#Battery materials

[patriotlithiumlimited]

Patriot Lithium Powers Up: Strategic Lithium Projects in the USA

🌍 Expanding Lithium Portfolio

Tinton West Project: Located in the northern Black Hills, spanning South Dakota & Wyoming

Keystone Project: Encircling Keystone, South Dakota, with 255 mining claims

Wickenburg Lithium Project: 347 mining claims in Maricopa County, Arizona

💰 Major Investment Milestone

On May 9, 2024, Tranche 1 of the $2.5M share Placement was settled

Tranche 2 pending shareholder approval 🚨

⛏️ Drilling Begins at Gorman Lithium Project

Exploration to target lithium mineralisation at depths up to 150m

Exciting lithium-rich results:

5m @ 1.7% Li₂O

12.8m @ 1.3% Li₂O

5m @ 2.0% Li₂O

🚗 Riding the EV Wave

With lithium prices up 27% since 2024, Patriot Lithium is positioned to support the booming EV market

Major EV investments:

Ford: Doubling commitment to $22B

Volkswagen: Pledging $88B 💸

📈 Investor Snapshot

Stock price: AUD 0.076

Market Cap: AUD 8.79M

52-week range: AUD 0.065 to AUD 0.320

⚡ Patriot Lithium: Energizing the Future with Lithium Innovation!

[wildcatdiscoverytechnologies]

Wildcat receives 100th patent for battery materials innovation and technology

Wildcat Discovery Technologies has reached a remarkable milestone by securing its 100th patent, a testament to its leadership in battery materials innovation and technology. This achievement underscores Wildcat's commitment to advancing the field of energy storage and enhancing the performance of battery materials. With 61 U.S. patents and approximately 60 patents pending, Wildcat continues to drive innovation, particularly in U.S.-based cathode materials manufacturing. This landmark patent reinforces the company's strategic vision and positions it as a key player in the battery technology industry.

Join us in celebrating this achievement and learn how Wildcat Discovery Technologies can power your innovative solutions. Contact us today!

[techninja]

Lithium-ion Battery Materials: Powering the Future of Energy Storage

Outline

Introduction to Lithium-ion Battery Materials

Components of Lithium-ion Batteries

Anode Materials

Cathode Materials

Electrolyte Materials

Importance of Battery Materials in Performance

Popular Lithium-ion Battery Materials

Graphite (Anode)

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (Cathode)

Lithium Iron Phosphate (Cathode)

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (Cathode)

Electrolyte Solutions

Advancements in Battery Materials Research

Environmental and Safety Considerations

Future Trends in Lithium-ion Battery Materials

Conclusion

FAQs

In the realm of modern energy storage, lithium-ion batteries have emerged as the frontrunner, powering everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. At the heart of these batteries lies a complex interplay of materials meticulously engineered to deliver optimal performance, efficiency, and safety. In this article, we delve into the world of lithium-ion battery materials, exploring their composition, significance, and future prospects.

Components of Lithium-ion Batteries

Anode Materials

The anode of a lithium-ion battery typically consists of graphite, which serves as a host material for lithium ions during charging and discharging cycles. Graphite's layered structure allows for the reversible intercalation and deintercalation of lithium ions, facilitating the battery's operation.

Cathode Materials

On the other side of the battery, the cathode houses materials like lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, or lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide. These compounds play a crucial role in determining the battery's voltage, energy density, and cycle life.

Electrolyte Materials

The electrolyte, often a liquid or polymer solution containing lithium salts, enables the movement of lithium ions between the anode and cathode while preventing the direct contact of the two electrodes, thus ensuring the battery's stability and safety.

Importance of Battery Materials in Performance

The selection and optimization of battery materials significantly impact the overall performance and longevity of lithium-ion batteries. Factors such as energy density, charging rate, and cycle life are heavily influenced by the choice of anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials.

Popular Lithium-ion Battery Materials

Graphite (Anode)

Graphite remains the most common anode material due to its stability, conductivity, and low cost. Ongoing research aims to enhance graphite's performance through the development of advanced carbon structures and composites.

Lithium Cobalt Oxide (Cathode)

Despite safety concerns associated with cobalt, lithium cobalt oxide continues to be widely used in high-energy-density applications such as consumer electronics. Efforts are underway to reduce cobalt content or explore alternative cathode materials to address supply chain issues and environmental concerns.

Lithium Iron Phosphate (Cathode)

Lithium iron phosphate offers improved safety and thermal stability compared to lithium cobalt oxide, making it suitable for applications where safety is paramount, such as electric vehicles and grid storage systems.

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (Cathode)

This ternary cathode material combines the advantages of nickel, manganese, and cobalt to achieve a balance between energy density, power capability, and cost-effectiveness. It is commonly used in electric vehicles and stationary storage applications.

Electrolyte Solutions

Research into novel electrolyte formulations aims to enhance battery performance and safety by improving ion conductivity, stability, and compatibility with high-voltage cathode materials.

Advancements in Battery Materials Research

The field of battery materials research is dynamic and rapidly evolving, driven by the demand for higher energy density, faster charging, and longer-lasting batteries. Advanced characterization techniques, computational modeling, and material synthesis methods are enabling scientists to design next-generation battery materials with unprecedented performance attributes.

