In a media statement, the DOE said that this funding—made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—will support a variety of locally-driven projects that range from solar, microgrids, and pumped storage hydropower to geothermal and battery energy storage systems and that can be replicated in other mining communities across the country.

“President Biden believes that the communities that have powered our nation for the past 100 years should power our nation for the next 100 years,” Jennifer M. Granholm, the US Secretary of Energy, said in a statement.

“Thanks to the President’s Investing in America agenda, DOE is helping deploy clean energy solutions on current and former mine land across the country—supporting jobs and economic development in the areas hit hardest by our evolving energy landscape.” 

Three projects are on former Appalachian coal mines, thus supporting economic revitalization and workforce development on land that is no longer viable for industrial purposes. In the West, two projects seek to displace fossil-fuel use by ramping up net-zero mining operations and providing the critical materials needed for a domestic clean energy supply chain. These projects are also expected to create more than 3,000 construction and operations jobs.   

From geothermal to PV

In Graham and Greenlee Counties, Arizona, a project led by Freeport seeks to deploy direct-use, geothermal, clean heat combined with a battery energy storage system at two active copper mines, helping decrease the mines’ reliance on onsite thermal backup generators while supporting the annual extraction of 25 million pounds of copper.

In Bell County, Kentucky, Rye Development proposes converting former coal mine land to a closed-loop, pumped-storage hydroelectric facility with the potential to dispatch up to eight hours of power when needed, such as during times of peak demand or extreme weather events. This project will support the increase of local tax revenues that have decreased steadily since the 1970s and create approximately 1,500 construction and 30 operations jobs.

In Elko, Humboldt and Eureka Counties, Nevada, a project led by Nevada Gold Mines aims to develop a solar photovoltaic facility and accompanying battery energy storage system across three active gold mines.

“By shifting to clean energy, this project could demonstrate a replicable way for the mining industry to reach net-zero operations, while meeting growing demands for minerals across multiple sectors—including the clean energy supply chain,” the DOE’s release states.

In Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, Mineral Basin Solar Power, a subsidiary of Swift Current Energy, plans to repurpose nearly 2,700 acres of former coal mining land to support the largest solar project in Pennsylvania. At 402 MW, Mineral Basin will generate enough clean energy to power more than 70,000 homes. This project is expected to increase regional access to clean energy and fill a critical electricity generation gap following the closure of the Homer City coal plant.

The initiative is also expected to provide $1.1 million in annual tax revenue to Goshen and Girard townships, Clearfield County and the Clearfield County School District.

In Nicholas County, West Virginia, a project led by Savion, a company that’s part of Shell, plans to repurpose two former coal mines with a utility-scale, 250 MW solar PV system that would power approximately 39,000 West Virginia homes. These two inactive mine sites provide land and access to existing energy infrastructure that will transmit the clean, solar energy the project generates to the grid.

“The Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land will help provide the mining industry with a range of ways to decarbonize their operations and minimize environmental impacts and air pollutants, abating greenhouse gas emissions and disturbances to fragile, surrounding ecosystems,” the brief reads.

“Simultaneously, replicating clean energy technologies like these on other current and former mines will help maximize local workforce development and community opportunities for generations.”   

But are customers willing to pay more for low-carbon nickel? Some analysts say yes — under certain conditions.

“If the market sees a benefit in paying a premium for certain supplies then it will,” Jim Lennon, managing director of commodities at Macquarie Group, told The Northern Miner in an interview. “A buyer would be willing to pay a premium if they can see an economic benefit in using that product, such as receiving a government subsidy or securing a sale of a ‘greener’ electric vehicle.”

The price of nickel has been on a downtrend since late 2022 when it was $33,575 per tonne ($15.23 per pound). The price on Tuesday was $17,678 per tonne ($8.02 per lb.) and in February dipped as low as $15,850 per tonne ($7.19 per pound).

The price doldrums have prompted Wyloo Metals and BHP (ASX: BHP) to suspend operations in Australia, with BHP announcing it would take a $2.5 billion impairment on its assets.

Given the devastation to its nickel sector, Australia has been the most vocal in creating new variable price brackets for low-carbon emissions nickel.

The idea for premium ESG pricing isn’t new. In fact, some experts argue that there’s already a premium.

Canada Nickel (TSX: CNC) CEO Mark Selby says people might be surprised to learn that price premia have already been paid for various North American products perceived as cleaner on Asian markets.

Selby notes that domestic premiums for certain materials have been sustained over several years, which might not be directly attributable to lower carbon footprints or ESG factors alone but could be influenced by a combination of factors, including local supply.

But this type of premium isn’t helping Australian nickel miners. And deliberately imposing an ESG premium would be a different story.

“The main challenge is defining what ‘ESG-compliant’ actually means,” Macquarie’s Lennon said.

It’s an obstacle that the London Metal Exchange (LME) is facing as it investigates and prepares for the potential emergence of premium pricing for low-carbon products on separate trading contracts.

Georgina Hallett, LME’s chief sustainability officer, says that there’s increasing interest from producers, consumers, and investors in establishing a price premium for metals produced with lower carbon footprints. However, defining what constitutes ‘low carbon’ or ‘green’ metals isn’t easy due to the lack of a standardized, universally accepted framework for measuring and verifying the environmental impact of metal production processes.

“The aim is to build a robust framework that supports the gradual introduction of sustainability-linked pricing mechanisms while ensuring broad market participation and avoiding undue disruption,” Hallett told The Northern Miner. “By taking a step-by-step approach, the LME hopes to align the interests of various stakeholders and drive meaningful progress toward the integration of sustainability into the global metals market.”

Free market forces

Lennon suggests that establishing a special low-carbon contract for metals on the LME is unnecessary. This is because the prices for different products are already determined by normal market activities, such as supply and demand. Just like prices for different metal shapes and origins adjust based on market conditions, the prices for products with various ESG qualities would naturally adjust in the same way.

“Exchanges don’t need necessarily to get involved since they can focus on ‘objective criteria for delivery (shapes, metal purity, etcetera) and leave the market to decide on ‘subjective’ factors such as value-in-use of different products/shapes and ESG,” Lennon said.

From an exchange perspective, like the LME, there is also a risk of damaging liquidity if they were to introduce multiple contracts. Compared with large commodity derivative markets, nickel is not particularly liquid and dividing this liquidity could reduce the usability of the market for some participants.

Lennon says markets will ultimately determine the outcome. Currently, nickel prices vary significantly between products depending on supply and demand.

Today’s primary nickel products that are LME deliverable include metal rounds, pellets, cut cathode, and full plate cathode. When delivered to LME warehouses, each product is assigned a associated warrant. When buyers want to take delivery from the LME, they are often willing to pay LME brokers a premium for warrants of a particular material shape or origin.

Similarly, other non-LME deliverable products, including intermediates (concentrates, mattes, MHP, MSP, etc.) or finished products (ferronickel, nickel pig iron, nickel sulphates, nickel chlorides, etc.) also sell at varying discounts or premiums to LME base prices. Lennon said these premiums/discounts can shift dramatically due to changes in supply and demand.

For example, nickel pig iron was selling at a premium to the LME price at the start of 2022 and then had fallen to a discount of 40% to the LME by the first half of last year.

“Product type, ESG, and country of origin are all important properties and presumably were factors that led major automakers to agree to term supply contracts with BHP and Vale in recent years. ESG was no doubt a factor in these negotiations,” Lennon said.

Canada Nickel’s Selby emphasized the importance of provenance tracing rather than setting up a formal two-tiered pricing system.

He points out that imposing a pricing mechanism before the market is ready can lead to inefficiencies, such as a benchmark that does not accurately reflect market conditions. He suggests letting the market sort it out.

“We will continue to observe the distinction between Western-supplied, clean, green nickel and the high-carbon, less ESG-compliant nickel from China and Indonesia,” he said. “As for the necessity of a formal pricing mechanism, it’s typically better if such mechanisms emerge naturally in the marketplace before establishing a formal platform for trading them.”

Aussie nickel rout

An increase in supply from Indonesia has cratered nickel prices, as the southeast Asian nation boosted production of refined and semi-refined nickel, mainly on the back of an export ban on raw ore, which led to massive investment from China in new processing plants, according to Lennon.

Indonesia has become the dominant nickel producer, accounting for 55% of global supply, up from 7% in 2015, according to Bank of America data. But it relies on coal-fired power.

Higher-cost Australian supply can’t compete. Australia’s federal resources minister Madeline King responded to the raft of nickel suspensions by adding nickel to the country’s critical minerals list, enabling industry access to part of the A$4 billion ($2.6 billion) federal funding earmarked for critical energy transition minerals exploration and development.

“Prices paid for Australian minerals need to recognize the high ESG standards the Australian industry adheres to and the fact that Australian workers enjoy good working conditions and the highest safety standards.”

At PDAC, she noted that Canada and Australia have agreed to jointly advocate for robust ESG credentials to be built into global, transparent and traceable critical minerals supply chains.

Laying foundations

The LME has been considering introducing a premium for green or sustainable metals since it released a 2020 white paper on the topic, Hallett noted.

In 2021, the LME collaborated with Metalshub, a digital metals procurement platform which facilitates buyers’ access to the physical metal that meets specific attributes including carbon intensity and other ESG criteria. The LME said that low-carbon nickel, classified as producing 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide or less per tonne of nickel, could already be traded on Metalshub’s system.

The platform aims to allow market participants to specify and search for metals that meet specific sustainability standards, thereby fostering the emergence of a market-driven definition of ‘green’ metals.

Hallett says the critical missing component to formalizing a new price bracket is doing the less sexy but foundational work around how one measures emissions the same way across the industry. The point is to create an equal playing field for products in the value chain included in that new contract.

The LME has initiated several measures to promote sustainability within the metals market. One of the key initiatives is the development of metal-specific measurement methodologies, in collaboration with metal industry associations, to standardize measuring carbon emissions across different metals.

However, the LME’s taking a deliberate approach to implementing a low-carbon pricing mechanism for nickel and other metals, given the still-evolving market for low-carbon metals.

“Our approach remains one of cautious optimism and pragmatic progression,” Hallett says. “We are committed to leading the industry towards a more sustainable future, understanding that real change is achieved not by rushing but by thoughtful, collective action.”

The Swiss company totalled 432.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, compared with in 2022, reversing the downward trend of recent years.

In its 2024-2026 Climate Action Transition Plan (CATP), Glencore noted it was still “on track” to meet its 15% reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for its industrial assets from 2019 levels by the end of 2026, and of 50% by the end of 2035.

The rest of Glencore’s revised climate plan is much like a previous plan it released — but this time includes the interim 2030 target.

“[The new plan] reflects a wide range of inputs, including analysis of the evolving market landscape, new regulatory requirements, mining and energy peer approaches, the IEA’s latest modelling, stakeholder inputs, and emerging insights from the most recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dialogue,” chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in a statement.

“We have also undertaken extensive engagement with our shareholders and appreciate their time and support as we have developed this CATP,” Nagle noted.

Glencore, like most of the world’s biggest listed companies, published its first climate action plans in 2020 in a bid to help with reaching the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of capping temperatures within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Baar, Switzerland-based firm, one of the top global thermal coal exporters, has faced backlash for being one of the few top miners still involved in the extraction of the fossil fuel used to generate electricity.

