NIOCORPS~ TITANIUM~RECENT USES & the Green Hydrogen Revolution for your consideration! ~MAY 26th 2023~NioCorp Demonstrates the Ability to Potentially Double Projected Titanium Recovery Rates for the Elk Creek Project Demonstration Plant Shows New Recovery Process May Double NioCorp’s Titanium Production per Tonne of Ore as well as Produce a Higher Purity Product that May Command Higher Market Prices
Just Take a look at what TITANIUM can do! APRIL 20, 2023~ TITANIUM~IPERIONX (ANOTHER FUTURE TITANIUM PRODUCER POSTS THEIR GREEN HYDROGEN MARKET ASSESSMENT~ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230420005449/en/IperionX-Green-Hydrogen-Market-Assessment Green hydrogen production is forecast to surge by over 1,000x by 2030, driven by the increasing demand for clean energy, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and record government incentives to accelerate the scale-up of green hydrogen. Titanium is an essential material for the Proton Exchange Membrane electrolyzers used in green hydrogen production and for hydrogen fuel cells that will power automotive, truck and bus transportation, as well as marine, aerospace and military applications.
The attached ‘Green Hydrogen Market Assessment’ presentation highlights that the expected surge in green hydrogen will require very large quantities of titanium - and without significant new investment in new titanium production capacity and far higher rates of titanium recycling - the potential global demand from green hydrogen could be as large as the entire current global titanium market by 2040.
Further, significant U.S. Government incentives, such as the $370 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which includes up to a $3/kg hydrogen production tax credit and a 30% capital expenditure tax credit, underpin near term growth in green hydrogen, providing opportunities for U.S. regions rich in plentiful renewable energy sources to be amongst the lowest cost global hydrogen producers.
PERHAPS THE DoE/LPO IS INTERESTED IN WHAT NIOCORP WILL PRODUCE? "I Think so..." TAKE A LOOK AT JUST A FEW OF THE MAJOR PLAYERS THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN NIOCORPS IMPROVED TITANIUM: TITANIUM FOR BATTERIES TOO! APRIL 20, 2023~ Development of Bronze Phase Titanium Dioxide Nanorods for Use as Fast-Charging Anode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries ~ https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.3c00618 Bronze phase titanium dioxide (TiO2(B)) nanorods were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method together with an ion exchange process and calcination by using anatase titanium dioxide precursors in the alkali hydrothermal system. TiO2 precursors promoted the elongation of nanorod morphology. The different hydrothermal temperatures and reaction times demonstrated that the synthesis parameters had a significant influence on phase formation and physical morphologies during the fabrication process. The effects of the synthesis conditions on the tailoring of the crystal morphology were discussed. The growth direction of the TiO2(B) nanorods was investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The as-synthesized TiO2(B) nanorods obtained after calcination were used as anode materials and tested the efficiency of Li-ion batteries. This research will study the effects of particle morphologies and crystallinity of TiO2(B) derived from a modified hydrothermal method on the capacity and charging rate of the Li-ion battery. The TiO2(B) nanorods, which were synthesized by using a hydrothermal temperature of 220 °C for 12 h, presented excellent electrochemical performance with the highest Li storage capacity (348.8 mAh/g for 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g) and excellent high-rate cycling capability (a specific capacity of 207.3 mAh/g for 1000 cycles at a rate of 5000 mA/g). TiO2(B) nanorods were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method with a subsequent ion exchange process and calcination. The influences of synthesis conditions such as hydrothermal temperature and hydrothermal time on particle size, particle morphology, and crystallinity of as-synthesized TiO2(B) were discussed. Moreover, the size of TiO2(B) nanorods, the crystallinity of the TiO2(B) structure, and the physical morphology of the TiO2(B) nanorods have an influence on the battery performance. After 100 cycles, the TiO2 synthesized at 220 °C hydrothermal temperature for 12 h exhibited the best capacity of 348.8 mAh/g at a current density of 100 mA/g. Also, the optimal TiO2(B) nanorod materials possessed excellent fast charge ability at 15C and superior cycling stability over 1000 cycles.
April 10, 2023 ~Japan to subsidize aircraft parts investments as war imperils supply components made of TITANIUM ALLOYS crucial to reducing plane weight ~ by KO FUJIOKA, Nikkei staff writer https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Japan-to-subsidize-aircraft-parts-investments-as-war-imperils-supply TOKYO -- Japan will help expand domestic manufacturing of aircraft components by subsidizing up to 50% of capacity investments, as the war in Ukraine threatens the supply of Russian parts made of TITANIUM ALLOYS.
March 30, 2023 NIOBIUM & TITANIUM MXENES~Thermal paint: MXene spray coating can harness infrared radiation for heating or cooling~ by Drexel University https://phys.org/news/2023-03-thermal-mxene-spray-coating-harness.html The researchers found that niobium carbide MXenes could effectively dissipate heat while titanium carbide exhibited exceptional heat shielding, with its temperature rising only to 43 degrees Celsius after being heated for five minutes on a 110-degree hotplate.