Environmental and Safety Considerations

While lithium-ion batteries offer numerous advantages, concerns persist regarding the environmental impact of raw material extraction, battery manufacturing processes, and end-of-life disposal. Efforts to develop sustainable and recyclable battery chemistries are underway to mitigate these challenges and promote the adoption of clean energy technologies.

Future Trends in Lithium-ion Battery Materials

Looking ahead, the future of lithium-ion battery materials is characterized by ongoing innovation and collaboration across academia, industry, and government sectors. Key areas of focus include the development of solid-state electrolytes, silicon-based anodes, and alternative cathode chemistries to further improve battery performance, safety, and sustainability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, lithium-ion battery materials play a pivotal role in shaping the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of modern energy storage systems. Continued research and development efforts aimed at advancing battery materials science are essential for realizing the full potential of lithium-ion technology and accelerating the transition to a clean energy future.

FAQs

Are lithium-ion batteries the best option for energy storage?

While lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the market, other technologies such as solid-state batteries and flow batteries are being actively researched as potential alternatives.

What are the main challenges facing lithium-ion battery materials research?

Key challenges include improving energy density, reducing costs, enhancing safety, and addressing environmental concerns associated with raw material sourcing and battery disposal.

How long do lithium-ion batteries typically last?

The lifespan of lithium-ion batteries varies depending on factors such as usage patterns, operating conditions, and battery chemistry. Generally, they can last several years with proper care and maintenance.

Are there any risks associated with lithium-ion batteries?

While lithium-ion batteries are generally safe when used as intended, there is a risk of thermal runaway and fire in cases of overcharging, physical damage, or manufacturing defects.

What role do government policies play in the advancement of battery materials research?

Government policies and incentives can significantly influence research funding, technology adoption, and market dynamics, thus playing a crucial role in shaping the trajectory of battery materials innovation.

[electronalytics]

Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market Consumption Analysis, Business Overview and Upcoming Key Players,Growth factors, Trends 2032

Overview of the Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market:

The Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) market involves the production, distribution, and utilization of batteries that utilize a ceramic electrolyte in combination with lithium-based materials. LCBs are a type of solid-state battery technology that offers potential advantages such as high energy density, improved safety, and longer cycle life compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. LCBs are being developed for various applications, including electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and portable electronics.

The Global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market Size is expected to grow from USD 1.02 Billion in 2017 to USD 2.48 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.5% from 2022to2032

Here are some key drivers of demand for LCBs in the market:

High Energy Density: LCBs offer higher energy density compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries, which is especially appealing for applications where compact and lightweight energy storage is crucial.

Safety and Stability: LCBs are known for their improved safety features, including resistance to thermal runaway and reduced risk of fire or explosion. This makes them a preferred choice for applications where safety is a primary concern.

Long Cycle Life: LCBs have demonstrated longer cycle life and calendar life compared to some conventional lithium-ion batteries. This characteristic is valuable in applications where longevity and durability are essential.

Temperature Performance: LCBs perform well in a wide range of temperatures, from extreme cold to high heat. This makes them suitable for applications in diverse environments, such as aerospace and automotive industries.

Fast Charging: As demand grows for faster-charging solutions, LCBs are being explored for their potential to support rapid charging without compromising safety or longevity.

Sustainability and Environmental Concerns: The shift towards sustainable energy storage technologies has led to increased interest in LCBs due to their potential to reduce environmental impact and reliance on fossil fuels.

 Certainly, here's an overview of the Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) market trends, scope, and opportunities:

Trends:

High Energy Density: Lithium Ceramic Batteries (LCBs) offer higher energy density compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries, making them attractive for applications requiring longer-lasting and more powerful energy sources.

Enhanced Safety: LCBs are known for their improved safety characteristics, including resistance to thermal runaway and reduced risk of fire or explosion. This makes them appealing for applications where safety is a critical concern.

Wide Temperature Range: LCBs exhibit excellent performance across a broad temperature range, making them suitable for applications in extreme environments, such as aerospace and military applications.

Durability and Longevity: LCBs have demonstrated longer cycle life and extended calendar life compared to some conventional lithium-ion technologies, reducing the need for frequent replacements.

Fast Charging: Emerging technologies within the LCB category are showing potential for faster charging capabilities, catering to the growing demand for quick charging solutions.

Solid-State Design: Some LCB variants use solid-state electrolytes, eliminating the need for flammable liquid electrolytes and enhancing overall battery stability and safety.

Scope:

Electronics and Consumer Devices: LCBs could find applications in smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other consumer electronics due to their high energy density and improved safety.

Electric Vehicles (EVs): The EV industry could benefit from LCBs' fast charging capabilities, extended cycle life, and resistance to temperature fluctuations.

Aerospace and Aviation: LCBs' ability to operate in extreme temperatures and provide reliable power could make them suitable for aerospace applications, including satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Military and Defense: The durability, safety, and reliability of LCBs could be advantageous for defense applications, such as portable electronics and military vehicles.

Medical Devices: LCBs' safety features, longevity, and potential for high energy density might make them valuable for medical devices requiring stable and efficient power sources.