After facing pressure from major investors and shareholders, Glencore committed to run down its coal mines by the mid-2040s, closing at least 12 by 2035.

“We recognize the different roles of thermal coal and steelmaking coal – and the different transition pathways for both,” Nagle said while presenting the new strategy.

The executive noted the company “remains committed” to the responsible phase-down of its coal portfolio and is not progressing any greenfield thermal coal investments. 

The company continues to produce and recycle commodities considered key for today’s cleaner transition technologies. Nagle said the speed and direction of Glencore’s decarbonization efforts are significantly shaped by geopolitics, policy decisions, and technological advancements.

Tackling Scope 3 emissions

Glencore plans to cut “Scope 3” emissions — those produced when customers burn or process a company’s raw materials — by 30% by 2035 and achieving net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050.

The company did not include its marketing activities in the these goals. It justified the decision by saying that, by trading in the third party volumes, its activities do not generate additional Scope 3 emissions, “which in the ordinary course are associated with the transformation or use of the product by third parties”.

Glencore recently acquired a 77% interest in Teck’s (TSX: TECK.A, TECK.B)(NYSE: TECK) steelmaking coal business, Elk Valley Resources (EVR). The transaction remains subject to mandatory regulatory approvals and is expected to close by no later than Q3 2024.  

By Tuesday afternoon, stock in the Toronto-based company had fallen 29% since Friday to C$2.21 apiece, valuing Global Atomic at C$462.7 million. It was as low as C$2.03 on Tuesday and has traded in a 52-week range of C$1.28 to C$3.91.

Global Atomic plans to start Dasa’s $424.6 million construction after June and commission the mine by the end of next year, according an updated feasibility study this month. The military coup in July led the US to suspend government funding for Dasa, but the company raised C$15 million in January by selling stock and says it will pursue more financing in a 60% borrowing, 40% equity-raising model.

“With the situation in Niger being fluid, in addition to current advanced discussions with project lenders, the company is also pursuing other financing strategies to meet its project funding requirements,” president and CEO Stephen G. Roman said in a release on Monday. “Given strong third-party interest in Global Atomic’s high-grade uranium project and our plans for near-term production, there are many groups interested in funding the Dasa project.”

The spot price of uranium oxide, also called yellowcake, was $91 per lb. on Tuesday, down from $107 per lb. last month, but still at its highest level since 2007. The metal is at nearly double its year-ago price on rising demand for electricity production without the air pollution of fossil fuels, and a forecast supply deficit. China alone plans to build about 150 reactors over the next decade.

Shares in other uranium producers, such as Canada’s Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom (LSE: KAP), the world’s largest, gained 2% on the Niger developments, but declined on Tuesday to near Friday’s close.

US bases

American troops have been in Niger to fight regional Islamic insurgents since a 2012 agreement. The West African country supplies about 5% of global uranium demand making it the seventh-largest producer, including about 20% of the European Union’s needs. Numerous junior and large companies are exploring in Niger. French-state owned Orano said last month it was restarting production that was suspended after the coup.

David Talbot, a uranium market expert and managing director of Toronto-based Red Cloud Securities, said that despite the uncertainty in Niger, the country has been a steady uranium producer for more than 50 years and the government has respected operations by foreign companies.

“Even with the recent removal of French troops from the country, Niger has respected Orano’s business and we would expect it to do the same with Global Atomic and others,” Talbot said in a note on Tuesday. “For now, the key catalyst for Global Atomic remains the closing of its project debt financing.”

The main shareholders in Global Atomic are Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management with nearly 8% through exchange-traded funds, and New York’s Global X ETFs and investment firm VanEck. The January stock fundraising included $5 million from Bermuda-based Regent Mercantile Holdings led by Stephen Dattels, who also has an interest in Pasofino Gold (TSXV: VEIN) and its Dugbe gold project in Liberia.

Global Atomic raised Dasa’s probable reserve by 50% to 73 million lb. uranium oxide in 8 million tonnes grading 4,113 parts per million uranium oxide, according to the new feasibility study. The company has signed offtake agreements for 1.3 million lb. of uranium a year from a plant expected to produce about 3 million lb. annually over a proposed 23-year mine life.

Sahel region

Western nations such as France, which has long stationed troops in its former colonies, have been trying to help countries in West Africa’s Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert stem the growth of Islamic insurgents over the past few decades. The US began its Africa Command in 2007. But recent coups, including in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, have hardened the resolve of some countries to lessen ties with the West and turn to Russia and its mercenary outfit Wagner Group for support.

In an alarming development for the US, Niger is considering a yellowcake supply deal with Iran, The Wall St. Journal reported on Sunday. The West has been trying to block Iran’s access for decades to nuclear material that could help it build an A-bomb.

The pivot prompted a US delegation including Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Molly Phee to visit Niger last week and press the regime under General Abdourahamane Tiani to organize elections, address security concerns and kill the Iran deal. But the Americans didn’t meet with Tiani. He issued a statement criticizing the condescending attitude of the visitors for not following protocol, denied there was a deal with Iran and cancelled the security arrangement with the US.

The US operates two bases there including one for drones built in 2021 for an estimated $100 million, according to Reuters. It remains unclear if all the 1,300 US soldiers in the country will have to leave.

Nuclear fuel

Besides countering Islamic insurgents, the West also wants to increase its uranium fuel processing. The US, Canada, Britain, France and Japan committed a total of $4.2 billion in December to build new plants since Russia’s Rosatom controls more than half the world’s capacity. Some Western nations are considering whether to sanction Rosatom and yellowcake exports to Russia.

For uranium investors, the price crash in battery metals nickel, lithium and cobalt may be a cautionary tale about the energy transition’s demand at this stage. Nuclear power has held out promise for decades but safety concerns, accidents and construction cost overruns have limited its appeal. The cure for high metal prices is high metal prices, The Economist noted last month.

But the Toronto-based Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: U.U for USD; U.UN for CAD), the largest investment fund in the physical metal, with $5.5 billion under management, remains boosterish while noting constraints in Niger.

“The situation in Niger is still developing, and Orano continues to face logistical challenges with both accessing the required reagents and exporting uranium,” Sprott exchange-traded fund project manager Jacob White said in blog-post on Monday. “Uranium’s recent pullback from the triple digits may be an attractive entry point in the overall uranium bull market.”

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the UB scientists present a global atlas of unburnable oil. This map was designed with environmental and social criteria that warn which oil resources should not be exploited to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The atlas reveals that to limit global warming to 1.5°C, it is essential to avoid the exploitation of oil resources in the most socio-environmentally sensitive areas of the planet, such as natural protected areas, priority areas for biodiversity conservation, areas of high endemic species richness, urban areas and the territories of Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.

It also warns that not extracting oil/coal resources in these vulnerable places would not be enough to keep global warming below 1.5°C as indicated in the Paris Agreement.

New roadmap

In this context, the unburnable oil atlas provides a new roadmap to complement the demands of international climate policy—based primarily on demand for fossil fuels—and to enhance socio-environmental safeguards in the exploitation of energy resources.

“Our study reveals which oil resources should be kept underground and not commercially exploited, with special attention to those deposits that overlap with areas of high endemic richness or coincide with outstanding socio-environmental values in different regions of the planet,” lead researcher Martí Orta-Martínez said in a media statement. “The results show that the exploitation of the selected resources and reserves is totally incompatible with the achievement of the Paris Agreement commitments.”

Orta-Martínez pointed out that there is now a broad consensus among the scientific community to limit global warming to 1.5°C to avoid reaching the tipping points of the earth’s climate system, such as melting permafrost, loss of Arctic sea ice and the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, and forest fires in boreal forests.

“If these thresholds are exceeded, this could lead to an abrupt release of carbon into the atmosphere – climate feedback – and amplify the effects of climate change and trigger a cascade of effects that commit the world to large-scale, irreversible changes,” he said.

Carbon budget nearly exhausted

To limit average global warming to 1.5°C, the total amount of CO2 emissions that must not be exceeded is known as the remaining carbon budget. In January 2023, the remaining carbon budget for the 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5°C was about 250 gigatonnes of CO2 (GtCO2).

“This budget is steadily decreasing at current rates of human-induced emissions—about 42 GtCO2 per year—and will be completely used up by 2028,” Lorenzo Pellegrini, first author of the article, said.

Pellegrini noted that the combustion of the world’s known fossil fuel resources would result in the emission of about 10,000 GtCO2, 40 times more than the carbon budget of 1.5°C.

“In addition, the combustion of developed fossil fuel reserves – that is, those reserves of oil and gas fields and coal mines currently in production or under construction – will emit 936 GtCO2, four times more than the remaining carbon budget for a global warming of 1.5°C,” co-author Gorka Muñoa said. “The goal of no more than 1.5°C global warming requires a complete halt to exploration for new fossil fuel deposits, a halt to the licensing of new fossil fuel extraction, and the premature closure of a very significant share (75%) of oil, gas and coal extraction projects currently in production or already developed.”

With this prospect, the authors call for urgent action by governments, corporations, citizens and large investors such as pension funds to immediately halt any investment in the fossil fuel industry and infrastructure if socio-environmental criteria are not applied.

”Massive investment in clean energy sources is needed to secure global energy demand, enact and support suspensions and bans on fossil fuel exploration and extraction, and adhere to the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty,” the team concluded.

According to the study, confidence in the world’s ability to achieve net zero by 2050 seems to be eroding as it becomes more difficult to ensure adequate investment returns and progress diverges in a fragmenting world. This view is consistent across most regions and is most strongly held among people working in the oil and gas sector.

Bain & Company surveyed over 600 industry executives in mining, oil and gas, utilities, chemicals and agribusinesses across the globe to better understand their views on the energy transition, new technologies, and investment opportunities, and where they see the greatest challenges for decarbonization.

“This year’s survey found that energy and natural resource companies have not dampened ambitions for their transition-oriented growth businesses. However, customers’ willingness to pay is a growing issue, as is the ability to generate adequate return on investment (ROI) in energy transition-oriented projects. As a result, companies are focusing on projects with a viable ROI path,” said Joe Scalise, head of Bain & Company’s energy and natural resource practice. “The longer the executives are at the front lines of the energy transition, the more sober they are getting about the transition’s practical realities.”

The survey points out that executives in the Middle East (61%), Asia-Pacific (55%), and Latin America (51%) are feeling more optimistic about the prospects of their transition-oriented growth such as renewables, hydrogen, bio-based products, and lithium and other transition commodities that will contribute to their company’s valuation and profits by 2030. Hence, they are maintaining or increasing green investments. Only 4%, 12% and 10%, respectively, of executives from the three regions expressed less optimism, while the remainder showed no significant change.

The survey revealed a more balanced picture in Europe where 30% of executives revealed more optimism vs. 27% who were less optimistic about their new energy growth business areas contributing to the bottom line.

In North America, 29% of executives were more positive compared to 17% who were less positive on their transition-related growth areas.

Returns to scale-up

“Like last year, executives say the greatest obstacle to scaling up their transition-oriented businesses is finding enough customers willing to pay higher prices (or having equivalent policy support) to create sufficient return on investment,” the report states. “In fact, the share of executives identifying this as a very significant roadblock jumped 14 percentage points from 2023 to 2024, to 70% of executives.”

