Monthly Archives: January 2020

(Reuters) – China has agreed to buy two types of rare earth metals from the United States as part of an initial trade deal inked on Wednesday, a move likely to boost U.S. production of the strategic minerals. The agreement, signed in Washington by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. President Donald Trump, gives China two years to ramp up purchases of hundreds of U.S. products, including scandium and yttrium, two of the … Continue reading →

Rare earths need research to get off the ground in N.W.T., says proponent of Nechalacho project Canada and the U.S. face stiff competition in the search for independence from China’s supply of the rare earth minerals used in phones, clean technology and missiles, says rare earths expert Anton Chakhmouradian. An agreement signed between Canada and the U.S. is more likely to stimulate research and exploration than it is to translate into economic benefits from … Continue reading →

London (CNN Business)Australian researchers claim they have developed a battery that can keep a smartphone charged for five days or power an electric car for 1,000 kilometers (over 600 miles). If the technology comes to be used widely, it would represent a significant breakthrough in the hunt for greener, more efficient energy. The team from Monash University in Melbourne says the lithium-sulfur battery it has created is the “world’s most efficient,” and can outperform … Continue reading →

The advent of the electric car is threatened by a few known knowns like range anxiety, high prices, and a thin recharging network, but now, according to a report from the University of Sussex, lurking in the background are possible shortages of the raw materials at the heart of this low-carbon revolution, which threaten to derail the whole project. Making sure of adequate supplies is so important, mining under the sea, or even on … Continue reading →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a quantum chemistry simulation benchmark to evaluate the performance of quantum devices and guide the development of applications for future quantum computers. Their findings were published in npj Quantum Information. Quantum computers use the laws of quantum mechanics and units known as qubits to greatly increase the threshold at which information can be transmitted and processed. Whereas traditional “bits” have a value … Continue reading →