#raremetals — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #raremetals, aggregated by home.social.
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Scientists achieve massive breakthrough on an alternative to #LithiumIon batteries — why this 'significant advancement' matters
by Laurelle Stelle, January 13, 2026
"Researchers have recently discovered a way to make an efficient battery out of #zinc — an inexpensive, commonly found metal — instead of the #RareMetals used in lithium batteries.
"Most rechargeable batteries today are lithium-ion batteries, which include other metals like cobalt and nickel, Tech Xplore reports. As electric vehicles (#EVs) and large-scale energy storage get more common, we'll need more and more of those metals — but because they're uncommon, the costs are often massive.
"Many researchers are working on cheaper battery options to reduce or replace these metals. One Chinese company has created a car powered by a #SodiumBattery, and a University of Maryland researcher has invented a partly #BiodegradableBattery made of zinc and #CrabShells. Researchers have even found not one but two ways to store energy in ordinary #sand.
"According to Tech Xplore, this new project, led by Xiulei 'David' Ji of Oregon State University, offers yet another alternative to lithium-ion batteries: accessible, efficient zinc metal batteries.
"The secret is a new electrolyte developed by Ji and his team, Tech Xplore explains. A battery electrolyte is a liquid inside the battery that helps aid the chemical reactions to store and release energy.
"Unfortunately, past electrolytes in #ZincBatteries were not very efficient. Much of the energy stored in the battery was previously used up in extra, unwanted chemical reactions. Not only did that mean the battery couldn't release as much energy as it had put into it, but it also generated dangerous hydrogen gas. This meant that zinc wasn't practical for #RechargeableBatteries.
"Ji's team has created a new electrolyte formula that almost eliminates these unwanted reactions, Tech Xplore reports. It forms a protective coating on the zinc component of the battery that prevents that type of energy loss. A similar protective coating is what allows lithium-ion batteries to release more than 99% of the charging energy. The new zinc battery releases 99.95% of the energy it is charged with on each cycle.
"Not only is the zinc battery efficient, but it's also safer than a lithium-ion battery, according to Tech Xplore. The new electrolyte isn't flammable, while the ones used in lithium-ion batteries often are combustible. Both zinc and the components of the electrolyte are also cheaper and more common than the materials used in lithium-ion batteries.
" 'The breakthrough represents a significant advancement toward making zinc metal batteries more accessible to consumers,' Ji told OSU News and Research Communications. "These batteries are essential for the installation of additional solar and wind farms. In addition, they offer a secure and efficient solution for home energy storage, as well as energy storage modules for communities that are vulnerable to natural disasters.
"Thanks to the work of Ji and his team, Tech Xplore suggests rechargeable zinc batteries are likely to hit the market in the near future."
Source:
https://tech.yahoo.com/science/articles/scientists-just-made-massive-breakthrough-121500329.html#SolarPunkSunday #LithiumBatteryAlternatives #ZincBatteries #BiodegradableBatteries #CrabShells #Cobalt #Nickel #Lithium #Technology #TechnologyBreakthrough
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Oopsie.. Somebody’s insecure on their continued access to #silver 😅😅😅
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As the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues unabated, Andy Storey uncovers the EU’s imperial fingerprints all over the economic and political relations in the region: https://rebelnews.ie/2025/02/22/democratic-republic-of-the-congo-the-ghost-of-roger-casement-is-beating-at-the-door/
#coltan #electronics #computers #rareEarth #rareEarths #rareMetals #extraction #extractivism #mining #mines #Congo #CongoKinshasa #m23 #DRC #Rwanda #colombite #tantalite #condensators #phones #mobile #reactors #airplanes #aircraft #trafficking #Europe #EuropeanUnion #EU
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🌍 AFRICA | 🇨🇳 CHINA
🔴 China 'monopolizes' Africa's rare metals market🔸 China controls 70% of global rare earth production, dominating Africa via BRI.
🔸 Beijing avoids political interference, offering infrastructure-for-minerals deals.
🔸 US and Western influence in Africa continues to decline. -
Scientists find huge trove of #RareMetals needed for clean energy hidden inside toxic coal waste | CNN https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/climate/coal-ash-rare-earth-elements/index.html Scientists analyzed #CoalAsh from power plants across the United States and found it could contain up to 11 million tons of rare earth elements — nearly eight times the amount the US has in domestic reserves — worth around $8.4 billion
It offers a huge potential source of domestic #RareEarth elements without the need for new mining,
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"First we did it with manganese. Later we did it with nickel and lithium. And then we used a different strain of bacteria and we were able to extract cobalt and nickel.”
University of Edinburgh scientists are using bacteria helping to extract rare metals from old batteries to help create a circular green economy.
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🔴 🇳🇴 🇬🇱 🎥 Inside the Race to Mine $92 Billion Worth of Deep Sea Minerals
“Between Norway and Greenland lie some of the most valuable minerals on the planet. From cobalt to rare earths, raw materials are needed to drive multi-billion dollar industries such as EVs. These mineral reserves from the deep sea are of huge geopolitical significance as China and a few other key countries are monopolizing the supply of these materials.”
#Video length: six minutes and forty four seconds.
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94zn-OimoHQ
#WSJ #Norway #Greenland #Ocean #Sea #Mining #RareMetals #Industry #Environment
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"The Rare Metals War" - to the point short Doku on the shadow side of the energy transition & the real costs of the Digital Age, by #VPRO #Tegenlicht in coll. with @GuillaumePitron (Journalist, Author) #greenwashing #DigitalAge #rareminerals #raremetals #China #docu #pitron
(In English with 10% Dutch) -
China is set to dominate the deep #sea and its wealth of #raremetals 👇🤔
https://www.worldenergydata.org/china-is-set-to-dominate-the-deep-sea-and-its-wealth-of-rare-metals/