The experts behind the study note that the direct impact of higher interest rates on the cost of transition projects is likely shaping executives’ perspective on the challenges associated with customer willingness to pay. 

Bain has found that higher rates put upward pressure on the effective cost of low-carbon projects and a 500-basis-point increase in the cost of capital can increase the total annual revenue required to finance a project by as much as 50%.

Trendy North America

The survey presents North America as an emerging leader for green investments as 79% of all executives view it as an attractive region for energy transition investments. The next most attractive region is Europe at 65%. 

Australia and New Zealand come in as second runner-ups at 43%. 

Even as increasing government subsidies make some regions, such as North America, more attractive for investment, executives have growing concerns about policy stability.

The US Inflation Reduction Act is a major factor in North America’s investment attractiveness, but factors such as the availability of relatively low-cost natural gas feedstock also influenced the result. 

“However, while almost two-thirds of US executives surveyed agree that the IRA’s subsidies target the right areas, less than one-quarter believe that the policy regime will remain stable over the next five to 10 years,” the dossier states. “Furthermore, 42% of US executives think the IRA’s subsidies are unclear and that the rules are not easy to follow.”

About 70% of executives worldwide say that reducing policy uncertainty would very significantly improve their ability to scale up transition-oriented businesses.

According to CSIRO’s space program director Kimberley Clayfield, a major challenge in the development of spacecraft is low-mass, high-efficiency power systems.  

“CSIRO’s printed flexible solar cells could provide a reliable, lightweight energy solution for future space operations and exploration,” Clayfield said in a media statement. “If the space flight test reveals similar performance as we’ve shown in the lab, this technology offers significant advantages over traditional silicon-based solar.”

Eight mini-modules of printed flexible solar cells were attached to the surface of Space Machine Company’s Optimus-1 satellite.

“CSIRO researchers have been working for many years to improve our solar cell performance using perovskite – an advanced material that is highly efficient in converting sunlight into energy,” CSIRO renewable energy systems group leader, Anthony Chesman, said. “Our perovskite cells have been achieving incredible outcomes on earth and we’re excited that they’ll soon be showcasing their potential in space.”

Chesman noted that in situ testing would secure information on the performance of the perovskite cells as they orbit the planet. 

“We will get information on how the panels are holding up under the extreme conditions in space and data on the efficiency they achieve,” he said. “Based on our research, we expect our printed flexible solar cells will stand up to the effects of cosmic electron and gamma radiation which can compromise the performance and integrity of traditional solar cells.”

The researcher pointed out that the team is confident these cells will outperform traditional cells in cases where sunlight hits them at non-optimal angles.  

“The feedback we receive from the satellite will provide valuable insights into the practical application of our technology and inform future technology development,” Chesman said. “This is a great opportunity for Australian technology to contribute to global space exploration. We are eager to collaborate with potential partners to explore this further.”

According to the Oslo-based business intelligence company, exploration efforts are underway in Australia, the US, Spain, France, Albania, Colombia, South Korea and Canada.

In its report, Rystad points out that one of the most promising elements of natural hydrogen – also called white or gold hydrogen – is its cost advantage over other forms of hydrogen due to its natural occurrence. 

Grey hydrogen, produced from fossil fuels, costs less than $2 per kilogram of hydrogen on average, while green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, is currently more than three times pricier. The cost of renewable hydrogen is expected to come down as electrolyzer pricing falls in the coming years, and yet, white hydrogen is still expected to be cheaper.

At present, Canada-based producer Hydroma extracts white hydrogen at an estimated cost of $0.5 per kg. Depending on the deposit’s depth and purity, projects in Spain and Australia aim for a cost of about $1 per kg, solidifying white hydrogen’s price competitiveness.

In addition to the cost advantage, white hydrogen can also have a low carbon intensity. At a hydrogen content of 85% and minimal methane contamination, the carbon intensity is around 0.4 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per kg hydrogen gas (H2) – including embodied emissions and hydrogen emissions. At 75% hydrogen and 22% methane, the intensity rises to 1.5 kg CO2e per kg H2.

“Although still in its infancy with lots of uncertainty, white hydrogen has the potential to be a game-changer for the clean hydrogen sector as an affordable, clean natural resource, thereby shifting the role of hydrogen from an energy carrier to part of the primary energy supply. However, the actual size of the reserves is still unclear, and the transportation and distribution challenges of hydrogen remain”, Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad, said in a media statement.

Through the US Inflation Reduction Act, companies are eligible to receive production tax credits (PTC) when the lifecycle carbon intensity is below 4 kg CO2e per kg H2. The highest PTC tier grants $3 per kg if hydrogen production meets the carbon intensity threshold of 0.45 kg CO2e per kg H2. As such, low-carbon white hydrogen production in the US could be eligible for the highest PTC, making it appealing for producers.

Not a new thing

Le explained that despite being accidentally discovered in Mali approximately 37 years ago, the accumulation of hydrogen underground was previously thought to be unlikely due to hydrogen’s ability to seep through rock layers. However, new equipment, such as hydrogen-sensing gas probes, are now available to detect dissolved hydrogen in rock formations at depths of up to 1,500 metres. These probes use spectrometers to measure and analyze dissolved gases in deep boreholes. Researchers are currently developing probes that can reach deeper depths, up to 3,000 meters underground.

White hydrogen is mainly produced through natural reactions, such as serpentinization, where water reacts with iron-rich minerals at elevated temperatures. Enhanced serpentinization using catalysts such as magnetite, could help to accelerate natural hydrogen-producing reactions.

Radiolysis of water is another source of natural hydrogen. This process involves radioactive elements within the earth’s crust splitting water due to ionizing radiation.

The word is spreading

Rystad Energy’s report notes that the South Australian government added hydrogen to its list of regulated substances in 2021. This led to many companies applying for exploration permits in the region, with Gold Hydrogen securing a five-year license to develop its Ramsay project. The company found high hydrogen concentrations of up to 86% during drilling in late 2023. Gold Hydrogen plans to conduct further drilling in 2024 and launch a pilot feasibility study.

The dossier also highlights the fact that governments in countries like France and the US have promised financial support to expedite the exploration and extraction of naturally occurring hydrogen projects. Currently, there is only one operational white hydrogen project in Bourakebougou, Mali, producing around 5 tonnes of hydrogen annually. This small-scale project has been in operation for a decade, providing power to a village. Other projects in various parts of the world are still at an early exploration stage, with the first European natural hydrogen production expected to start in 2029.

For seven years, Ashley Shade and Samuel Barnett have been studying soil microbial communities in Centralia, Pennsylvania. The town is the site of an underground coal mine fire that has been burning since 1962 at depths of up to 90 metres over a 13-kilometre stretch of 15 square kilometres. Estimations state that, at its current rate, it could continue to burn for over 250 years.

The Centralia fire started accidentally when efforts to clean a landfill ignited the adjacent mine, and it has been burning continuously since then. As the fire burns, it moves through the abandoned underground mine shaft, heating the soil above it as it travels. It is considered a ‘press disturbance,’ meaning, a long-term, continuous, human-caused disturbance as the heat from the fire changes the structure of the microbial communities.

From 2015 to 2021, the researchers selected sampling sites along the fire’s path and examined the soil before, during, and after being heated. The team also sampled nearby sites that were completely unaffected by the fire.

“We go out every October and we take soil cores,” Barnett explained. “We have a big PVC pipe that we sterilize and drive into the soil and pull out about 20 centimetres or 8 inches of soil. Then we sieve the soil to get rid of roots and rocks and the stuff we don’t want and then freeze it in liquid nitrogen and bring it to the lab.”

The next step was to extract bacterial DNA and RNA. They sequenced the DNA to determine which types of bacteria were present. They then looked at the ratio of RNA to DNA to determine which bacteria are biologically active and which are dormant.

“Dormant is a word for a reversible state of activity that many life forms assume at some point. It’s a really important strategy to help organisms withstand stress in their environment,” Shade said.

“An incredible number of soil microbes are simply not active and functioning at any given time. This is an important point because the active microbes are the ones that contribute to ecosystem functions. I think this is special about this study because most research does not consider this question of who’s active and who’s not.”

The researchers infused this perspective into the recovery of microbial communities.

“If we can understand what wakes up the dormant microbes, we can try to manage the microbiome, for example, to wake up when we need it to wake up, to go to sleep potentially when we need it to go to sleep,” Shade said.

The scientists pointed out that microbes – tens of thousands of which live in soil – are vital to maintaining healthy, fertile soil, which, in turn, is vital to the overall health of ecosystems. Thus, they hope their findings spur additional research into the development of strategies for microbiome restoration for ecosystems impacted by climate change and other press disturbances.

The mines operated for over 100 years in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole and one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. They were specifically situated 77° North of the Equator.

The operation shut down in 2015 and, at the same time, landscape restoration of the mining settlement and infrastructure, stretching more than 20 kilometres from the sea up to 700 metres above sea level, was started. Enabling both dynamic ecological and geomorphological processes was the focus of the landscape restoration once roads, housing, industrial facilities, landfills and quarries were removed.

Where vegetation cover in Svalbard is sparse and slow-growing, the geological processes, such as glacial, slope, fluvial and coastal, are highly active. Thus, facilitating geodiversity meant keeping in mind that the abiotic conditions support a mosaic of vegetation cover and habitats, as well as landscape character.

“When targeting the reconstruction and design of post-mining landscapes, there is a risk of neglecting the dynamic geomorphological processes,” Dagmar Hagen, senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research and co-author of the paper, said in a media statement. “Rather than designing a new landscape, we argue that preparing the future landscape for active geological processes will align with the overall ideas of nature restoration.”

Hagen explained that a multidisciplinary approach in planning such large-scale restoration in the High Arctic was crucial to understanding the relationships between ecological and geomorphological processes and to propose the best possible solutions. Placing geomorphology, botany, and landscape knowledge at the core was key, as was keeping in mind their connections to cultural heritage and pollution management.

The extensive restoration effort at Svea also required a consensus on restoration principles among all participants, from project leaders to all personnel working on the ground. To foster a common understanding, all personnel participated in “green training,” gaining insights into the landscape, geodiversity, biodiversity, and restoration standards.

“Ultimately, the people operating excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks carry out the restoration work and shape the new landscape, and a significant portion of the positive results should be attributed to their efforts,” Hagen said.

“We believe that the success of a restoration project of this size depends on a multidisciplinary approach, including all aspects of the management of the mine’s interior, pollution, cultural heritage, and natural diversity.”

E-scrap—which includes mobile phones, home appliances, medical or office equipment, and anything else powered by electricity—represents the fastest growing waste stream globally, with e-scrap generation expected to double 2014 levels by 2030, according to the DOE.

Only 17.4% of e-scrap was collected and recycled globally in 2019, discarding 83% of e-waste and $57 billion in raw material value, the DOE said, adding that e-scrap recovery faces numerous roadblocks, including a fragmented recycling value chain, a complex and dynamic feedstock, and a rapidly evolving end-use market.

“This prize addresses the urgent need to reduce the amount of critical mineral waste that goes unrecycled in the technologies we use every day,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy said in a news release.

