solve Climate Change

At the height of his career, the pioneering electrical engineer Nikola Tesla became obsessed with an idea. He theorized that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly through the air at long distances—either via a series of strategically positioned towers, or hopping across a system of suspended balloons.

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