Grid Energy Storage: LCBs could play a role in grid-scale energy storage due to their high energy density, longer cycle life, and safety features.

Opportunities:

Advanced Materials Development: Opportunities exist for research and development of new materials to further improve the performance, energy density, and safety of LCBs.

Commercialization: Companies that can successfully develop and commercialize LCB technologies could tap into various industries seeking high-performance, safe, and durable energy storage solutions.

Partnerships and Collaborations: Opportunities for partnerships between battery manufacturers, research institutions, and industries seeking reliable energy solutions.

Customization: Tailoring LCB technologies to specific applications, such as medical devices or defense equipment, can open up opportunities for specialized markets.

Sustainable Energy Storage: LCBs' potential to enhance the efficiency of renewable energy storage systems presents opportunities in the transition to clean energy.

Investment and Funding: Investors and venture capitalists interested in innovative battery technologies could find opportunities to support the development of LCB technologies.

We recommend referring our Stringent datalytics firm, industry publications, and websites that specialize in providing market reports. These sources often offer comprehensive analysis, market trends, growth forecasts, competitive landscape, and other valuable insights into this market.

By visiting our website or contacting us directly, you can explore the availability of specific reports related to this market. These reports often require a purchase or subscription, but we provide comprehensive and in-depth information that can be valuable for businesses, investors, and individuals interested in this market.

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Market Segmentations:

Global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market: By Company

• Evonik

• ProLogium(PLG)

Global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market: By Type

• Laminate Type

• Cylindrical Type

Global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market: By Application

• Transportation

• Energy Storage System

• Telecom and IT

• Industrial Equipment

• Others

Global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) Market: Regional Analysis

The regional analysis of the global Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) market provides insights into the market's performance across different regions of the world. The analysis is based on recent and future trends and includes market forecast for the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) market report are as follows:

North America: The North America region includes the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The U.S. is the largest market for Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) in this region, followed by Canada and Mexico. The market growth in this region is primarily driven by the presence of key market players and the increasing demand for the product.

Europe: The Europe region includes Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe. Germany is the largest market for Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) in this region, followed by the U.K. and France. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing demand for the product in the automotive and aerospace sectors.

Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region includes Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific. China is the largest market for Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) in this region, followed by Japan and India. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing adoption of the product in various end-use industries, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction.

Middle East and Africa: The Middle East and Africa region includes Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, and Rest of Middle East and Africa. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing demand for the product in the aerospace and defense sectors.

South America: The South America region includes Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America. Brazil is the largest market for Lithium Ceramic Battery (LCB) in this region, followed by Argentina. The market growth in this region is primarily driven by the increasing demand for the product in the automotive sector.

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[market-insider]

Lithium-ion Battery Cathode Market: Emerging Trends and Future Outlook

The global lithium-ion battery cathode market size is expected to reach USD 89.35 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 19.9% from 2023 to 2030. Increasing adoption of portable electronics and��electric vehicles which uses rechargeable batteries as power source is one of the major factors driving the market growth.

Gain deeper insights on the market and receive your free copy with TOC now @: Lithium-ion Battery Cathode Market Report

The battery technology is developing continuously to meet the power density and performance requirements of devices. The worldwide registration of electric vehicles is anticipated to increase significantly over the forecast period. Also, rising availability of charging outlets and financial incentives have emerged as crucial factors for the development of lithium-ion cathode market, bolstered by the lower running cost of EVs compared to conventional ICE-operated vehicles.

Technological advancements and increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries from emerging countries as a result of rising electricity demand are likely to support market expansion. Increased emphasis on green technology by international organizations and governmental bodies will fuel production of lithium-ion batteries, providing a growth opportunity for lithium-ion battery cathode industry players like Umicore SA, Suimoto Chemicals, LG Chem, Samsung SDI, Targray Technology international, Inc. NEI Corporation, POSCO Chemicals and etc.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Circular battery self-sufficiency

I'm coming to DEFCON! On FRIDAY (Aug 9), I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On SATURDAY (Aug 10), I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

If we are going to survive the climate emergency, we will have to electrify – that is, transition from burning fossil fuels to collecting, storing, transmitting and using renewable energy generated by e.g. the tides, the wind, and (especially) the Sun.

Electrification is a big project, but it's not an insurmountable one. Planning and executing an electric future is like eating the elephant: we do it one step at a time. This is characteristic of big engineering projects, which explains why so many people find it hard to imagine pulling this off.

As a layperson, you are far more likely to be exposed to a work of popular science than you are a work of popular engineering. Pop science is great, but its role is to familiarize you with theory, not practice. Popular engineering is a minuscule and obscure genre, which is a pity, because it's one of my favorites.

