Green nickel for sustainable electrification

Scientists have developed a carbon-free, energy-saving method to extract nickel for batteries, magnets and stainless steel

06-May-2025 - To combat climate change and achieve a climate-neutral industry, carbon emissions must be drastically reduced. A key part of this transition is replacing carbon-based energy carriers with electricity, particularly in transport and industrial applications. However, this shift heavily depends on ...

Innovating alloy production: a single step from ores to sustainable metals

Scientists design a process that merges metal extraction, alloying and processing into one single, eco-friendly step

13-Dec-2024 - Metal production is responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions, with iron production emitting two tons of CO2 for every ton of metal produced, and nickel production emitting 14 tons of CO2 per ton and even more, depending on the ore used. These metals form the foundation of alloys that have a ...

On the way to emission-free mining: extracting metals with microorganisms

Innovative process for the bioleaching of copper, indium and zinc developed

12-Jul-2024 - Microorganisms work in an underground bioreactor and convert ores or residual materials from mining into the valuable metals copper, indium and zinc. Innovative membrane filters then filter the valuable metals from the resulting process water. In a pilot plant of a current mining project near ...

LANXESS to sell its stake in chrome ore mine in South Africa

18-Nov-2019 - Specialty chemicals company LANXESS sells its 74 percent stake in its chrome ore mine in Rustenburg/South Africa to Clover Alloys (SA) Proprietary Limited, a South African supplier of chrome fine ores. On November 15, 2019 both companies signed a corresponding agreement. The parties have agreed ...

‘Bio-fishing’ for rare earths

How protein fragments can be used for the recycling of electronics waste

17-Oct-2018 - Without important key elements such as copper or rare earth metals, the electronics industry would grind to a halt and electricity would cease to flow. End-of-life products like discarded energy-saving lamps, mobile phones and computers could provide an important secondary source for these ...

Minerals and ores in a chemical photo lab

15-Oct-2013 - A unique colour X-ray camera goes into operation at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) today. With this camera, it will be possible for the researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), a part of the HZDR, to determine within a very short period of ...