The world may be heading toward net zero at a fast pace I’m glad to say, but the fact is progress is likely to be uneven for a while yet. Despite huge efforts by government and business to usher in renewable energy and electrification, I expect inefficient legacy systems, processes and products will remain a […]
Solar Shines On “Copper Paste”
A USA startup has come up with a commercial process to swap silver paste in solar panels for copper—known as “CuBert”—with impressive results and new investors. Co-founded in 2015 by an engineering professor and a post-doctoral researcher at Kentucky’s University of Louisville, Bert Thin Films is on a mission to promote copper paste as a […]
Global “Materials Movement” Update
The second phase of Australia’s landmark Zero Emission Copper Mine of the Future Project–or ZECMotF–is rapidly developing a picture of global Materials Movement innovation. The Final Report is not due till July, but already ZECMotF is producing groundbreaking insights into new ideas, technologies and systems around the world. Like the Water and Zero Emission Copper Mining snapshot […]
Are Aussie Homes “Glorified Tents”?
Aussie homes are being called “glorified tents” costing residents hundreds more on their energy bills each year as pressure grows to build in higher efficiency standards. That chance comes this July when the country’s building ministers get together to review possible changes to the National Construction Code—NCC—which is only done once every 3 years. I […]
Clean Energy Exports Edge Closer
An ambitious $30B project to produce up to 20GW of solar energy and export it to South East Asia gets $210M boost on way to reality. The plan to build a giant solar farm in the Northern Territory is expected to cover 12,000 hectares capable of producing 17-20 GW of solar generation backed up with […]
Materials Movement Is Next Zero Emissions Priority
Hard on the heels of COP26, the UN’s Climate Change Conference that attracted global attention, we’re doing our own bit to cut emissions. We’ve just launched the third deep tech research project—Materials Movement—as part of our ongoing Zero Emissions Copper Mine of the Future initiative. Materials Movement, which will start early next year, will take […]
Low Cost Solar Gets Copper Breakthrough
Australian startup Sundrive creates world’s most efficient commercial-sized solar cell by replacing expensive silver with affordable copper during manufacturing. Efficiency is a big deal when it comes to solar and refers to the amount of power you generate based on the amount of sunlight coming in. A decade ago commercial-sized solar cells had an efficiency […]
Water Challenge Continues
It’s been a busy month since we launched the Water Report in Adelaide, the first instalment of the Zero Emission Copper Mine project. The Water Report is now up on the copper web site and is seeing steady traffic as all our key stakeholders in government & industry absorb its findings. We will be working with […]
Clean Energy Exports Big Copper News
I blogged about the huge Northern Territory solar farm exporting energy to Singapore last year, saying I’d keep an eye on it. Well it looks like it’s a goer. And that’s massive for copper. The $20B, 12,000 hectare, 10 GigaWatt solar farm—the world’s biggest—will use a hell of a lot of copper in the panels, […]
Smart Homes Are More Than Technology
Smart homes may be hyped on convenience & high tech comfort, but they could do a lot more . A new study says they could help deliver carbon reductions, energy bill savings and improved system resilience across the country. The authors say that mass adoption of solar energy like roof top panels, battery storage, intelligent […]
Next Step For “Responsible Copper”
The Responsible Minerals Initiative and the International Copper Association have agreed to boost sustainable copper. The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), on behalf of its Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), and the International Copper Association (ICA), have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly advance the responsible production and trade of copper. The RMI and ICA aim […]
Japan Wire Makers Go Asia For EV’s
Japan’s electric wire manufacturers are shifting production to Asia for region’s growing electric car market. Japanese wire companies are investing in new plants in China & South East Asia to meet an expected surge in demand for electric vehicles (EVs). EV sales in China are expected to roughly quintuple to about 2.46 million vehicles in 2035, […]