Weathering the climate emergency is going to require a lot of politics, to be sure, but it's also going to require a lot of engineering, which is why I'm grateful for the nascent but vital (and growing) field of popular engineering. Not to mention, the practitioners of popular engineering tend to be a lot of fun, like the hosts of the Well That's Your Problem podcast, a superb long-form leftist podcast about engineering disasters (with slides!):

https://www.youtube.com/@welltheresyourproblempodca1465

If you want to get started on popular engineering and the climate, your first stop should be the "Without the Hot Air" series, which tackles sustainable energy, materials, transportation and food as engineering problems. You'll never think about climate the same way again:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/06/methane-diet/#3kg-per-day

Then there's Saul Griffith's 2021 book Electrify, which is basically a roadmap for carrying out the electrification of America and the world:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/09/practical-visionary/#popular-engineering

Griffith's book is inspiring and visionary, but to really get a sense of how fantastic an electrified world can be, it's gotta be Deb Chachra's How Infrastructure Works:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects

Chachra is a material scientist who teaches at Olin College, and her book is a hymn to the historical and philosophical underpinnings of infrastructure, but more than anything, it's a popular engineering book about what is possible. For example, if we want to give every person on Earth the energy budget of a Canadian (like an American, but colder), we would only have to capture 0.4% of the solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface.

Now, this is a gigantic task, but it's a tractable one. Resolving it will require a very careful – and massive – marshaling of materials, particularly copper, but also a large number of conflict minerals and rare earths. It's gonna be hard.

But it's not impossible, let alone inconceivable. Indeed, Chachra's biggest contribution in this book is to make a compelling case for reconceiving our relationship to energy and materials. As a species, we have always treated energy as scarce, trying to wring every erg and therm that we can out of our energy sources. Meanwhile, we've treated materials as abundant, digging them up or chopping them down, using them briefly, then tossing them on a midden or burying them in a pit.

Chachra argues that this is precisely backwards. Our planet gets a fresh supply of energy twice a day, with sunrise (solar) and moonrise (tides). On the other hand, we've only got one Earth's worth of materials, supplemented very sporadically when a meteor survives entry into our atmosphere. Mining asteroids, the Moon and other planets is a losing proposition for the long foreseeable future:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/09/astrobezzle/#send-robots-instead

The promise of marshaling a very large amount of materials is that it will deliver effectively limitless, clean energy. This project will take a lot of time and its benefits will primarily accrue to people who come after its builders, which is why it is infrastructure. As Chachra says, infrastructure is inherently altruistic, a gift to our neighbors and our descendants. If all you want is a place to stick your own poop, you don't need to build a citywide sanitation system.

What's more, we can trade energy for materials. Manufacturing goods so that they gracefully decompose back into the material stream at the end of their lives is energy intensive. Harvesting materials from badly designed goods is also energy intensive. But if once we build out the renewables grid (which will take a lot of materials), we will have all the energy we need (to preserve and re-use our materials).

Our species' historical approach to materials is not (ahem) carved in stone. It is contingent. It has changed. It can change again. It needs to change, because the way we extract materials today is both unjust and unsustainable.

The horrific nature of material extraction under capitalism – and its geopolitics (e.g. "We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.") – has many made comrades in the climate fight skeptical (or worse, cynical) about a clean energy transition. They do the back-of-the-envelope math about the material budget for electrification, mentally convert that to the number of wildlife preserves, low-income communities, unspoiled habitat and indigenous lands that we would destroy in the process of gathering those materials, and conclude that the whole thing is a farce.

That analysis is important, but it's incomplete. Yes, marshaling all those materials in the way that we do today would be catastrophic. But the point of a climate transition is that we will transition our approach to our planet, our energy, and our materials. That transition can and should challenge all the assumptions underpinning electrification doomerism.

Take the material bill itself: the assumption that a transition will require a linearly scaled quantity of materials includes the assumption that cleantech won't find substantial efficiencies in its material usage. Thankfully, that's a very bad assumption! Cleantech is just getting started. It's at the stage where we're still uncovering massive improvements to production (unlike fossil fuel technology, whose available efficiencies have been discovered and exploited, so that progress is glacial and negligible).

Take copper: electrification requires a lot of copper. But the amount of copper needed for each part of the cleantech revolution is declining faster than the demand for cleantech is rising. Just one example: between the first and second iteration of the Rivian electric vehicle, designers figured out how to remove 1.6 miles of copper wire from each vehicle:

https://insideevs.com/news/722265/rivian-r1s-r1t-wiring/

That's just one iteration and one technology! And yeah, EVs are only peripheral to a cleantech transition; for one thing, geometry hates cars. We're going to have to build a lot of mass transit, and we're going to be realizing these efficiencies with every generation of train, bus, and tram:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/29/geometry-hates-uber/#toronto-the-gullible

We have just lived through a massive surge in electrification, with unimaginable quantities of new renewables coming online and a stunning replacement of conventional vehicles with EVs, and throughout that surge, demand for copper remained flat:

https://www.chemanalyst.com/NewsAndDeals/NewsDetails/copper-wire-price-remains-stable-amidst-surplus-supply-and-expanding-mining-25416#:~:text=Global%20Copper%20wire%20Price%20Remains%20Stable%20Amidst%20Surplus%20Supply%20and%20Expanding%20Mining%20Activities

This isn't to say that cleantech is a solved problem. There are many political aspects to cleantech that remain pernicious, like the fact that so many of the cleantech offerings on the market are built around extractive financial arrangements (like lease-back rooftop solar) and "smart" appliances (like heat pumps and induction tops) that require enshittification-ready apps:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/26/unplanned-obsolescence/#better-micetraps

There's a quiet struggle going on between cleantech efficiencies and the finance sector's predation, from lease-back to apps to the carbon-credit scam, but many of those conflicts are cashing out in favor of a sustainable future and it doesn't help our cause to ignore those: we should be cheering them on!

