The problem in cleansing up the method lies, no less than partly, in the truth that lava-hot temperatures are required to kick off the chemical reactions that make cement—I’m speaking over 1,500 °C (2,700 °F).
Queens Carbon developed a brand new course of that cuts down the temperature wanted to beneath 540 °C (1,000 °F). Nonetheless toasty, however simpler to succeed in effectively and with electrical energy, the corporate’s CEO, CTO, and cofounder Daniel Kopp stated on a press name concerning the awards. Ideally, that electrical energy might be provided with renewables, which may imply large emissions financial savings.
Queens Carbon may even pocket $14.5 million, and the funding ought to assist with the development of a pilot plant at the moment being in-built partnership with a serious cement producer, Kopp stated on the press name. The corporate plans to scale as much as a full-size plant in late 2028 or 2029.
Ion Storage Programs: Subsequent-generation batteries for EVs
The world is at all times clamoring for higher batteries, and Maryland-based Ion Storage Programs needs to ship with its solid-state lithium-metal know-how.
We named lithium-metal batteries one in every of our 10 Breakthrough Applied sciences in 2021. The chemistry may ship greater vitality density, which means longer vary in EVs.
Ion Storage Programs is planning to supply its batteries first for army clients. With the funding ($20 million price), the corporate could possibly get its tech prepared for larger-scale manufacturing for the broader buyer base of the electric-vehicle market.
I used to be actually to listen to concerning the emphasis on manufacturing from CTO Greg Hitz on the press name, as scaling up manufacturing has been a serious problem for different corporations attempting to construct solid-state batteries. Hitz additionally stated that the corporate’s batteries don’t should be squeezed at excessive strain inside cells or heated up, and they are often extra merely built-in into battery packs.