UK fires up coal power plant as gas prices soar

UK fires up coal power plant as gas prices soar

The UK fired up an old coal power plant on Monday to meet its electricity needs.
All that glitters: why lab-made gems might not be an ethical alternative

All that glitters: why lab-made gems might not be an ethical alternative

Switching to synthetic gems may have environmental upsides but it could harm the very communities consumers worry about
General Motors moves to secure US-sourced lithium for its EVs

General Motors moves to secure US-sourced lithium for its EVs

General Motors has taken steps to secure lithium, a crucial ingredient for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, sourced in the US through a strategic investment and partnership with Australia’s Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), which is developing a project poised to become the country’s largest by 2024.
Study predicts over 400% increase in copper, lithium, nickel battery demand

Study predicts over 400% increase in copper, lithium, nickel battery demand

BloombergNEF has upped its predictions for annual demand for lithium-ion batteries by more than a third from its previous forecast on the back of expectations for rapid growth in the passenger vehicle segment.
Australia, U.S. and Canada launch interactive map for critical minerals

Australia, U.S. and Canada launch interactive map for critical minerals

Australia has teamed up with the US and Canada to launch an interactive map of deposits of rare earths that are expected to be in hot demand as the world moves to cleaner forms of energy.
Scientists develop environmentally friendly method for recovering REE from coal fly ash

Scientists develop environmentally friendly method for recovering REE from coal fly ash

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, have developed a simple method for recovering rare earth elements from coal fly ash using an ionic liquid and avoiding hazardous materials.
The Deep Sea: A Potential “Copper Mine”

The Deep Sea: A Potential “Copper Mine”

The deliberate search for deep sea minerals is strongly inspired by the green shift and the consequential need to explore and exploit the potential for critical metals.
Gigafactories: Europe tools up against US and Asia as a car battery force

Gigafactories: Europe tools up against US and Asia as a car battery force

Startup Northvolt, co-founded by two former Tesla executives in northern Sweden, is hoping to provide a quarter of Europe's electric batteries, as demand for electric vehicles surges amidst the global race to cut carbon emissions. By 2030, 40% of all new cars sold will be electric according [...]
The Real Solar-Panel Price Crisis Hasn’t Begun Yet

The Real Solar-Panel Price Crisis Hasn’t Begun Yet

Averting climate change could turn on whether the industry can become less dependent on Xinjiang and still keep up supply of a vital raw material.
UK mining boom needed to power green revolution, experts warn

UK mining boom needed to power green revolution, experts warn

A short-term increase in mining in Europe and the UK for key minerals such as lithium and cobalt is needed to create a ‘circular’ low-carbon economy reliant on recycled materials, according to a Natural History Museum expert
IEA report outlines urgent need to accelerate investment in critical minerals needed to drive energy transitions

IEA report outlines urgent need to accelerate investment in critical minerals needed to drive energy transitions

Anew International Energy Agency (IEA) report is warning of a potential supply deficit for some of the ‘critical minerals’ needed to support a global shift in the energy system that is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the growing number of country commitments to [...]
Global electric car sales surged by 40% in 2020 despite pandemic, says IEA

Global electric car sales surged by 40% in 2020 despite pandemic, says IEA

A record three million new electric cars were registered in 2020 – a 41 per cent increase on the number in 2019, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
‘Insanely cheap energy’: how solar power continues to shock the world

‘Insanely cheap energy’: how solar power continues to shock the world

Australian smarts and Chinese industrial might made solar power the cheapest power humanity has seen – and no one saw it coming
Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Environment?

Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Environment?

EVs produce fewer emissions overall than their gas-powered counterparts, but there are caveats
Volkswagen’s boss lays out his electric plans

Volkswagen’s boss lays out his electric plans

A fifth of the millions of cars Volkswagen sells will be electric by 2025. No one is dedicating more resources to electrification than Volkswagen Group, says Herbert Diess, the German giant’s boss. The company plans to spend around €73bn ($88bn) over the next five years on battery [...]
Green economy plans fuel new metals and energy 'supercycle'

Green economy plans fuel new metals and energy 'supercycle'

The global economy could be on the brink of a new commodity “supercycle” as governments prepare to use a green industrial revolution to kickstart growth following the coronavirus pandemic.
Child labour, toxic leaks: the price we could pay for a greener future

Child labour, toxic leaks: the price we could pay for a greener future

Our mission to create cleaner living using natural resources could itself cause widespread environmental harm, scientists now warn. The battle to stave off Earth’s looming climate crisis is driving engineers to develop hosts of new green technologies. Wind and solar plants are set to replace coal and [...]
The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete

The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete

As California steadily moves to decarbonise its economy, they are building the world's largest "utility-scale" battery farm to address the issue of intermittency by storing excess energy when solar panels and wind farms are producing electricity and feeding it back into the grid when they're not. But [...]
The curse of 'white oil': electric vehicles' dirty secret

The curse of 'white oil': electric vehicles' dirty secret

The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale
Rio Tinto’s aboriginal desecration shows folly of rote ESG

Rio Tinto’s aboriginal desecration shows folly of rote ESG

Glynn Cochrane, former senior adviser to Rio Tinto, discusses the importance of social science in the mining sector in light of the destruction of two sacred sites in the Juukan Gorge , Australia.
EU to secure access to 30 critical raw materials

