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Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) work together to improve critical minerals mining and supply chains

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Let’s start with the Canadian announcement of this new science partnership, from a July 3, 2025 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada news release,

A ground-breaking Canadian and United Kingdom (UK) science partnership will bring researchers together to tackle critical minerals challenges.

Five research partnerships funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council (UKRI’s NERC) will study ways to:

  • clean up toxic mine water,
  • develop new geological tools for extracting rare earth minerals, vital for magnets,
  • identify mineral-rich volcanic deposits,
  • drive sustainable mining practices by co-extracting critical minerals with gold and copper, and
  • make critical mineral supply chains recyclable and more secure.

The five partnerships announced today will receive approximately $250,000 of supplementary funding from NSERC, to complement their share of £1 million GBP International Science Partnerships funding through NERC. This expands total Canadian investments made by NSERC to over $4 million for the successful Canadian-led projects via Alliance grants.

This partnership between Canada and the UK follows their landmark agreement which was signed in March 2023 to cooperate on critical minerals (see UK-Canada critical minerals dialogue press release). 

These studies will support closer collaboration between Canada and the UK, and boost economic growth and job creation.

They will also protect national security interests by strengthening supply chains for critical minerals and reduce the environmental impact of mining.

Awarded Alliance Missions projects:

Microalgal biosorption of critical minerals from mining related tailing ponds – recovering key metals to better protect aquatic systems and water supplies

John Ashley Scott, Laurentian University
Andrea Hamilton, University of Strathclyde

Unlocking Canada’s rare earth element (REE) potential: a multidisciplinary approach to understand high-grade critical REE mineralization in northern Saskatchewan

Camille Partin, University of Saskatchewan
Eimear Deady, British Geological Survey

Geology, mineralogy, and genesis of critical mineral-bearing volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits

Stephen Piercey, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Steven Hollis, University of Edinburgh

An integrated source to sink approach to characterizing critical metals enrichment in magmatic-hydrothermal deposits

Kyle Larson, The University of British Columbia
Katie McFall, University College London

Sustainability standards and traceability of critical minerals value-chains (Lumet)

Steven Young, University of Waterloo
Teresa Domenech, University College London

Professor Alejandro Adem, President, NSERC

“International partnerships like this one are essential to tackling global challenges such as critical mineral security. By combining Canada’s expertise with the UK’s, we can accelerate innovation and advance sustainable solutions to drive economic growth, resilience, and environmental responsibility.”

Professor Louise Heathwaite, Executive Chair, NERC

“We rely on critical minerals for our cars, our phones, our energy, our defense and many more areas of life. The new studies announced today will drive new technologies, advance sustainable mining and support economic growth.

“It will also build on our key partnership with Canada, enhancing collaboration, coordination, and sharing our knowledge and skills in this key area of research.”

The July 3, 2025 UK Research and Innovation press release on EurekAlert offers some insight into their government’s perspective on this scientific partnership, Note 1: The introductory lines and bulleted list are almost identical to the previous news release; it’s the following paragraphs that are of interest, Note 2: Links have been removed,

A groundbreaking UK and Canadian science partnership will bring researchers together to tackle critical minerals challenges.

Five research partnerships will study ways to:

  • clean up contaminated mine water
  • develop new geological tools for extracting rare earth minerals, vital for magnets
  • identify mineral-rich volcanic deposits
  • drive sustainable mining practices by co-extracting critical minerals with gold and copper
  • make critical mineral supply chains recyclable and more secure

Why this matters

This matters because:

  • critical minerals are raw materials essential for modern technologies, including electronics, renewable energy and defense systems
  • global demand and international competition for technology-critical mineral resources is expected to quadruple by 2040
  • ensuring responsible access to these minerals is vital for national security, clean energy and maintaining technological competitiveness

Key area of investment

Research into critical minerals is a key area of investment for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which includes:

  • lithium for smartphones
  • gallium for semi-conductors and solar panels
  • cobalt for electronics

The five research partnerships announced today will receive a share of the £1 million International Science Partnerships Fund award through the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Enabling international collaborations

These partnerships expand five Alliance Missions grants funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), which is receiving approximately $250,000 Canadian dollars (CAD) of supplementary funding to enable the international collaborations.

In total, an investment of over $4 million CAD is being made to these successful projects.

This partnership between the UK and Canada follows their landmark agreement which was signed in March 2023 to cooperate on critical minerals.

See the UK and Canada critical minerals dialogue press release.

Driving sustainability of the sector

Researchers will study ways to reduce mining’s environmental footprint and enhance efficiency across critical mineral value chains, from exploration to recycling.

It also seeks to build a critical minerals circular economy, minimising reliance on traditional extraction methods, for example by:

  • mine reclamation
  • critical mineral recycling
  • reprocessing of residual mining waste

Research areas

Cleaning up contaminated mine water

This project aims to clean up contaminated mine water using a combination of calcium silicate (CS) and microalgae.

