In Part 2 of this series we dig deeper into the specifics of laterites, one of the two main nickel ore types and look at smelting, the most common processing technique.
Heather Allain, Executive Director, Materials Technology Institute (MTI), tells us about her passion for materials and the importance of MTI’s work to provide awareness of safe, reliable and sustainable materials use.
Dr. Veronique Steukers sets out three principles which will allow companies to manage and measure ESG impacts and engage on a path to improvement.
Let's dive into this new series of articles on sustainability, treatment processes and innovations in nickel production, starting with nickel ores.
China’s annual “two sessions” gives an indication of China’s broad policy direction for the year, covering topics from the economy to industrial strategy to environmental protection. David Chen explains the highlights, and the implications for the nickel value chain.
As much of the world heads to the polls this year, Veronique Steukers explains why newly elected lawmakers should care about nickel and why they should consider three policy asks.
Dr. Stanley Whittingham is a SUNY distinguished professor of chemistry and the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Laureate for pioneering research leading to the development of the lithium-ion batteries. The Nickel Institute’s battery specialist, Dr. Parvin Adeli caught up with him to talk about his long career in battery research and what’s next.
The ambitious future of India’s rail infrastructure requires prudent investments that ensure its long-term viability. This is where nickel-containing steels play a vital role.
Materials selection for any piece of equipment or a process system is rarely a simple task, unless you are exactly replicating something successful. Often engineers will have a checklist to help them narrow down the choices, eliminating groups of materials that are not suitable for various reasons. Austenitic 300 series stainless steels containing 7-35% nickel will have most if not all of the boxes checked for being suitable where a stainless steel is desired.
Each family of stainless steels has its strengths and weaknesses. Ferritic stainless steels have useful properties – a lower rate of thermal expansion, higher thermal conductivity, strong ferromagnetism and very high resistance to chloride stress corrosion cracking (SCC). When looking at selecting any alloys, it is important to consider all the factors for successful usage.
The duplex alloys are “problem-solving alloys” for good reason, they have been successfully used in many places where carbon steels and standard austenitic alloys have failed. Just like with the austenitic family, there are many different duplex alloys to choose from, with corrosion resistance varying from moderate with the lean duplex alloys to very high with the superduplex alloys.
The selection of an alloy should be guided by careful examination of the needs of the application. Before making a switch, it’s important to fully investigate an alloy’s strengths, weaknesses and applicability to your structure.
A team of researchers, led by Professor Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University, have developed and demonstrated batteries that can last four million miles (almost six million km).
Think of the largest cruise ship. Then imagine how much it weighs – just over 100,000 tonnes, in fact. Now think about 500 of those ships, and what they weigh. That is the staggering amount of new electronic waste that we generate every year.
Major economies across the globe are setting climate neutrality targets. But proper measurement and methodologies are needed to provide transparency and common benchmarks when assessing carbon footprint. At a recent event in China, there was general consensus on the importance of adopting a harmonized approach to carbon footprint calculation and disclosure.
As delegates to the UN COP26 Climate Change conference in Glasgow grapple with the climate crisis, clean energy solutions will be in focus. Although clean energy technologies rely on metals and minerals that are unavoidably energy intensive to produce, the IEA says that the climate advantages of these technologies remain clear.
Even small quantities of nickel in an application can make a big difference to successful deployment.
Nickel-based alloys and nickel-containing stainless are playing key roles in an emerging source of renewable energy known as thermal solar plants or concentrated solar power (CSP). Their use has enabled the industry to overcome challenges in heat transfer and thermal storage technology.
Geothermal energy for electric power production has a low profile yet is significant in the current and potential energy mix for a number of countries. It has also been described as the most reliable of the renewable energy sources, above weather-dependent wind, solar and hydropower.
Professor Stefano Passerini is the Director of the Helmholtz Institute Ulm. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli regarding their work on high-voltage LNMO cathodes and electrolyte additives, among other topics.
Dr. Ilias Belharouak is the head of electrification and energy storage at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli about the various energy storage topics his group are investigating including a new class of cathodes that they developed recently and its scale-up path.
A new generation of designers, materials specifiers, architects and engineers is being introduced to the wealth of technical information curated by the Nickel Institute. An archive of technical guides and know-how for working with nickel-containing materials, including stainless steel, that has been built over thirty years is now being updated and made freely available.
Professor Jeff Dahn, at the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada explains how single crystal technology is proving to be a promising solution to the challenge of overcoming range anxiety which is high on the agenda of electric vehicle manufacturers and battery developers.
Dr. Feng Lin is an assistant professor in the chemistry department of Virginia Tech. In this Battery Chat, he talks to Parri Adeli about his scientific journey and his research into cathodes and catalysts.
If you’re like me and predictive text has led to some awkward if not amusing moments, you might be sceptical about Artificial Intelligence (AI). But its achievements are already overwhelming and changing, even protecting, our lives in many sectors.
Prof. Arumugam Manthiram, a renowned professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has contributed substantially to the field of energy storage with his research having great impact on the scientific community. In this chat, Prof. Manthiram shares his research path briefly, his perspective on current research performed on high-nickel cathodes, and a glimpse of his future research directions.
When Courtney Love wrote this she was not thinking about rockets. It is, however, a perfect description of the history of rocketry. Until the Elon Musk revolution.
New energy legislation is set to optimize China’s energy structure and boost the use of non-fossil energy. Aligning with China’s regulatory agenda, nickel will play a vital role in tomorrow’s world powered by cleaner energy.
Space is hard but nickel makes it possible. The United States of America, through the private company SpaceX, imminently expects to regain its independent way into space.
Around two-thirds of today’s buildings will still be around in 2050, and by 2060, the world is projected to add 230 billion m² of buildings - an area equivalent to the entire current global building stock. What can the building and construction sector do to reduce the environmental burden of buildings?
Nickel’s role in enabling technologies is not always common knowledge. Yet its versatile properties present great opportunity for the nickel industry.