Critical Materials Innovation Hub News

LLNL researchers turn to microbe beads to increase U.S. supply of rare earth metals

To help increase the U.S. supply of rare earth elements, a CMI team led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is using microbe beads to recover REEs from consumer electronic waste

microbe capsuls, average size 59 micrometers

ORNL–Eck Industries partnership fast-tracks high-performance alloys to market

The Critical Materials Institute partners Ames Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed an award-winning aluminum-cerium alloy that is licensed to Eck Industries. ORNL and Eck continue to research this alloy and others.

FIPR Institute Awarded Collaborative Research Funding from Critical Materials Institute

The Critical Materials Institute funds projects in diversifying supply, including new sources of rare earth elements.

FIPR Recovery of Rare Earths and Uranium from Phosphate

Advancing U.S. Battery Manufacturing and a Domestic Critical Minerals Supply Chains

Affordable lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the world by powering our mobile electronics and with the potential of electric vehicles, demand for batteries is expected to rapidly grow. As we look to the opportunity of domestic battery manufacturing as this market grows, one challenge for the United States is that the United States is not a large producer of minerals such as lithium, manganese, cobalt, or graphite—all important components of today’s lithium-ion batteries.

CMI to feature award-winning aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing at Defense TechConnect

A new Al-Ce additive manufacturing alloy invented by the Critical Materials Institute, an Energy Innovation Hub sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, will be featured at the Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit and Expo Oct. 8-10, National Harbor, Maryland.

aluminum-cerium turbines installed to generate electricity from moving water

Scientists discover potential path to improving samarium-cobalt magnets

Scientists from the Critical Materials Institute and Ames Laboratory have discovered a potential tool to enhance magnetization and magnetic anisotropy, making it possible to improve the performance of samarium-cobalt magnets.

Critical Materials Institute: Shining new and better light on research and industry collaborations

It was, in a manner of speaking, the ultimate light bulb moment when General Electric’s Lighting business and the Critical Materials Institute first joined forces in 2013 to solve a manufacturing challenge. The partnership resulted in new materials, new patents, and new processes to make GE’s lighting more efficient and less reliant on difficult-to-find raw materials.

Critical Materials Institute wins TechConnect National Innovation Award

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI) led by Ames Laboratory has been selected as a 2019 TechConnect National Innovation Awardee for the innovation “Additive Manufacturing of Bonded Permanent Magnets using a Novel Polymer Matrix.”

CMI one of 32 R&D 100 Award winners for Department of Energy

Researchers at the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) and Ames Laboratory are winners of an R&D 100 Award. Researchers invented a magnet recycling process in which magnets are dissolved in water-based solutions, recovering more than 99 percent purity rare earth elements.

Critical Materials Institute takes major step toward printed anisotropic magnets

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute has taken a major step toward printed, aligned anisotropic magnets via additive manufacturing processes. The Energy Innovation Hub manufactured hybrid nylon bonded neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-iron-nitrogen magnet using the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.