“We’re excited to see how ideas and solutions spurred by the competition can transform this huge environmental loss into new opportunities to recover and recycle critical materials from devices that are discarded after use,” Marootian said.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the opening of the first of three phases in E-SCRAP. The cash prizes and assistance awarded in Phases 1 and 2 are intended to support teams as they advance in the competition.

During phase 1: Incubate –  competitors will propose solutions that have the potential to substantially increase the amount of recovered critical materials from electronic waste and used in US manufacturing.

In phase 2: Prototype – competitors will prototype their innovation and begin collecting and/or generating data that can be used to optimize technoeconomic strategy and life cycle impacts between partners along the recycling value chain.

In the final phase 3: Demonstrate – competitors will begin implementing their innovations and propose their plans to scale their solution. 

Applications for phase one of this prize are due on September 4, 2024. The DOE anticipates selecting up to 10 winning projects in the first phase, with each award consisting of a $50,000 in cash and up to $30,000 in national laboratory analysis support.

Information webinars for potential applicants will be held on March 27 and on June 18.

More information is here.

The study included energy efficiency audits that helped identify a savings potential of 17.4% across a fleet of 800 motors.

The research, conducted between 2022 and 2023, followed an agreement between ABB and CERN. This saw the partners developing a roadmap for reducing the energy consumption of the site’s cooling and ventilation system via data-driven energy efficiency audits.

The audits identified potential annual energy savings of up to 31 gigawatt-hours (GWh). If achieved, these savings could be enough to power more than 18,000 European households and could avoid four kilotons of CO2 emissions, the same as planting over 420,000 trees.

Energy efficiency audits work by evaluating the performance and efficiency of motors based on their operational data. Audits help large facilities like CERN to identify the most significant energy-saving opportunities across whole fleets of motors.

CERN and ABB experts assessed data from motors in various cooling and ventilation applications. They combined data from multiple sources, including digitally connected motors, CERN’s SCADA system and data gathered directly from their pumps, piping, and instrumentation. The experts analyzed the efficiency of the whole system to provide insights to pinpoint the motors with the best business case for energy efficiency upgrades.

“We are proud to cooperate with CERN and support its ambition to conduct physics research with a low-carbon footprint, by helping them achieve more energy-efficient operations on their cooling and ventilation systems,” said Erich Labuda, president of the motion services division at ABB.

“This research project represents another step in CERN’s energy efficiency journey. As an institution with a large installed base of motors, working with CERN is a great example of how we can support in making a big impact in improving energy efficiency as part of the transition to a low-carbon society.”

In Labuda’s view, cooling and ventilation systems are a fantastic first place to look for energy efficiency upgrades because they are often overdesigned, being specified to operate at a maximum load way above the average.

“We found one pump motor at CERN with an energy-saving potential of 64%. It is also important to not just evaluate motor efficiency, but the system as a whole – including the fans, condensers and cooling towers. This holistic approach supports the improvement of CERN’s overall energy efficiency and reliability,” he said.

CERN’s next step is to create a roadmap for the upgrade of the first motors recommended as part of the energy efficiency audit, which are the IE5-rated Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRM) operating with variable speed drives. These motors will also be digitally connected, enabling condition monitoring solutions to accurately assess their health and performance to ensure maximum uptime.

Eight member companies are also supporting the initiative among them major players in the mining and energy industries and geologic hydrogen start-ups: BP, Chevron, Eden Geopower, Petrobras, Fortescue, Koloma, Hydroma USA, and HyTerra.

 “With the combined expertise in electromagnetics, gravity and magnetics in mineral exploration and exploration seismology for natural gas at Mines, we are uniquely positioned to tackle the subsurface exploration research in geologic hydrogen,” Mengli Zhang, co-director of the Center for Gravity, Electrical and Magnetic Studies and co-lead of the new joint program, said in a media statement.

Zhang explained that geologic hydrogen is a naturally occurring gas with significant potential as an energy resource. It is also a resource that could help reduce the climate impact of many industries that cannot easily be electrified – everything from heavy duty transport such as air travel to steel manufacturing to industrial heating.

Most hydrogen today, however, is manufactured using natural gas, requiring large amounts of energy and releasing carbon dioxide that is often left unabated. Current methods for reducing the carbon footprint of producing hydrogen include capturing and storing the carbon dioxide produced, or by using renewable electricity to split water molecules – both more costly than traditional hydrogen manufacturing.

As an alternative, scientists with Mines and the USGS have begun investigating the hydrogen gas that naturally exists beneath the surface of the earth. Preliminary research suggests that vast quantities of hydrogen may exist in various rock formations, both in the United States and around the world.

In the first industry-supported hydrogen exploration consortium in the world, the researchers involved will advance the understanding of geologic hydrogen systems, as well as develop surface- and subsurface exploration technologies to locate the clean-burning gas beneath the ground.

“Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch here,” Geoffrey Ellis, a research geologist with the USGS Energy Resources Program and director of the new joint program, said. “We can adopt and adapt the learning that we have developed from many decades of research into other resources such as mineral resources, petroleum and geothermal energy.”

Ellis noted that the consortium’s research will focus on the development of four key areas:

• A geologic “hydrogen system” model that identifies sources, migration pathways and mechanisms, reservoirs, traps and seals leading to accumulations of hydrogen in the subsurface.
• Surface exploration approaches, including remote sensing and surface geochemistry, to refine our understanding of where hydrogen accumulations exist in the subsurface.
• Subsurface exploration tools, including multiple geophysical tools, advanced signal processing and artificial intelligence tools, to image geologic hydrogen systems and potential economic accumulations suitable for energy production.
• 3D reactive transport modelling that integrates geology, geochemistry and geophysics to improve the understanding of hydrogen systems and provide guidance to the development of exploration strategies.

“A major focus of the consortium is developing immediately deployable technologies,” said Yaoguo Li, professor of geophysics at Mines.

“There’s a need and desire for exploration technologies that can be applied by industry in the near future to contribute directly to the energy transition, as well as for strategies that can be used by society to tackle the challenges in mitigating climate change for better human life.”

The Corpus Christi, Texas-based company restarted production at Rosita in November of last year, and is licensed to produce 800,000 pounds of uranium ore annually.

The company also said it entered into a fifth commercial uranium sales contract with deliveries from 2026 through 2032.

“With Rosita underway, we are now moving aggressively to restart the Alta Mesa Plant, which we expect will commence production as planned in Q2 2024,” Encore CEO Paul Goranson said in a news release.

Uranium prices have doubled over the past year as top producers cut output targets, failing to ramp up production despite reopening mothballed mines.

Last month, the world’s largest producer, Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom (LON: KAP), warned it is likely to fall short of its output targets over the next two years.

Future projects in enCore’s production pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming, along with uranium resource endowments in New Mexico.

(With files from Bloomberg)

The battery metals-focused miner said the project is close to significant discoveries such as IsoEnergy’s Hurricane deposit, which has an indicated resource of 48.6-million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8), based on 63,800 t grading 34.5% U3O8.

It also presents potential for “basement-hosted” mineralization, akin to the high-grade deposits found below the Athabasca Basin’s unconformity, such as NexGen’s Arrow deposit, Recharge said.

The company noted it had secured commitments for a A$1.44-million share placement to fund the acquisition and accelerate exploration activities at the asset. An additional A$50,000 will be placed to directors, subject to shareholder approval, Recharge said.

”The continued partnership between Recharge and DGRM, who sold our Express lithium project, has cultivated a robust working rapport over the past year,” managing director Felicity Repacholi said in the statement. 

Interest in uranium assets has picked in the past year as prices for the radioactive material rally. The commodity has extended its gains in 2024 as Kazatomprom, world’s biggest producer of the metal used to produce nuclear fuel, owered its guidance for production for this year by 12% to 14%.

Shares in the company surged as much as 8.5% to A$0.077 on the announcement, their biggest intraday percentage gain since Feb. 16. The stock closed at A$0.072, leaving Recharge Metals with a market capitalization of A$8.1 million ($5.2m). 

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RELATED: Uranium firms revive forgotten mines as price of nuclear fuel soars

In still-rare hydrogen-powered cars, the fuel is stored compressed at a pressure of around 700 atmospheres. This is neither the cheapest nor the safest method, and it has little to do with efficiency: There are only 45 kilograms of hydrogen in one cubic meter. The same volume can hold 70 kilograms of hydrogen if it is condensed beforehand.

The liquefaction process requires large amounts of energy, and the extremely low temperature, at around 20 Kelvin, must then be maintained throughout storage. An alternative could be suitable materials; for example, magnesium hydride, which can hold up to 106 kilograms of hydrogen in a cubic meter.

Magnesium hydride is among the simplest of the materials tested for hydrogen storage capacity. Its content can reach 7.6% (by weight). Magnesium hydride devices are therefore quite heavy and so mainly suitable for stationary applications. However, it is important to note that magnesium hydride is a very safe substance and can be stored without risk; for example, in a basement, and magnesium itself is a readily available and cheap metal.

“Research on the incorporation of hydrogen into magnesium has been going on for decades, yet it has not resulted in solutions that can count on wider use,” said Zbigniew Lodziana, a theoretical physicist who has co-authored an article in Advanced Science, where the latest discovery is presented.

“One source of problems is hydrogen itself. This element can effectively penetrate the crystal structure of magnesium, but only when it is present in the form of single atoms. To obtain it from typical molecular hydrogen, a catalyst efficient enough to make the process of hydrogen migration in the material fast and energetically viable is required,” Lodziana said. “So everyone has been looking for a catalyst that meets the above conditions, unfortunately without much success. Today, we finally know why these attempts were doomed to failure.”

Lodziana has developed a new model of the thermodynamic and electron processes occurring in magnesium in contact with hydrogen atoms. The model predicts that during the migration of hydrogen atoms, local, thermodynamically stable magnesium hydride clusters are formed in the material. At the boundaries between the metallic magnesium and its hydride, changes in the electronic structure of the material then occur, and these changes have a significant role in reducing the mobility of hydrogen ions.

In other words, the kinetics of magnesium hydride formation is primarily determined by phenomena at its interface with magnesium. This effect has so far not been taken into account in the search for efficient catalysts.

For this study, the migration of atomic hydrogen in a layer of pure magnesium sputtered onto palladium was studied in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The measuring machine was capable of recording changes in the state of several outer atomic layers of the sample under study, caused by the formation of a new chemical compound and the associated transformations of the material’s electronic structure. The model proposed by the researchers allows to fully understand the experimental results.

Such results pave the way for a new search for an optimal catalyst for magnesium hydride and explain why some of the previously found catalysts showed higher efficiency than expected.

“There is much to suggest that the lack of significant progress in hydrogen storage in magnesium and its compounds was simply due to our incomplete understanding of the processes involved in hydrogen transport in these materials,” Lodziana said. “For decades, we have all been looking for better catalysts, only not where we should be looking. Now, new theoretical and experimental results make it possible to think again with optimism about further improvements in methods of introducing hydrogen into magnesium.”

According to the consultancy firm, this decline makes renewable energy increasingly competitive with conventional low-cost coal power, driven by a significant reduction in capital costs for renewable power. Renewable energy costs in 2023 were 13% cheaper than conventional coal and are expected to be 32% cheaper by 2030.  