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/12/s-curve/#anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-eventually-stops

Take "innovation." Silicon Valley's string of pump-and-dump nonsense – cryptocurrency, NFTs, metaverse, web3, and now AI – have made "innovation" into a dirty word. As the AI bubble bursts, the very idea of innovation is turning into a punchline:

https://www.wheresyoured.at/burst-damage/

But cleantech is excitingly, wonderfully innovative. The contrast between the fake innovation of Silicon Valley and the real – and vital – innovation of cleantech couldn't be starker, or more inspiring:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/30/posiwid/#social-cost-of-carbon

Like the "battery problem." Whenever the renewables future is raised, there's always a doomer insisting that batteries are an unsolved – and unsolvable – problem, and without massive batteries, there's no sense in trying, because the public won't accept brownouts when the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing.

Sometimes, these people are shilling boondoggles like nuclear power (reminder: this is Hiroshima Day):

https://theconversation.com/dutton-wants-australia-to-join-the-nuclear-renaissance-but-this-dream-has-failed-before-209584

Other times, they're just trying to foreclose on the conversation about a renewables transition altogether. But sometimes, these doubts are raised by comrades who really do want a transition and have serious questions about power storage.

If you're one of those people, I have some very good news: battery tech is taking off. Some of that takes the form of wild and cool new approaches. In Finland, a Scottish company is converting a disused copper mine into a gravity battery. During the day, excess renewables hoist a platform piled with tons of rock up a 530m shaft. At night, the platform lowers slowly, driving a turbine and releasing its potential energy. This is incredibly efficient, has a tiny (and sustainable) bill of materials, and it's highly replicable. The world has sufficient abandoned mine-shafts to store 70TWh of power – that's the daily energy budget for the entire planet. What's more, every mine shaft has a beefy connection to the power grid, because you can't run a mine without a lot of power:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/06/this-disused-mine-in-finland-is-being-turned-into-a-gravity-battery-to-store-renewable-ene

Gravity batteries are great for utility-scale storage, but we also need a lot of batteries for things that we can't keep plugged into the wall, like vehicles, personal electronics, etc. There's great news on that score, too! "The Battery Mineral Loop" is a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute that describes the path to "circular battery self-sufficiency":

https://rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/07/the_battery_mineral_loop_report_July.pdf

The big idea: rather than digging up new minerals to make batteries, we can recycle minerals from dead batteries to make new ones. Remember, energy can be traded for materials: we can expend more energy on designs that are optimized to decompose back into their component materials, or we can expend more energy extracting materials from designs that aren't optimized for recycling.

Both things are already happening. From the executive summary:

The chemistry of batteries is rapidly improving: over the past decade, we've reduced per-using demand for lithium, nickle and cobalt by 60-140%, and most lithium batteries are being recycled, not landfilled.

Within a decade, we'll hit peak mineral demand for batteries. By the mid-2030s, the amount of new "virgin minerals" needed to meet our battery demand will stop growing and start declining.

By 2050, we could attain net zero mineral demand for batteries: that is, we could meet all our energy storage needs without digging up any more minerals.

We are on a path to a "one-off" extraction effort. We can already build batteries that work for 10-15 years and whose materials can be recycled with 90-94% efficiency.

The total quantity of minerals we need to extract to permanently satisfy the world's energy storage needs is about 125m tons.

This last point is the one that caught my eye. Extracting 125m tons of anything is a tall order, and depending on how it's done, it could wreak a terrible toll on people and the places they live.

But one question I learned to ask from Tim Harford and BBC More Or Less is "is that a big number?" 125m tons sure feels like a large number, but it is one seventeenth of the amount of fossil fuels we dig up every year just for road transport. In other words, we're talking about spending the next thirty years carefully, sustainably, humanely extracting about 5.8% of the materials we currently pump and dig every year for our cars. Do that, and we satisfy our battery needs more-or-less forever.

This is a big engineering project. We've done those before. Crisscrossing the world with roads, supplying billions of fossil-fuel vehicles, building the infrastructure for refueling them, pumping billions of gallons of oil – all of that was done in living memory. As Robin Sloan wrote:

Did people say, at the dawn of the automobile: are you kidding me? This technology will require a ubiquitous network of refueling stations, one or two at every major intersection … even if there WAS that much gas in the world, how would you move it around at that scale? If everybody buys a car, you’ll need to build highways, HUGE ones — you’ll need to dig up cities! Madness!

https://www.robinsloan.com/newsletters/room-for-everybody/

That big project cost trillions and required bending the productive capacity of many nations to its completion. It produced a ghastly geopolitics that elevated petrostates – a hole in the ground, surrounded by guns – to kingmakers whose autocrats can knock the world on its ass at will.

