According to the government’s statement, the investment from Enirgi to create an advanced materials division in #Argentina will help the company increase its production to more than 50,000 tonnes of #Lithium carbonate annually.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-lithium-idUSKBN16V00F
Professor Ravinder Dahiya, an electrical engineer at the #UniversityOfGlasgow, says his first-of-its-kind sensor is a step towards more lightweight prosthetic limbs for people, as well as more natural-feeling robots covered in soft-skinned bodies. His new bot skin, which is made of a single atomic layer of #Graphene, is basically a touch sensor. It needs 20 nanowatts of power per square centimeter to operate. For that, Dahiya turned to the sun:
“Whatever light is available, 98 percent is going and hitting the solar cell,” he says, explaining that a solar panel is located just under the surface of the clear graphene skin. “it is generating power that can be used to get the sensitivity, the tactile feeling.”
Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hilarybrueck/2017/03/22/solarrobotskin/#770c19933484
As more environmentally conscious #Americans do their bit to help clear the air by paying up for an eco-friendly #Prius or a sporty #Tesla, a damaging form of polluted rain is falling in #China.
The link is #Graphite, a vital component in batteries used in Tesla’s Model S, #Toyota’s plug-in Prius and other electric cars, as well as in electronic gadgets including #iPhones. It’s mostly mined and processed in China where graphite pollution has fouled air and water, damaged crops and raised health concerns. Now, in response, #Chinese authorities are closing dozens of graphite mines and processors in a bid for cleaner air even as global demand for the commodity is surging.
Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-14/teslas-in-california-help-bring-dirty-rain-to-china
The #Stockholm-based company wants to raise 1 billion euros by 2018, when it plans to break ground on a factory during the second half of the year, according to founder Peter Carlsson, who was #Tesla’s former head of sourcing and supply chains. #NorthVolt will announce a shortlist of possible #Swedish manufacturing sites in about a month.
Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-13/to-take-on-tesla-sweden-s-northvolt-seeks-1-billion-next-year
With electric car and battery costs falling towards mass-market prices, and demand rising for #Lithium use in off-grid power storage, the market faces a global shortage. According to one estimate by Morningstar, the supply shortfall will grow to 100,000 tonnes by 2025 and demand for lithium will increase by 16 percent each year until then.
Read more at: https://www.ft.com/content/a1166a2c-f9bb-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71
#Jakarta – #Indonesian state miner #Aneka #Tambang will apply next week for a permit to export 6 million tons of #Nickel ore for a year, a company spokesman said.
Read more at: http://jakartaglobe.id/business/antam-to-seek-permit-to-export-6m-tons-of-nickel-ore/
Notably, #Glencore Chief Executive #IvanGlasenberg said in December demand for #Nickel could reach 400,000 tonnes should electric vehicles reach 10 percent of the global fleet, enough to cause a supply deficit.
Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-metals-nickel-evs-idUSKBN16H1AG
#Argentina has some good news for #Elon #Musk’s #Tesla Inc., and bad news for #Lithium producers elsewhere: the country may be about to flood the market with lithium.
After President Mauricio Macri removed currency and capital controls and taxes introduced by his predecessors, about 40 foreign companies began to consider opportunities in #Argentina’s mining industry, more than half of those in lithium, according to Mining Secretary Daniel Meilan.
Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-06/argentina-s-lithium-superpower-ambition-is-good-news-for-tesla
#Cobalt is having a moment in the spotlight. Historically a minor by-product of #Copper and #Nickel mining, the metal is a key ingredient for #Lithium-ion batteries and now a growing money maker for #Glencore Plc.
Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-08/cobalt-steps-out-of-the-shadows-as-glencore-s-new-star-player
“It’s one of the things we’re considering for any mine that we think should remain operating,” Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Maria Paz Luna told reporters.
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