“Utility PV solar has emerged in 2023 as the cheapest power source in the region, while onshore wind is expected to become cheaper than coal after 2025,” Alex Whitworth, VP – head of Asia Pacific power research at Wood Mackenzie, said in a media statement. “Renewables firmed with battery storage are becoming competitive with gas power today but will struggle to compete with coal before 2030.” 

Whitworth pointed out that China is leading the way in lowering the cost of renewables, with utility photovoltaics, onshore wind, and offshore wind being 40-70% cheaper compared to other Asia-Pacific markets. 

“China will maintain a 50% cost advantage for renewables out to 2050, allowing the country to maintain its lead in renewables deployments,” the report states.   

The dossier also notes that solar photovoltaic power costs saw a significant decline of 23% in 2023, marking the end of two years of supply chain disruptions and inflation. In fact, utility PV emerged as the cheapest power source in 11 out of 15 countries in the Asia Pacific.

The report states that the expectation is that new-build solar project costs will drop another 20% by 2030, driven by falling module prices and increasing oversupply from China. The decline in solar technology costs in 2023-24 has put pressure on coal and gas, with LCOE for utility PV dropping by an average of 23% across Asia Pacific in 2023, driven by a 29% decline in capital costs. 

Distributed solar, on the other hand, has shown an even greater decline in costs –a 26% decrease in 2023, and the technology is now 12% cheaper on average than residential power prices creating a large potential for more rooftop solar applications.   

“This trend has made distributed solar increasingly attractive for end-users in many markets in Asia-Pacific, with costs already 30% below rising residential tariffs in China and Australia. However, some markets like India with subsidized residential power tariffs will need to wait until 2030 or later to achieve competitive distributed solar prices,” said Sooraj Narayan, senior research analyst, APAC power & renewables at Wood Mackenzie. 

Wind and fossil fuels

While onshore wind costs were higher than solar by 38% in 2023, Wood Mackenzie forecasts a 30% drop by 2030 as cheaper Chinese turbines gain market share. 

“Markets such as Australia and Southeast Asia will benefit from the low-cost import of wind power equipment from China, while Japan and South Korea with more limited Chinese turbine uptake and focus on the local supply chain will observe onshore wind costs staying above US$80/MWh by 2030,” the dossier reads.

The report also highlights the increasing competitiveness of offshore wind with fossil fuel power in Asia-Pacific, with costs falling by 11% in 2023. 

“Offshore wind costs are now on par with coal power in coastal China and are expected to become cheaper than gas power in Japan and the Taiwan region by 2027 and 2028, respectively. Falling capital costs and technology improvements are opening up new markets for offshore wind in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia over the next 5-10 years.” 

Meanwhile, coal and gas generation costs have increased by 12% since 2020 and are projected to continue rising through 2050, primarily due to carbon pricing mechanisms. 

“Developed markets in Asia-Pacific are expected to experience a significant increase in carbon prices, reaching US$20-55/tonne by 2030, while the carbon prices in Southeast Asia and India are expected to remain low,” WoodMac’s document states. “Gas power costs remain above US$100/MWh on average out to 2050, meaning they gradually lose the battle on costs with offshore wind over the next decade.” 

The decision, IsoEnergy said, is underpinned by rising uranium prices and follows Energy Fuels’ recent announcement to restart its uranium circuit at the White Mesa mill.

Tony M, along with the Daneros and Rim projects, is one of three past-producing, fully-permitted uranium mines in Utah owned by IsoEnergy. It is a large-scale, fully developed and permitted underground mine that previously produced nearly one million lb. of uranium oxide (U3O8) during two different periods of operation, from 1979-1984 and from 2007-2008.

“With the uranium spot price now trading around $100 per pound, we are in the very fortunate position of owning multiple, past-producing, fully permitted uranium mines in the US that we believe can be restarted quickly with relatively low capital costs,” IsoEnergy CEO Phil Williams said in a news release.

IsoEnergy has guaranteed access to the White Mesa mill by way of a toll milling agreement with Energy Fuels. The mill is the only operational conventional uranium mill in the US with licensed capacity of over 8 million lb. of U3O8 per year.

IsoEnergy’s portfolio also includes the Hurricane uranium deposit on its 100%-owned Larocque East property in the eastern Athabasca Basin, Canada. The deposit has an indicated resource of 63,800 tonnes grading 34.5% U3O8, containing 48.5 million lb. of U3O8. There is also an inferred resource of 54,300 tonnes at 2.2% U3O8, for 2.7 million lb. of U3O8.

IsoEnergy also owns three more uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin.

In a paper published in the journal Energy Storage Materials, the scientists explain that the limited, fraught supply chain of cobalt creates a bottleneck for large-scale battery production, including for manufacturing the ones used in electric vehicles. In addition to this, cobalt extraction generates toxic waste.

To address these issues, lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2) — which is similar in structure to the widely used lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) — often serves as a cobalt-free alternative for electrode material. However, key instability issues plague the compound, specifically a gradual loss of capacity at the high-voltage region, which is associated with nickel-ion migration.

To improve electrode reversibility, nickel ions have been partially substituted by other metal ions, including reintroduced cobalt ions as well as manganese, aluminum and magnesium. This creates “nickel-enriched layered materials” to serve as positive electrode materials.

“So far, 10-20% cobalt ions were necessary for nickel-based electrode materials,” Naoaki Yabuuchi, senior author of the study and a researcher at Yokohama National University, said in a media statement.

In Yabuuchi’s view, such a percentage is still too high and is the result of not having established a unified understanding of how metal substitution can improve the process.

A migration issue

To address this knowledge gap, he and his collaborators dug deeper into the problematic phase transition. When lithium ions leave the cathode under the influence of an external field, nickel ions migrate to specific sites within the lithium layers. Although this process is reversible, the reversibility gradually degrades through continuous cycles until the capacity is completely lost — a phenomenon not seen in cobalt-ion migration.

Previous studies reported that tungsten doping in LiNiO2 is an efficient approach to suppressing the detrimental phase transitions at high-voltage regions. Thus, Yabuuchi’s group tested the hypothesis that heavy, expensive tungsten ions could be substituted with other elements, specifically phosphorous — a lighter, more abundant element.

After a detailed analysis of LiNiO2 integrated with nanosized lithium phosphate (Li3PO4), the researchers observed that, under certain conditions, problematic nickel-ion migration was effectively suppressed due to repulsive electrostatic interaction from the extra nickel ions within the Li layers. Moreover, from these findings, Li-deficient LiNiO2, Li0.975Ni1.025O2, with the extra nickel ions in Li layers, was also synthesized using a simple methodology without phosphorus integration.

The results also showed how Li0.975Ni1.025O2 can effectively mitigate unfavourable nickel-ion migration, and deliver consistent reversibility without cobalt ions.

“These findings open a new direction to develop high-performance and practical cobalt-free nickel-based electrode materials with an extremely simple and cost-effective methodology,” Yabuuchi said. “This material achieved the ultimate goal for high-performance nickel-based electrode materials.”

In future endeavours, the researchers plan to investigate the feasibility of a nickel-free material to support lithium-ion batteries.

The Nordic country’s government under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson intends to report by May 15 on how it can write new legislation. A 2018 law by the previous government halted uranium exploration and mining projects, sidelining Vancouver-based District’s Viken and Melbourne-based Aura’s Häggån (pronounced HAY-gorn) projects in central Sweden that hold uranium, vanadium and other metals.

District’s Viken deposit, 570 km north of Stockholm, is among the world’s largest deposits of uranium and vanadium based on a 2010 historical resource estimate. It showed 2.8 billion inferred tonnes grading 170 parts per million (ppm) uranium and 2,680 ppm vanadium for 1 billion lb. contained uranium and 16 billion lb. vanadium.

“It is a significant step towards lifting the current uranium mining moratorium,” District CEO Garrett Ainsworth said this week. “The Swedish government has made its intentions clear by stating that ‘the current ban on uranium mining will be removed.’”

While Sweden’s uranium output is minor by global comparisons, its resources account for 27% of Europe’s, according to the country’s geological survey. The heavy metal has more than doubled its price in the past 12 months to $102 per lb. as nuclear power continues its resurgence as a cleaner energy than fossil fuels and major producers such as Kazakhstan, Canada and Niger report supply hiccups.

Uranium wasted

Kristersson’s government, which came to power in September 2022, stated last August it would reverse the uranium mining ban. However, the administration has been occupied trying to stem a surge in gang violence afflicting the country while resisting the anti-immigrant policies of a coalition party it relies on for support. As it stands, the uranium ban requires miners to separate the heavy metal from processing and discard it.

“If the European Union is to become the first climate-neutral continent, access to sustainable metals and minerals must be ensured,” Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari said Friday. “We need to use the uranium we have, instead of sorting it out and considering it as waste.”

Shares in District Metals gained 15% since Friday to 30¢ apiece in Toronto, valuing the company at $32.5 million.

In November, Sweden approved plans to build two large-scale reactors by 2035 and the equivalent of 10 new reactors a decade later. The country depends on nuclear energy for about 40% of its power and said it intends to remove fossil fuels from its grid by 2040.

Project boosted

Uranium is only a minor component of Aura’s Häggån project about 650 km north of Stockholm. But adding uranium lifts the project’s after-tax net present value to as much as $1.6 billion at an 8% discount rate from $1.3 billion at the same rate, Aura said in a 2023 scoping study.

David Talbot, managing director and head of equity research at Red Cloud Securities in Toronto, said Häggån makes up A$48.6 million or 7.1% of its A$679.4 million corporate net asset value estimate.

“We anticipate this to increase should the uranium mining ban be overturned and management demonstrate a reasonable path to production,” Talbot said in a note on Tuesday. “We view the potential uranium mining ban repeal in Sweden as a very positive development and optimistically look forward to the results of the inquiry in May.”

Aura Energy closed 9% higher in Sydney on Tuesday at A$0.24 for a A$135 million market capitalization. The company plans to apply for a 25-year exploitation permit this year. After the ban was invoked, the company filed a compensation claim against the government, but now company managing director and CEO Andrew Grove welcomes Kristersson’s efforts.

“It is the start of a process which I hope will result in new legislation that not only makes it legally possible to mine uranium, but also provides a predictable permit process for uranium extraction alongside the mining of other metals,” Grove said this week. “It makes sense economically and environmentally to make full use of these resources.”

“BatMan builds on NREL’s expertise using laser ablation, advanced computational models, and materials characterization to address key challenges in battery manufacturing,” said Bertrand Tremolet de Villers, project co-lead and senior scientist in NREL’s Thin Film and Manufacturing Sciences group.

“This new, high-throughput laser patterning process—demonstrated at scale with state-of-the-art roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques—uses laser pulses to quickly and precisely modify and optimize electrode structures, offering a massive leap in battery capabilities with minimal added manufacturing cost.”

According to Tremolet de Villers and his team, the material makeup, thickness, and structural design of electrodes can impact battery capacity, voltage, and charging speed. For example, doubling the thickness of electrodes from 50 μm to 100 μm increases the energy density of a battery cell by about 16%. However, this increased thickness makes it more difficult to charge the battery quickly without causing long-term damage from lithium plating, which reduces the battery’s lifetime.