By contrast, this giant engineering project is relatively modest, and it will upend that global order, yielding energy sovereignty (and its handmaiden, national resliency) to every country on Earth. Doing it well will be hard, and require that we rethink our relationship to energy and materials, but that's a bonus, not a cost. Changing how we use materials and energy will make all our lives better, it will improve the lives of the living things we share the planet with, and it will strip the monsters who currently control our energy supply of their political, economic, and electric power.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/06/with-great-power/#comes-great-responsibility

[mindblowingscience]

Water and electronics don't usually mix, but as it turns out, batteries could benefit from some H2O. By replacing the hazardous chemical electrolytes used in commercial batteries with water, scientists have developed a recyclable 'water battery' – and solved key issues with the emerging technology, which could be a safer and greener alternative.

Continue Reading.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Soft, stretchy 'jelly batteries' inspired by electric eels

Researchers have developed soft, stretchable 'jelly batteries' that could be used for wearable devices or soft robotics, or even implanted in the brain to deliver drugs or treat conditions such as epilepsy. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, took their inspiration from electric eels, which stun their prey with modified muscle cells called electrocytes. Like electrocytes, the jelly-like materials developed by the Cambridge researchers have a layered structure, like sticky Lego, that makes them capable of delivering an electric current. The self-healing jelly batteries can stretch to over ten times their original length without affecting their conductivity—the first time that such stretchability and conductivity has been combined in a single material. The results are reported in the journal Science Advances.

Read more.

[bumblebeebats]

How come almost every rechargeable device in the world has a lithium battery which will one day, at the end of its life, swell up into a ticking time-bomb full of fire and toxic gas, and yet whenever this happens and I phone up my local council waste management department/recycling center/fire safety advice hotline like "Hi, i have a bomb, who do i give it to" they're all like

[nitewrighter]

[canisalbus]

Is it ok if we print some of your artworks? Not to sell them or profit by them in any way, just for decorative reasons.

Also, I know you don't have a shop where we can buy any prints/stickers/anything (if you did I wouldn't even consider printing them by myself) but have you ever thought of actually making one? Maybe, if not your own shop, sign up(?) on inprnt or something?

Sure! If you just want to print out my art so you can stick it on your wall or something, go ahead. (As long as it's just personal non-commercial use and you're not claiming ownership over the artwork or the characters).

I used to have a Society6 shop but I closed it last year, mostly due to changes in their terms of service. They were cutting into artists' already meager profits, and the last time I heard of it, they were planning to add a subscription fee on top of that. It just started to feel a little bit exploitative. (I also had read some reports that the quality of some of their products had gone downhill over the years but I can't attest to that).

I already have an Inprnt account waiting in the wings, but I haven't gotten around to adding any prints to it yet. (Are there any specific pieces you'd potentially be interested in? I know people ask about the 'You cannot eat money' one pretty frequently.)

[aroacewxs]

hey everyone do you ever think about how much of rui's love for nene is stored inside nenerobo

[wildcatdiscoverytechnologies]

Wildcat leaps into high-capacity CAM production

Wildcat Discovery Technologies has been featured in BEST Magazine for its significant advancements in manufacturing flexibility and high-capacity cathode active material (CAM) production. This leap into high-capacity CAM production highlights Wildcat's commitment to innovation and its ability to adapt to the evolving demands of the battery industry. By focusing on flexible manufacturing processes, Wildcat is poised to meet the increasing need for high-performance battery materials, essential for the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market and other energy storage solutions. This strategic move underscores Wildcat's role as a leader in the development and production of advanced battery technologies.

Explore how Wildcat Discovery Technologies can drive your energy solutions forward. Contact us today to learn more!

[starwrighter]

I am not a baby!! (Yes you are,)

(Prompt) (Previous part) (Next) (Masterpost) (Ao3)

(Part four peoples!!!)

Either something went wrong with that transmission or he was going to be stuck on this planet for 99,999 hours. Both options didn't bode well for him but one was clearly better than the other.

Ancient's how long was 99,999 hours? With a number that big he was looking at spending around ten years waiting for a rescue team to show up and help them. If everyone wasn't dead by that point they'd probably have built a super cool society with Deepsea bases and nuclear power that they'd have to give up. In ten years he would've figured out what the heck was going on with him and brought them home himself. Though, ten years would give him an excuse for why he was still around the same age he was when he left. Wipe the PDA's data beyond recovery, blame the most annoying creature or plant as what shrank him, and refuse to elaborate any further.

A transmission error was more likely than his brilliant hypothetical scenario. When a spaceship as big as the aurora crashed there was bound to be some interference. Whether that interference be artificial or not was still unclear much to his dismay.

At least he had a scanner, that was a big step for him in his progression. A lot of the actually helpful blueprints were corrupted in the crash and supposedly the scanner could help recover them. Scanning fragments of salvaged tech would be the quickest way of recovery all things considered. Destroyed beacons, singed seaglides, and trashcans were scattered all throughout the shallows, pollution likely reaching farther than what he'd explored. With a crash, this big damage likely extended much farther than what was visible to him.

Not only did their ship crush who knows how many creatures and plants, the regular and radioactive pollution would screw over future generations of fish! It was the intergalactic equivalent of a catastrophic oil spill and he was an unwilling participant in it. Something deep inside him ached at the thought of him being a participant in a planet's destruction.