"High emissivity like in niobium carbide is also possible in dielectric materials," Gogotsi said. "However, MXenes combine this ability with electrical conductivity, which means these MXenes can also be used as active electrical heating elements with the supply of external power."
A coating of titanium carbide MXene was found to strengthen materials against infrared radiation penetration and emission. In testing, the MXene-coated materials, even with a thin coating, performed better at shielding infrared radiation than polished metals, which are currently the best performing commercial materials. This means that MXenes could be integrated into lightweight clothing that keep the wearer warm in extreme environments.
To test it, the team dyed a cotton t-shirt with a titanium carbide MXene solution and used an infrared thermal camera to monitor the temperature of a person wearing it. The results showed that the MXene-coated shirt kept its wearer about 10-15 degrees Celsius cooler—about room temperature—than a person wearing a normal tee shirt.
These results suggest that MXene-coated garments are effective at maintaining body temperature, while also offering the advantage of being applied via a comparatively eaiser dip-coating process than most thermal clothing requires.
"Commercial thermal clothes use very thin polymer fibers with low thermal conductivity—fleece, for example," said Lingyi Bi, a doctoral researcher in Gogotsi's lab, with expertise in textiles. "They keep us warm by minimizing heat transfer through the fabric, to do this effectively they must be very thick. But MXene primarily keeps us warm by preventing the escape of the body heat as infrared radiation. Therefore, a MXene coating thinner than silk could provide effective warming. This is the same principle that is used in Mylar thermal blankets that runners get after a cold-weather race."
Gogotsi suggests that the IR-blocking capability could also be used to camouflage people and equipment from thermal detection devices, or to covertly transmit information via radiofrequency identification codes visible only to infrared readers.
The team plans to continue studying the mechanisms underlying MXene's IR block and emitting behavior, as well as testing MXenes with different chemical compositions to optimize their potential as radiative heating and cooling materials. MARCH 27, 2023~ RESEARCHERS TEST HIGH-CAPACITY TITANIUM-AIR BATTERY By Ariel Grossman, https://nocamels.com/2023/03/researchers-test-high-capacity-titanium-air-battery/ Researchers have, for the first time, tested a titanium-air battery, which could theoretically store up to three times more energy than standard batteries. That would be a major advantage over the zinc-air combination currently used in hearing aids, sensors and other small devices. The study was conducted by scientists at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, a German research institute. The researchers succeeded in utilizing its potential as a battery by applying a liquid that consists of salt and has a low melting point, also known as an ionic liquid. Titanium-air batteries may also be used for large-scale stationary storage systems that use low-cost, common, and non-toxic materials. It could be a replacement for lithium, which is a more expensive resource. Titanium is the ninth most frequently occurring material in the Earth’s crust, and there are plenty of its resources available for battery use. In metal-air batteries, the contained metal reacts with the oxygen in the air to release electrical energy. Unlike other kinds of batteries, it obtains oxygen from the ambient air via a special electrode and does not have to be kept in the battery. Therefore, significantly higher energy densities can be realized with these systems than with common battery types, at least in theory. The study was published in the Chemical Engineering Journal. Breaking the passivity wall of metals: Exempli gratia non-aqueous Ti–air battery | Elsevier Enhanced Reader
MARCH 12, 2023, ~ TOYOTA DEVELOPS A TITANIUM-ELECTROLYZER USING MIRAI TECHNOLOGY! https://www.greencarcongress.com/2023/03/20230312-toyota.html TOYOTA has used TITANIUM for the stack separator, which was developed for FCEVs and has been used since the first-generation Mirai. It was developed to improve the durability that is required of electrolysis equipment using titanium's high corrosion resistance maintaining almost the same level of performance even after 80,000 hours of operation so that it can be used safely over a long period of time.
NIOBIUM DOPED STRONTIUM TITANATE ~ (SrTiO3 or STO)~
MARCH 1, 2023 ~U.S. Department of Commerce Issues First Notice of Funding Opportunity for CHIPS and Science Act~ https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2023/03/us-department-of-commerce-issues-first-notice CHIPS for America funding provides "manufacturing incentives to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, support good-paying jobs across the semiconductor supply chain, and advance U.S. economic and national security." This comprises $50 billion in investment and awards aimed at the U.S. semiconductor industry, "including $39 billion in semiconductor incentives." The first CHIPS funding opportunity is directed specifically at "projects to construct, expand, or modernize commercial facilities for the production of leading-edge, current-generation, and mature-node semiconductors. This includes both front-end wafer fabrication and back-end packaging." Incentives "will take the form of direct funding, federal loans, and/or federal guarantees of third-party loans."
MARCH 13, 2023 ~ Is Niocorp still engaged with "Several Federal Agencies" other than the EXIM Bank as sources for "Debt" or Off-take agreements? Comment if you can...? Response:
~ "Yes, multiple federal agencies, elected officials in the Congress, and the WH. "!!
(SOME ENTITY/S HAVE GOTTA WANT SOME U.S. MINED & PROCESSED NIOBIUM, SCANDIUM TITANIUM & RARE EARTHS!!!! IMHO)