Given this state of affairs, the EV industry needs a breakthrough battery design that combines the benefits of thicker electrodes and fast charging without increasing manufacturing costs. The BatMan research team is answering the call with a process that optimizes electrode structures and streamlines battery production.

The pore network

Prior NREL research illuminated how intricate patterns of tiny holes in an electrode—known as the pore network—can unlock battery improvements. These microscopic pores create access points to increase ionic diffusion, allowing the ions to move more quickly during charge and discharge without damaging the battery. As a manufacturing bonus, these pores also speed up electrolyte saturation during the wetting process, which consists of injecting a liquid electrolyte into the cell to facilitate the flow of ions between electrodes.

“Early conversations between NREL’s battery researchers and material scientists uncovered an opportunity to utilize laser ablation to configure these pore networks,” said Donal Finegan, project co-lead and senior scientist in NREL’s Energy Storage group. “With support from our industry partners, BatMan established a new process to incorporate this technique into battery manufacturing. But first, we needed to know which pore patterns would yield the greatest battery benefits.”

Genetic algorithms

To evaluate different pore channel shapes, depth, and distribution, the researchers turned to NREL’s Lithium-Ion Battery Secondary Pore Network Design Optimization Analytical Diffusion Model. The genetic algorithm also considered the specific hardware limitations of the laser used to create the pores. These advanced models helped identify the optimal pore arrangement: a hexagonal pattern of laser-ablated pores with a depth of 50% of the electrode coating thickness. The study also found that adding straight channels across the width of the electrode dramatically improved electrode wetting when compared to unstructured electrodes.

With a target pore network identified, the BatMan team began working toward small-scale prototyping and characterization of the laser-patterned electrode. The scientists used an Amplitude Laser Group femtosecond laser system with high-speed galvanometer-controlled scanning optics for the laser ablation, working closely with the Amplitude team to achieve precise control of the laser based on position, power, frequency, and number of pulses. 

“Our collaboration with NREL helped integrate the laser into their existing research capabilities to support the BatMan project goals,” said Quentin Mocaer, line manager at Amplitude. “We also received valuable insights into how future system designs and new technologies could further improve this process at an industrial scale.”

NREL researchers applied advanced characterization tools to evaluate the performance of the laser-ablated electrodes. First, researchers applied X-ray nano-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy to analyze the morphological features of the electrode structure and validate battery enhancements. Next, NREL’s multiphysics models illustrated how improved uniformity in the structures reduced the risk of lithium plating during fast charging. Finally, the BatMan team assembled small battery cells to assess the optimized electrode architectures in action. Electrochemical analysis of the laser-ablated cells demonstrated superior fast-charge performance, with nearly 100% more capacity after 800 cycles. 

Roll-to-roll

After numerous cycles of laser ablation, characterization, and adjustment, it was time to scale up the process for high-throughput demonstration. Most battery manufacturing facilities use a continuous roller-based processing line, known as a roll-to-roll line, that bonds the active material mixture onto a foil surface. Researchers used NREL’s roll-to-roll line to demonstrate and de-risk the compatibility of this new process to encourage adoption by battery manufacturers.

“After nearly three years of research, our team successfully processed 700 meters of double-sided electrode material, proving that laser ablation is a scalable and economically feasible technique for roll-to-roll production of lithium-ion batteries,” Finegan said. “The magnitude of this demonstration was unique to NREL and showcases how strategic laboratory support can advance industry processes.”

NREL returned the optimized electrode material to BatMan’s manufacturing partner Clarios, where experts assembled commercially relevant 27-Ah batteries for further evaluation. Early inspection using Liminal Insights’ EchoStat acoustic imaging indicates that the laser-ablated electrodes wet faster and more uniformly than baseline cells. Additional non-destructive diagnostics will validate the expected performance improvements and ensure battery safety and quality before this technology enters the marketplace.

Time will tell how long it will take before laser-ablated cells find their way into electric vehicles, but the NREL team is optimistic. Techno-economic analysis of the laser patterning process estimates a minimal added cost to battery manufacturing of under $1.50/kWh—that is less than 2%—and the performance advantages are undeniable. NREL researchers also found that the graphite debris collected during the laser ablation process can be directly reused to make new battery cells without any significant impact on the cells’ performance, which presents an opportunity to further reduce the cost of laser ablating electrodes.

“Our lab-scale experimentation shows that laser-ablated electrodes could double the rate of charge of electric vehicles,” Finegan said. “This is a technology evolution that could alter conventional manufacturing, not only for lithium-ion batteries but also next-generation battery chemistries.”

If market conditions remain robust, the Whirlwind and Nichols Ranch mines could potentially elevate Energy Fuels’ uranium production to a run-rate of over two million pounds of U3O8 per year as early as 2025, the company said.

In response to the current strength in uranium prices, Energy Fuels plans to conduct exploration drilling on its Nichols Ranch area properties and underground delineation drilling at its Pinyon Plain mine in Arizona.

The company intends to advance permitting on its large-scale Roca Honda, Sheep Mountain and Bullfrog uranium properties for additional uranium production in the future.

The spot price of U3O8 reached a high of $102.00/lb. this month, with the long-term price of U3O8 at $72.00/lb., according to data from TradeTech.

“We hold a bullish long-term view of uranium prices, and we are investing to boost production,” Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers said in a release.

In 2023, the company sold 560,000 lb. of uranium for about $60/lb., yielding total gross profits of $17.96 million and a 54% gross margin.

“As long as market prices remain strong, we will continue to selectively capitalize on spot market sales opportunities as we ramp up our production in 2024 and beyond, all with limited capital,” Chalmers said. “We have become one of the few profitable non-state-owned uranium mining companies globally.”

Shares of Energy Fuels rose 4.4% by 12:00 p.m. EDT. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion.

This new material is expected to be non-flammable and a safer alternative to liquid electrolytes commonly found in lithium-ion batteries.

To improve the high-voltage stability of chloride-based solid electrolyte (Li3MCl6), the research team proposed the optimal composition and design principle of chloride-based solid electrolyte (Li3MCl5F) substituted with fluorine(F), which has strong chemical bonding ability.

For the proposed strategy to achieve this goal, LLNL contributed by utilizing their cutting-edge supercomputing resources for calculations and subsequent experimental validations were conducted at KIST. The collaborative research team adopted a cost-effective and time-saving strategy, wherein computational science guides the initial material design, followed by rigorous laboratory validation.

The chloride-based solid electrolyte synthesized based on the design principle proposed by the team was applied to an all-solid-state battery to evaluate its electrochemical stability under high-voltage conditions. It showed high-voltage stability exceeding 4 V, comparable to that of commercial lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes. Accordingly, fluorine(F)-substituted chloride-based solid electrolytes are expected to replace sulphide-based solid electrolytes that are unstable at high voltages, accelerating the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries.

The Korea-US joint research team will now conduct follow-up research on the synthesis process of the material, alongside the optimization of electrode and cell manufacturing processes. These concerted efforts aim to hasten the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries.

In the event of successful commercialization, the joint team will be able to capture the market for solid-state electrolytes, a key component of all-solid-state batteries, in the US, one of the largest consumers of secondary batteries such as energy storage systems and electric vehicles.

“This work provides a new design principle for fluorine-substituted high-voltage stable chloride-based solid-state electrolytes, which will accelerate the commercialization of high-energy-density next-generation lithium all-solid-state batteries without fire hazards,” Seungho Yu, one of the researchers at KITS, said in a media statement.

Kazakhstan is expected to deliver the highest uranium production growth in 2024, GlobalData says, driven by the planned higher output from the country’s largest uranium producer Kazatomprom. The continuous ramp-up of Canada’s McArthur River uranium mine will also contribute to the global increase, it adds.

Kazakhstan accounted for 37.3% (20.1kt) of total global uranium supply in 2023. Despite a 5.1% dip in output in 2023 due to planned lower production from Kazatomprom, its output is expected to recover in 2024, with forecast production of 23.2kt. This will be supported by the company’s plan to produce between 21.2-21.6kt on a 100% basis, while production is expected to increase to between 25.9-26.7kt with no restrictions in 2025.

Meanwhile, global uranium production in 2024 will be further bolstered by continuous ramp-up of Canada’s McArthur River, which is aiming to produce 6.9kt of uranium (8.2kt of U3O8) for 2024. In October 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission renewed the licences for McArthur River for a further 20 years, allowing the mine to continue operations until October 2043.

Global uranium production is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 4.1% from 2024 to 2030, as output reaches 76.8kt in 2030.

Read More: Uranium price jumps to 15-year high as top miner flags shortfall

In a recent paper and presentation, researchers from Concordia University and the Hydro-Quebec Research Institute explained that offshore wind farms, particularly those that use voltage-source-converter high-voltage direct-current (VSC-HVDC) connections, require more cyber infrastructure than onshore wind farms, given that offshore farms are often dozens of kilometres from land and operated remotely.

Offshore wind farms need to communicate with onshore systems via a wide area network. Meanwhile, the turbines also communicate with maintenance vessels and inspection drones, as well as with each other.

This hybrid communication design presents multiple access points for cyberattacks. If malicious actors were able to penetrate the local area network of the converter station on the wind farm side, these actors could tamper with the system’s sensors. This tampering could lead to the replacement of actual data with false information. As a result, electrical disturbances would affect the offshore wind farm at the points of common coupling.

According to the researchers, these disturbances could trigger poorly dampened power oscillations from the offshore wind farms when all the offshore wind farms are generating their maximum output. If these cyber-induced electrical disturbances are repetitive and match the frequency of the poorly dampened power oscillations, the oscillations could be amplified.

These amplified oscillations might then be transmitted through the HVDC system, potentially reaching and affecting the stability of the main power grid. While existing systems usually have redundancies built in to protect them against physical contingencies, such protection is rare against cyber security breaches.

“The system networks can handle events like router failures or signal decays. If there is an attacker in the middle who is trying to hijack the signals, then that becomes more concerning,” Jun Yan, co-author of the study, said in a media statement.

Yan added that considerable gaps exist in the industry, both among manufacturers and utilities. While many organizations are focusing on corporate issues such as data security and access controls, much is to be done to strengthen the security of operational technologies.

He noted that even though Concordia is leading the push for international standardization efforts, the work is just beginning.

“There are regulatory standards for the US and Canada, but they often only state what is required without specifying how it should be done,” Yan said. “Researchers and operators are aware of the need to protect our energy security, but there remain many directions to pursue and open questions to answer.”

The data, from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) which holds its 92^nd annual convention Mar. 3-6 in Toronto, shows just how much junior miners are struggling, despite a growing international recognition of mining’s importance.

Last year, for the first time in a decade, there wasn’t a single financing above C$125 million on the TSX Venture Exchange, where many junior mining exploration companies are listed. Deals at the C$200 million level had previously been fairly common, Jeff Killeen, policy and program director for PDAC, said in an interview.

“The juniors, particularly those outside of the critical mineral sphere, are facing more hurdles in terms of accessing capital,” Killeen said. “When they’re accessing it, there’s just smaller deals being done.”