EU to secure access to 30 critical raw materials

The European Union has launched an initiative that seeks to secure access to a total of 30 critical raw materials by increasing domestic production and promoting recycling of vital elements, particularly rare earths. The European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA), a partnership of over 300 companies, business associations [...]
Catastrophic failures raise alarm about dams containing muddy mine wastes

Catastrophic failures raise alarm about dams containing muddy mine wastes

The dam, a 40-meter wall of rocks and dirt, gave way without warning, unleashing a torrent of mud. Within a day, some 21 million cubic meters of gray goo and water—the tailings waste left behind by 16 years of copper and gold mining at the Mount Polley [...]
US and Norway to Discuss Offshore Wind

US and Norway to Discuss Offshore Wind

The U.S. Department of Interior and Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in offshore oil and gas, offshore wind energy and seabed minerals activities.
The Dirty Secrets Of ‘Clean’ Electric Vehicles

The Dirty Secrets Of ‘Clean’ Electric Vehicles

The widespread view that fossil fuels are “dirty” and renewables such as wind and solar energy and electric vehicles are “clean” has become a fixture of mainstream media and policy assumptions across the political spectrum in developed countries, perhaps with the exception of the Trump-led US administration. [...]
In reversal, Trump kills huge Alaskan gold mine. Here’s why

In reversal, Trump kills huge Alaskan gold mine. Here’s why

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today asked the Pebble Partnership to submit plans for offsetting the damage its giant proposed copper and gold mine would cause to thousands of acres of wetlands and streams in southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay region—a hurdle that could delay and ultimately [...]
Powerhouses: nanotechnology turns bricks into batteries

Powerhouses: nanotechnology turns bricks into batteries

The humble house brick has been turned into a battery that can store electricity, raising the possibility that buildings could one day become literal powerhouses. The new technology exploits the porous nature of fired red bricks by filling the pores with tiny nanofibres of a conducting plastic that [...]
Elon Musk Is Going to Have a Hard Time Finding Clean Nickel

Elon Musk Is Going to Have a Hard Time Finding Clean Nickel

Elon Musk promises a “giant contract” with the miner that can supply nickel for Tesla Inc. batteries at low cost with minimal environmental impact, yet the industry’s messy track record may make that deal difficult to clinch. Recent accidents such as a diesel spill in Arctic Russia and [...]
Innovations in environmental training for the mining industry

Innovations in environmental training for the mining industry

For the mining industry, efforts to achieve sustainability are moving from local to global. In the past, mining companies focused sustainability initiatives more on their social license to operate — treating workers fairly and operating safe and healthy facilities. However, concerns over climate change have put mining [...]
In a Pandemic or a Climate Crisis, You Better Get Your Data Right

In a Pandemic or a Climate Crisis, You Better Get Your Data Right

Why the Accounting Engine of the Industrial Transition Needs Some Fine-Tuning According to polls, it was mid-March when most of us in the United States understood the severity of COVID-19. At the same time, we were collectively searching for data to drive lifesaving decision-making. Close all business and [...]
South Korea follows Japan and China in carbon neutral pledge

South Korea follows Japan and China in carbon neutral pledge

South Korea has become the third big Asian economy to pledge carbon neutrality.
Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it

Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it

A vast transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial to slowing climate change. But building solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy infrastructure requires mining for materials. If not done responsibly, this may damage species and ecosystems.
$14 trillion investor coalition puts Australia's miners on notice over Indigenous rights

$14 trillion investor coalition puts Australia's miners on notice over Indigenous rights

A coalition of global investors managing a collective $14 trillion has written to Australia's biggest mining companies describing Rio Tinto's destruction of Aboriginal rock shelters as a wake-up call and demanding assurances about their relationships with First Nations peoples.
Apple makes a ‘waste tsunami of iPhones and iPads that can’t be fixed’

Apple makes a ‘waste tsunami of iPhones and iPads that can’t be fixed’

The UN has said that the average person in Britain discarded more electrical items last year than anywhere except Norway. They include elements needed for wind turbines, solar panels and electric car batteries.
The UN stops the establishment of a mining project in Rönnbäcken

The UN stops the establishment of a mining project in Rönnbäcken

The UN stops the establishment of a mining project in Rönnbäcken and calls on Sweden to revise its mining legislation as to ensure that it respects and complies with the Sámi people’s rights as an indigenous people; larger industrial establishments on Sámi territory are illegal without consent. [...]
Hyundai Steel joins ResponsibleSteel

Hyundai Steel joins ResponsibleSteel

Steel producer Hyundai Steel has joined ResponsibleSteel as its newest Business Member, based in South Korea Hyundai Steel is a major player in the steel industry.
Putin orders Russian government to work towards Paris climate goals

Putin orders Russian government to work towards Paris climate goals

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree ordering the Russian government to work towards meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change.
How 5G could mean even more electronic waste

How 5G could mean even more electronic waste

What happens to old devices, with mass adoption of 5G expected to create a lot of junk? The BBC's Rob Young has been finding out where our gadgets go when we are done with them.
California leads U.S. sprint towards electric vehicles

California leads U.S. sprint towards electric vehicles

The United States is the world’s second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind China, with the power and transport sectors making up more than half of the emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Biden has vowed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and boost [...]

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