Chunks of broken spaceship were bad enough for the environment on its own. Batteries, trash, fuel, and hundreds of pounds of manmade resources that'd take hundreds if not thousands of years to decompose. Every scrap of metal, every piece of plastic trash no matter the size was something to poison, choke or kill the local wildlife. Sam would be furious, this wasn't a case of natural food shortages or extreme weather, this could very well be an extinction event! Nuclear power was the default for Alterra's larger ships, and if it wasn't already, the aurora was soon to start leaking radiation all over the place!

This was one of the few life-bearing planets humanity discovered! Hundreds upon hundreds of planets have been discovered within humanity's years of space exploration but life existing without human intervention was still rare. Metal, rock, and gas were what were all that were usually brought back in the beginning. As humanity's technology advanced, they went farther into space, with more habitable planets being discovered and an uptick in thriving alien life. There was always a continuous stream of new discoveries in their universe, alien floras and fauna being discovered as often as they went extinct. Even so, it'd be a cold day in hell before he shared responsibility for any aliens going extinct.

Genetic mutations, Birth defects, and massive amounts of death were the first things that came to mind when radiation was brought into the picture. Radiation was the biggest issue so far, the melted spaceship could be recycled, no matter what Alterra's stupid rules told him he could and couldn't do. Trusting a corporation to clean up their own messes was like asking a toddler to clean up their toys; it would only lead to a conniption fit and a half-assed job. It was unclear how long he was going to be here and if when he met up with the other survivors, the need for materials would only increase as time went on.

Scanning and salvaging would have to wait until the next morning. Darkness shrouded the ocean outside his life pod, making it twice as dangerous to be out there tearing wrecks apart. Bioluminescence wasn't a skill he could put on his resume just yet nor was any kind of night vision. It would be both dangerous and annoying to swim around aimlessly in the dark when he had a perfectly good life pod he could relax in.

Standing in the safety of his lifepod, Danny ran the scanner up and down his body, the tech lighting him up a brilliant blue.

"Performing self-scan. Vital signs follow continuous pattern; no adverse effects identified. Detecting tracing amounts of foreign bacteria. Continuing to monitor,"

The PDA chimed and if Danny were an actual infant like the stupid tablet insisted he was he wouldn't have understood a word of those sentences. But since he wasn't a baby he could properly understand that there were alien germs in his body that really shouldn't be there.

Yeah, That seemed like a problem but it wasn't the reason his powers were short-circuiting. Before they even entered the atmosphere his powers were going wonky. Everything felt the same as it did before he came in contact with this "Foreign bacteria" There were no physical symptoms to complain about so maybe it was just his PDA's way of warning him he was coming down with an alien cold?

Whatever it was, Danny bet fifty bucks the metal muncher was what gave it to him. The creature had a face that screamed "Hey! look at me, I have all the diseases!" Now he was no marine biologist but scrap metal and electrical wire didn't exactly seem like the healthiest snack to chew on. Although, with the resemblance it had to crocodiles back home, one could only wonder if it swallowed metal to help with digestion?

Jagged teeth like the ones on the metal muncher weren't exactly suitable for grinding up food. Finding out the Metal muncher's stomach was full of rocks would be the least surprising thing that's happened today. Metal salvage from the Aurora was way too big to work as a stomach stone so it was more likely the creature just liked chewing on metal. It seemed just as interested in the titanium deposits as it was with the salvage so maybe it was a natural way to file down or sharpen their teeth? Hopefully, the metal munchers were smart enough to avoid chewing on wires that were actively sparking.

Opening a note function on his PDA, Danny began scribbling down everything he'd learned from his encounter with the metal muncher. Easily distracted, aggressive, territorial? Deciding everything he’d seen today was their normal everyday behavior would be stupid. There were new variables in the creature’s environment that could impact its behavior. Continued observation would be helpful as would scanning the animal in the morning. If Danny was going to be stranded on an alien planet you bet your ass he’s going to be studying the local wildlife while he’s here.

“A proper sleep schedule is imperative to the physical and phycological development of young children, " A chime played on his PDA closing the notes app without any warning. A repetitive string of Z’s overtook his screen making it impossible for him to navigate through the applications. Cheeks burning Danny turned the thing off and on again stomping with a huff when the same thing happened when it booted up again.

Taking a deep breath Danny sulked over to the storage unit. It was the only flat surface in this Lifepod he could lay down on and one could only pray to the ancients that the lid wouldn’t cave underneath him. Sleeping on the floor was out of the question. biohazardous goo coated the floor, still liquid enough to slosh around with the erythematic motion of the sea. Naturally, due to preferences, Danny decided to curl up on a surface that didn't have his melted organs on it.

________

Slithering through a barren seabed that once flourished as well as one could in a dying ocean. Mourning the lives that were lost today, he'd failed all over again. His youngest had been the one to see the precursors building raise into the sky this time. A blast strong enough to shake the island that it was built on shot out into the sky. They'd expected something to crash into the water soon after but what they hadn't expected was the size of what hit the waters.