Total financing on the TSX Venture has fallen for three years running, with the exchange falling far behind the main board in equity raised for the first time since 2017. Last year, the gap between the two grew to C$1.1 billion. With risk capital suffering overall though, junior miners actually “punched above their weight,” accounting for three quarters of all funds raised on the Venture Exchange last year.

Nearly C$8 billion in equity was raised on all Canadian exchanges last year for mining, up slightly from 2022, and on par with the 10-year average for fundraising.

“Arguably, the availability of capital hasn’t moved or materially improved over the last 10 years,” Killeen said. “It hasn’t declined, but it does seem to be moving in different directions.”

Precious metals exploration still draws the lion’s share of funding with C$2.1 billion raised last year. But PDAC figures show other metals gaining ground. Total capital for base and battery metals plus uranium has roughly tripled since 2020 to nearly C$2 billion, while funding for precious metals exploration shrunk by 19% last year alone.

More governments around the world waking up to the crucial role of metals in the energy transition is being reflected in new interest among international delegates coming to the PDAC convention, Killeen says.

“The global conversation is changing,” Killeen added. “There’s a growing awareness (about critical minerals) and people are recognizing PDAC is the place to come to.

“There’s a real global commitment that we’re seeing towards electrification, clean technology, and emissions reduction that’s only going to happen if the mineral industry is brought to that table.”

Mindful of the challenges its membership is facing, PDAC is aiming to make it easier for juniors to connect with potential investors this year by bringing corporate presentations onto the Investors Exchange floor for the first time.

The program also includes a series of critical minerals-related sessions that cross over between the technical program and the policy programs, as well as integrated sessions between the capital markets and the Indigenous and sustainability programs.

Advocacy

While capital has been difficult to access for at least the past three years, the federal government has recently put in place policies and incentives that amount to end-to-end supports for mineral companies, from exploration through to project construction.

The packages are part of its Critical Minerals Strategy, introduced in late 2022, which commits C$3.8 billion in total spending. The supports for mining are historic — but there is some room for improvement, according to PDAC.

The C$1.5 billion over seven years Critical Mineral Infrastructure Fund, for example, should be revamped as a perennial fund, Killeen says — especially considering the steep price tag of most infrastructure. (Initial applications for this funding, which will only dole out a total of C$300 million this year, are due Feb. 29.)

And PDAC wants to ensure that the Clean Technology Manufacturing input tax credit, which gives a 30% cash-back credit for critical minerals extraction and processing, can be applied to polymetallic projects that may contain precious metals as well as critical minerals.

As for regulatory initiatives, PDAC will be involved in hot-button topics such as how to prevent short-sellers from targeting junior miners — an issue that the Save Canadian Mining group, supported by big industry names such as Eric Sprott and Rob McEwen, has been asking regulators to address. The Canadian Investment and Regulatory Organization and the Canadian Securities Administrators said last year they would be forming a working group in early 2024 to study short-selling issues.

“We’ve been asking for what we think are logical changes to regulations around short selling for several years,” Killeen said.

In 2021, PDAC called for an alternative uptick rule (which would prevent short-selling in a stock that has dropped more than 10% in one day) to be instated, bringing Canada in line with U.S. regulations.

“We also at that time and have continued to ask for a more comprehensive framework for activist short sellers, so that there is more of a balance in our home marketplace with respect to disclosure.”.

PDAC is also advocating for changes to the flow-through regime that could attract a broader set of investors. The flow-through charity tax credit, which allows juniors to transfer exploration tax credits to investors, is used primarily by high earners. A change to the alternative minimum tax is yet to be formalized in any legislation, but the government has said is effective as of Jan. 1. It could jeopardize an investment stream that has raised nearly C$4 billion for exploration in Canada in the last three years.

Killeen says flow-through shares could be more appealing to a broader slice of investors if capital gains on the shares were assessed based on the issue price, rather than on a nil-cost basis as they currently are.

Optimism, despite near-term hurdles

As commodity prices have tumbled (with the exception of uranium and gold), challenges for juniors are likely to continue — at least in the short-term. But the conversation around mining globally is radically more supportive than even five years ago, leaving Killeen optimistic for juniors in the medium to long-term.

“If you think five or 10 years down the road from where we are today, I don’t know I’ve ever seen an overall environment that’s been as positive towards what mineral exploration and mining means for the future.”

“If this technology succeeds, it would be a really massive breakthrough in environmentally-friendly lithium extraction,” Benjamin Brunner, co-inventor of the solution and an associate professor of earth, environmental and resource sciences at UTEP, said in a media statement. 

The technology under development centers on electrodialysis, a process that uses a membrane to filter out certain elements from water. The team is developing a system that would allow lithium to pass through the membrane while keeping out other elements like sodium and chloride.

Brunner explained that if successful, the project would fulfill two purposes: extracting usable lithium and generating energy from hydrothermal waters to power the operations. The extracted water could be pumped back into the ground or cleaned and used for other purposes. 

In addition to the prior, the process of extracting the lithium under this new method may help remove carbon dioxide from the surrounding environment. The membrane system could also be used to clean brine water derived from oil and gas production.

Moving forward, Alma Energy will identify locations in Texas that may contain underground hot water sources with lithium while the UTEP team will further develop the membrane technology.

In a paper published in the journal Science, the researchers note that the mine showcases a remarkably high hydrogen outgassing rate of at least 200 tons per year. This is the highest recorded natural H2 flux to date. 

One of its physical manifestations that gave away the presence of the gas is that it turns a draining pool inside a mine gallery into a 30-square-metre jacuzzi bubbling with almost pure H2 (84% by volume). This considerable natural outgassing raises the question of hydrogen’s origin and potential economic prospects.

In recent years natural or geologic hydrogen has gained widespread interest due to its potential as an extractable primary energy resource. 

The researchers point out that although this flow is minimal compared to the global production of hydrogen by the petrochemical industry (100 million tons per year), in-situ observations and numerical simulations reveal the presence of a deep reservoir located in a well-identified fault zone. Mining operations have perforated this reservoir, resulting in hydrogen leakage at several well-localized points in the deepest galleries.

This discovery lays the foundations for new models of natural hydrogen exploration. In this sense, the Bulqizë chromium mine, by offering direct access to the subsurface, is a key scientific tool for studying the hydrogen system and understanding the conditions of formation and accumulation of this gas. 

The study points out that ophiolitic massifs – mantle rocks from the oceanic crust obducted onto continents – are proving to be potential hosts for these high-quality hydrogen reservoirs. These large, widespread geological formations on earth have already been identified as hosting hyperalkaline sources where hydrogen bubbles. 

However, the researchers note that it’s still too early to say whether natural hydrogen will take a significant place in the global energy mix or remain a niche curiosity. It is important to stress that geologic H2 is not renewable as the production time for H2 far exceeds the extraction time. These geological environments harbour a fragile deep biosphere that relies on H2 as an energy source. 

“Therefore, we also deliver a message of caution to temper the passion, and even sometimes the ‘hydrogen fever,’ that will undoubtedly be stimulated by our discovery,” the scientists note. “While geologic hydrogen exploration warrants great scientific efforts, we must also be mindful of its potential environmental impact.”

A recent study led by researchers at Leiden University and published in the journal One Earth explores a CO2-removal method known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which involves cultivating quickly growing crops whose biomass can then be stored permanently in geological formations or used as a feedstock to produce renewable energy. 

Most studies of BECCS assume that the land required to grow this biomass would threaten food security or be attained via agricultural expansion into regions of natural vegetation, which has negative implications for biodiversity, but the researchers of the new study had another idea: to combine BECCS with a dietary shift.

“Animal-source foods use resources inefficiently because animals consume more food than they provide, and feeding the animals requires considerable land and water,” the paper reads. “We show that a protein transition could free up extensive resources for BECCS to achieve substantial energy and carbon-removal potentials.”

To test how a dietary shift might augment carbon removal, the researchers estimated how much land would be freed up if humans replaced 10% to 100% of animal protein with plant-based or other alternative proteins. Then, they estimated the potential for using this land for biomass production while keeping sufficient land and water available to sustain ecosystems and meet global food and water needs.

“Our results show that replacing animal products can help unlock vast energy and negative emission potentials via BECCS while avoiding agricultural expansion and securing water supply for people and ecosystems,” the researchers write. “Even modest adoption levels of alternative proteins could free up large agricultural areas.”

Their model suggested that even a 30% reduction in animal-product consumption would enable significant carbon removal and renewable energy production. If 30% of animal products were replaced by alternative proteins, it would free up enough area to generate between 15.8 and 29.1 EJelec per year and remove 3.5–7.2 Gt of CO2 per year. 

For comparison, the scientists note that currently, coal power generates 35 EJelec per year and results in 10 Gt of CO2 emissions.

A solution for all

The team also analyzed global geographical locations for their potential for biomass production and CO2 storage. They found that most countries have the geological potential to sequester CO2 from BECCS within their borders. In particular, the US, Europe, and China stand out for their considerable sequestration potential.

They also demonstrated that planting biomass crops for BECCS on freed-up agricultural land would be more effective at carbon removal than natural revegetation. If 100% of animal products were replaced by alternatives, using those areas for BECCS for around 60 years could remove 700 Gt more CO2 than the natural revegetation of those same areas. After that period, the researchers say, the areas could revert to natural vegetation.

“On the one hand, BECCS could use a fraction of the freed-up land to boost climate mitigation while producing renewable energy,” lead author Oscar Rueda said. “On the other hand, natural revegetation could be preferable in many areas, especially those that may be close to their natural state.”

The researchers say that a protein transition is feasible, but it’s uncertain what this transition would look like and whether it would be dominated by traditional plant-based proteins or lab-based alternatives.

“Market research shows that alternative proteins, from sources such as plants, microorganisms, and tissue culture, could replace 10%–30% of animal products in 2030 and 30%–70% in 2050,” the paper states. “Emerging research on novel alternative proteins can further clarify uncertainties of adoption and impacts.”

Since different alternative proteins would have different footprints, further research will need to examine these various scenarios. Examining how sociopolitical factors might impact the proposed dietary shift and the adoption of BECCS will also require further study.

China consumes more than half the world’s metals and an even greater proportion of iron ore and battery raw materials – and gloom about the country’s economic prospects amid a property and stock market crisis have only added to bearish mining sentiment. 

In a new trading desk note Marcus Garvey, head of Macquarie commodities strategy based in Singapore, and a team of analysts have identified the first green shoots for the sector (and 34 charts to back it up):   

“January’s full set of PMIs (World manufacturing new orders up 1.2pp to 49.8) looks like a potential turning point for the global industrial cycle, with bullish implications for industrial commodities demand.”

Expectations of a smaller reduction in US interest rates this year than previously anticipated have supported the dollar and put metal prices under pressure which usually move in the opposite direction. 

Nevertheless, says Macquarie: “Commodity prices have a far more consistent relationship with global growth than with FX.”

The investment bank also points to US goods demand which it says “increasingly looks to be reaccelerating,” and from a higher base. Macquarie also sees the potential of a developed market manufacturing recovery and a restocking cycle in Europe.”

And while China has so far held off on broad based economic stimulus, fixed asset investment in infrastructure, led by renewables, and certain sectors including autos (particularly electric cars) have shown notable strength.