Miles of the seafloor was torn up, and thousands of animals were dead. Jason said it was ironic, even after the precursors wiped themselves out they still found ways to destroy the planet. Bruce thought it was just cruel. It was by sheer stroke of luck that none of his kids had been close to the reaper's breeding ground at the time of impact. All of them managed to remain relatively unharmed when flames and giant pieces of rubble fell from the sky.

Surviving reapers flocked to the sight of the impact, shielded, unseen through the cloud of upturned sand and rubble. It wasn't until they caught a reaper with a familiar-looking creature locked in its mandibles, red blood spilling into the waters as it once had a decade ago that they realized it was happening again.

Nearly all who they'd found near the impact site had been unresponsive, charred, or mangled with their organs strewn out through the sea. In the clutches of the predators now circling the site dying in their arms no matter how quickly or carefully they managed to pry them from the brutal maw of the reapers. Within minutes of the impact, they'd already had a death count in the dozens. It was horrific, little bodies so much like his and his children's more vulnerable forms, dulled claws of younglings that had not yet grown old enough to hunt for themselves. Worst of all was looking into their dying eyes and seeing the agony and confusion of a sentient creature facing a brutal death just as their lives had begun. But that was the death count before the others landed.

Eggs with metallic shells and odd patterning landed all throughout the crater some even landing in the cold darkness of the void where they couldn't be retrieved. Their landings had been much gentler than the initial impact. Immediately the little ones began crawling out of their shells, confused and scared, physically weak. It wasn't uncommon for the precursors to deform the unborn, kidnaping and experimenting on children who lived and died in agony. Malformities ran rampant in this batch of younglings. Instead of soft faces and the vibrant, expressive eyes, they'd come to associate with these children, there were pitch-black, featureless heads smoother than sandstone but solid as titanium. There were points when a child that looked perfectly healthy would go limp for seemingly no reason and never move again. A sped-up gestation period was known to cause problems, let alone a hatching that was induced by precursor technology. As much as it killed him to admit, these younglings, while more abundant were sicklier than the small batch of three that'd fallen years ago.

Most if not all the healthier young ones died from the elements before they could reach them. It was devastating for Dick to find the youngling he'd been guarding in his territory, covered in the luminescent cysts that foreshadowed a certain death. The children got scared when they tried to protect them and when these children got scared they had a tendency to die from it.

Every single death felt like a personal failure. It's like nothing they could do would ever stop the hurt that the precursors continued to cause a thousand years after their extinction.

"Hey... B?" Dick's voice echoed in his mind a reassuring reminder that his son was safe and close enough to contact them. However, the emotions that came in with his son's words were anything but reassuring. Stomach filling with dread he settled on the sea bed just preparing himself for devastating news.

"We've searched the entire crater- none of them survived," A wave of grief hit him like a tsunami when Dicks words sunk in.

"Not the entire crater, there's still the one that landed in the shallows," Tim chimed in.

"We watched that egg for three hours and nothing crawled out of it," Steph groaned and Bruce could almost hear the dramatic way his daughter threw herself into the sand.

"Plus it was smoking and smelled of rot," Duke added somberly, slowly gliding through the impact site by his side.

"Geez, none of them even survived long enough to start building this time!" Dick exclaimed a mournful edge to his usual cheerful tone.

"Tch, pitiful," Damian finally decided to chime in, disappointment clear in the juveniles voice

" Who's pitiful? The babies who died today or the precursors who set them up for death?" Jason questioned, a dangerous edge seeping into the bond.

"I think it's obvious who I was talking about Todd," Damian spat.

"Considering how obsessed you are with what the last group created no, it's not obvious demon spawn," Jason sneered.

"Guys!" Dick snapped. "Arguing with each other isn't help and it sure as the lava zone is hot isn't going to make you feel better for long," Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the bond.

" One of us should still keep an eye on the egg in the shallows," Bruce clutched a piece of metal in pitch-black claws, gills flaring as he swam underneath an egg floating upside-down on the ocean's surface. "Maybe they're just late bloomers?"

"...Maybe?"

"I guess it's possible,"

"Not likely,"

"Tch, if it's already rotten getting our hopes up is pointless," Damian added to the chorus of replies.

"Try saying that when we have new baby siblings swimming around," Dick beamed.

"I will not because it isn't going to happen," His youngest argued pointedly.

"Awwwww, someone's worried they won't be the guppy of the family anymore!" Dick cooed much to Damian's dismay and everyone else's entertainment.

"I am not!" Damian snapped his voice louder than Dick's despite him being the farthest from the impact zone. "If anything I'd be glad someone else would be the victim of you people's constant smothering!" Damian spat, his words lacking any true venom.

"Whatever you say kiddo,"

"Shut up Grayson!" Laughter rang out through the bond followed by teasing and cooing. A reminder that despite everything Bruce still had living children and he hoped it would stay that way long after he passed.

( @avelnfear @meira-3919 @thought-u-said-dragon-queen @hugsandchaos @blep-23 @zeldomnyo @bytheoldwillowtree @justwannabecat @shepherdsheart @starlightcat04 @stargazing-bookwyrm @pupstim )

[aldieb]

fanfic formatted like an academic journal article?? surely this must already exist