“Ultimately, if commodity prices are lifted by a pick-up in global industrial production, the implications for goods inflation may become self-inhibiting, by reducing the scope for further central bank easing. 

“But that is an ex-post problem, not an ex-ante one, suggesting to us that dips should now be bought. 

“Selectively at least, in those markets where fundamentals are already relatively tight or have the potential to tighten quickly. Especially if positioning gets short.”

That was the good news delivered this week by Cameco president and CEO Tim Gitzel. And strong financial performance is also expected this year.

“The benefits of nuclear power have come clearly into focus, with 28 countries around the world declaring support for the tripling of capacity to help achieve global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The uncertainty about where nuclear fuel supplies will come from to satisfy growing demand has led to increased long-term contracting activity, and in 2023, about 160 million lb. of uranium was placed under long-term contracts by utilities,” said Gitzel.

Prices across the nuclear fuel cycle rose in 2023 and continue to rise. Uranium spot prices more than doubled to $100/lb. at the end of January 2024, after being only $48 at the end of 2022. The long-term price for uranium was $72/lb., an increase of about 38% over the same period.

Year-end revenue for 2023 was C$2.59 billion, up from C$1.87 billion for 2022. Gross profit was C$562 million (C$233 million in 2022) and net earnings were C$361 million (C$89 million in 2022). Adjusted EPITDA was C$831 million, compared to C$431 million in 2022. Cash provided by operations in 2023 was C$688 million (C$305 million in 2022).

One notable accomplishment last year was adding a 49% interest in Westinghouse to the Cameco portfolio. Brookfield Asset Management retained the remaining 51% interest.

“We believe Westinghouse is well-positioned for long-term growth driven by the expected increase in global demand for nuclear power,” said Gitzel. “In 2024, we expect our share of its adjusted EBITDA to be between C$445 million and C$510 million. Further, over the next five years, we expect its adjusted EBITDA will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6% to 10%.”

On the mining side, Cameco is planning to produce 18 million lb. of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) at each of the McArthur River-Key Lake and the Cigar Lake mines this year. Reserves saw a boost of 73.4 million lb. U₃O₈ at Cigar Lake, of which Cameco’s share is 40%. The increase also has the potential to extend the mine life to 2036. The company looking ahead to expand annual production to 25 million lb. (on a 100% basis) when the time is right.

Cameco produced 17.6 million lb. U₃O₈ in 2023 (compared to 10.4 million lb. in 2022), resulting in 2023 net earnings of C$606 million (C$121 million in 2022).

In the fuel services sector, the company produced 13.3 million kg elemental uranium in 2023 (compared to 13.0 million kg in 2022), giving it net earnings of C$129 million (C$120 million in 2022).

The underwriters also have an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of shares sold under the offer for a period of 30 days after the offer closes on or about Feb. 12, 2024.

Fission will use the funds to advance the exploration and development of its PLS uranium project on the southwest rim of the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan.

A feasibility study produced for the project was filed in March 2023 outlining a construction period of three years at a cost of C$1.16 billion to develop a mine with a 10-year life. During that time, 90.9 million lb. of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) will be produced.

The PLS has robust post-tax economics, including an internal rate of return of 27.2%, a net present value at an 8% discount of C$1.20 billion, and a payback period of 2.6 years.

The shallow, high-grade Triple R deposit is the basis of mine plan, beginning with the R780E and R840W zones. There is future opportunity to upgrade resources at the R1515W and R1620E zones, but they are not included in the current plan.

The indicated resource contains 114.9 million lb. U₃O₈ in 2.7 million tonnes of material that grades 1.94% U₃O₈. Within that resource is a probable reserve of 3.0 million tonnes grading 1.41% U₃O₈. A cut-off grade of 0.25% U₃O₈ was used. Material in the inferred category of reserves was not considered in planning the mine.

Production is targeted by 2029.

Rigorous laboratory testing has shown that PNNL’s Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion Process (ShAPE) can transform 100% post-consumer scrap aluminum into usable extrusions that meet or exceed stringent ASTM standards for strength and flexibility for common building-grade alloys 6061 and 6063. 

According to the researchers behind the development, the ShAPE technology unlocks the possibility of creating circularity in aluminum scrap markets, thus reducing dependency on imported primary aluminum.

The process also conserves nearly all of the energy required to manufacture new aluminum products. The International Aluminum Organization has estimated that producing one tonne of molten aluminum requires 16.6-megawatt hours of electricity, much of which comes from fossil fuels like coal.

“With approximately 55% of the global aluminum extrusion market servicing the building and construction industry, the evolution of ShAPE to include aluminum recycling for building structures is an enormous opportunity for decarbonizing the built environment,” lead researcher Scott Whalen said in a media statement.

“We are finding that the unique microstructures within the metal are more tolerant to impurities than previously thought. This enables us to reach even deeper into the aluminum scrap market while maintaining material performance.”

Low-carbon extruded parts

The latest round of patented ShAPE technology prompted technology entrepreneur Eric Donsky to form a start-up manufacturing company to scale a ShAPE-based process into vertically integrated manufacturing facilities that upcycle scrap aluminum into a portfolio of low-carbon extruded parts initially targeting the building and construction industry.

Atomic13 has signed an exclusive agreement with PNNL to commercialize the technology in certain fields of use and aims to move rapidly to create a myriad of custom-extruded aluminum parts for the building and consumer product industries, relying entirely on scrap. 

“The ShAPE technology is an amazing opportunity for US manufacturing and the build-out of our critical infrastructure,” Donsky said. “We believe there is tremendous environmental and commercial value to building circularity in the aluminum extrusion industry while helping the building and construction industry significantly reduce the embodied carbon of their products.”

“ShAPE technology enables companies like Atomic13 to produce aluminum extrusions made from 100% post-consumer scrap with 90% lower carbon,” he said. “At the same time, the low feedstock costs result in lower costs for consumers. We look forward to continuing to work with PNNL engineers to advance this promising technology.”

Aluminum extrusions are already a mainstay of the building industry. What’s different about the ShAPE manufacturing process is that the scrap aluminum bricks or rod-shaped billets are deformed using heat generated by high shear forces to pulverize impurities in scrap aluminum into tiny particles and uniformly disperse them within the aluminum microstructure.

The dispersion eliminates, for example, microscopic iron clumps that can generate microfractures in recycled aluminum products manufactured using conventional methods. ShAPE aluminum extrusion, thus, offers massive energy savings by eliminating the need to dilute impurities found in recycled aluminum with 25% to 40% newly mined aluminum before processing.

The PNNL team evaluated the mechanical properties of rods, tubes and irregular hollow, multichannel trapezoids under mechanical stress. The team tested 540 unique conditions products, made from post-consumer scrap briquettes, some with high iron content (0.2 to 0.34% iron). All performed at or above ASTM standards for yield strength and ultimate tensile strength.

The first phase, Geoscience BC said, will collate and analyze existing information from current and historic mining operations to identify sites for future laboratory and fieldwork studies, looking to identify potential sources of critical metals and minerals that were not considered recoverable or valuable at the time of extraction — but that may now prove otherwise.

The first phase research funders are Arca Climate Technologies, which recently launched a pilot project with BHP to capture CO2 from mine waste, New Gold Inc. and Geoscience BC, with program support from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation’s Abandoned Mines Branch.

Geoscience BC simultaneously released the findings of a report indicates the potential for coalfields in British Columbia’s East Kootenays to host elevated concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs).

Traditional REE deposits are becoming depleted, while demand is anticipated to increase substantially over the next 15-20 years.

Coal deposits are known to be a potential source of REEs, and work is underway in the US and elsewhere to separate and concentrate REEs during coal processing.

Owing to the presence of REEs in some coal seams, BC’s search for inventories puts the spotlight on coalfields in the province’s southeast region.

This study has, for the first time, characterized REEs in BC coal. Over one hundred samples were tested, with elevated REE concentrations recorded, Geoscience BC said, adding that preliminary testing of extraction techniques also demonstrated the techniques recommended for further study.

A syndicate of underwriters, led by Canaccord Genuity as sole bookrunner, will purchase approximately 6.72 million shares of the company at a price of $3.40 per share. The underwriters will also have a 15% over-allotment option valid for 30 days.

The financing represents the second of its kind carried out by Uranium Royalty over the past four months. Last October, it arranged a $30 million bought deal that priced its shares at $2.94 each.

The company’s most notable acquisition over the past year was a portfolio of royalties on US-based uranium assets from Anfield Energy (TSXV: AEC) for cash consideration of $1.5 million.

Included in the portfolio were royalties on three conventional uranium mining projects located in Utah: the San Rafael project operated by Western Uranium & Vanadium (CSE: WUC), the Whirlwind project and the Energy Queen project, both operated by Energy Fuels (TSX: EFR).

Also included was an in-situ recovery project, the Dewey Burdock located in South Dakota, operated by enCore Energy (NASDAQ: EU) (TSXV: EU).

The company, which became public in December 2019, now holds a portfolio of more than 20 royalties on uranium projects across the US and Canada.

Shares of Uranium Royalty were down 7.5% by 11:40 a.m. ET on the NASDAQ. The stock traded at $3.30, within a 52-week range of $1.81 and $3.76, capitalizing the company at $372 million.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Energy, the scientists explain that ethylene (C2H4) is one of the most in-demand chemicals globally and is mainly used in the manufacture of polymers such as polyethylene, which, in turn, can be used to make plastics and chemical fibres commonly used in daily life. However, it is still mostly obtained from petrochemical sources and the production process involves the creation of a very significant carbon footprint.

To avoid having to use fossil fuels, the research team resorted to green electricity to convert carbon dioxide into ethylene.

The innovation employs an alkali-metal electrolyte and uses pure water as a metal-free anolyte to prevent carbonate formation and salt deposition. The group called their design the APMA system, where A stands for anion-exchange membrane (AEM), P represents the proton-exchange membrane (PEM), and MA indicates the resulting membrane assembly.

When the alkali-metal-free cell stack containing the APMA and a copper electrocatalyst was created, they produced ethylene with a high specificity of 50%. It was also able to operate for over 1,000 hours at an industrial-level current of 10A – a very significant increase in lifespan over existing systems, meaning the system can be easily expanded to an industrial scale.

Further tests showed that the formation of carbonates and salts was suppressed, while there was no loss of CO2 or electrolyte. This is crucial, as previous cells using bipolar membranes instead of APMA suffered from electrolyte loss due to the diffusion of alkali-metal ions from the anolyte. The formation of hydrogen in competition with ethylene, another problem affecting earlier systems that used acidic cathode environments, was also minimized.

Another key feature of the process is the specialized electrocatalyst, which takes advantage of some of copper’s distinctive features. The millions of nano-scale copper spheres had richly textured surfaces, with steps, stacking faults and grain boundaries. These “defects” – relative to an ideal metal structure – provided a favourable environment for the reaction to proceed.

“We will work on further improvements to enhance the product selectivity and seek collaboration opportunities with the industry,” head researcher, Daniel Lau, said in a media statement. “It is clear that this APMA cell design underpins a transition to green production of ethylene and other valuable chemicals and can contribute to reducing carbon emissions and achieving the goal of carbon neutrality.”