CS sequesters heavy metals like cobalt, nickel and copper, while microalgae help with long-term water remediation.

This approach is low-cost, scalable and environmentally friendly, removing harmful dissolved metals and recovering them for reuse.

Making permanent magnets

To meet net zero goals, this project will develop new geological models and exploration tools for rare earth element (REE) deposits in Saskatchewan, Canada.

REE are crucial for making permanent magnets in wind turbines and electric vehicles.

The research will help diversify the REE supply chain and ensure high environmental standards.

Metals in volcanic areas

This project studies the processes that make some regions rich in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, which are rich sources of:

  • copper
  • zinc
  • lead
  • silver
  • gold

The research aims to improve exploration and mining efficiency, focusing on the UK, Ireland, and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Co-extracting gold and copper plus critical minerals

This project aims to understand how critical metals like tellurium, bismuth, antimony and platinum group metals can be efficiently extracted as by-products from copper and gold deposits in British Columbia, Canada.

The research will help improve extraction techniques, ensuring a stable supply and minimising environmental impact.

Boosting supply chains

Critical Minerals for Resilience and Sustainability (MINERS) aims to enhance the resilience and sustainability of critical minerals supply chains between the UK and Canada.

The project will identify whether there is an opportunity to reuse critical minerals are part of a circular economy and define policy levers to move away from unsustainable practices.

Using supply chain modelling, it will map current flows of critical minerals and assess resilience to shocks.

How this research will benefit the UK and Canada

These studies will support closer collaboration between Canada and the UK and boost economic growth and job creation.

They will also protect national security interests by strengthening supply chains for critical minerals and reduce the environmental impact of mining.

Accelerating innovation

Professor Alejandro Adem, President of NSERC, said:

International partnerships like this one are essential to tackling global challenges such as critical mineral security.

By combining Canada’s expertise with the UK’s, we can accelerate innovation and advance sustainable solutions to drive economic growth, resilience, and environmental responsibility.

Economic growth

Professor Louise Heathwaite, Executive Chair of NERC, said:

We currently rely on critical minerals for our cars, our phones, our energy, our defence and many more areas of life.

The new partnerships announced today will help drive new technologies, advance sustainable mining and support research and innovation outcomes that enable economic growth.

It will also build on our key partnership with Canada, enhancing collaboration, coordination, and sharing our knowledge and skills in this key area of research.

Further information

Current UKRI-funded investments on critical minerals

NERC Centre for Doctoral Training: mineral resources for energy transition

TARGET: Training and Research Group for Energy Transition Mineral Resources

Met4Tech: The Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre in Technology Metals

UK centres to play vital role in boosting modern green industries

UK supply chains get safeguarding boost

Further details of the projects announced today

A Combined Geochemical and Biosorption Tool for Mine Water Clean-Up and Valorisation

Andrea Hamilton, University of Strathclyde, UK

John Ashley Scott, Laurentian University, Canada

Exploration and Geomodels for Rare Earth Element Pegmatite Targets

Eimear Deady, Alicja Lacinska, Holly Elliott, Monty Pearson, Nick Roberts, Richard Shaw, Victoria Loving, British Geological Survey, UK

Camille Partin, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Metal Fertility and Transport in Volcanic-Hosted Hydrothermal Systems

Steven Hollis, The University of Edinburgh, UK

Hannah Grant, Mark Cooper, British Geological Survey, UK

Stephen Piercey, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Katie McFall, University College London, UK

Towards ‘Critical Geometallurgy’ of Post-Subduction Mineral Resources

Katie McFall, Emma Humphreys-Williams, Frances Cooper, University College London, UK

Kyle Larson, The University of British Columbia, Canada

Dan Smith, University of Leicester, UK

MINERS

Teresa Domenech, Paul Ekins, Xavier Lemaire, University College London, UK

Gavin Mudd, British Geological Survey, UK

Steven Young, University of Waterloo, Canada

…

As mentioned in both releases, there was an earlier agreement that presaged this 2025 funding announcement and there is a tonal difference between the two 2023 releases under Canada’s Justin Trudeau Liberal government and the UK’s Rishi Sundak Conservative government, respectively. First, the March 6, 2023 Natural Resources Canada news release,

Critical minerals are vital to almost every aspect of the modern world, from electronic equipment to renewable energy, to defence and electric vehicles. Their importance in the global net-zero transition means that they are increasingly sought-after: the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects that global demand for critical minerals will grow four-fold from 2020 to 2040 and beyond. It is clear that we must grow and secure the global supply of critical minerals, while ensuring the resilience and sustainability of our supply chains, which requires significant international collaboration. To further enhance this collaboration, Canada and the United Kingdom are pleased to announce the establishment of a Critical Minerals Supply Chains Dialogue.

Canada and the United Kingdom are committed to working together to tackle this challenge and seize the opportunities to support economic growth. We will therefore endeavour to collaborate closely to build resilient, sustainable, and transparent supply chains. We will work together to develop solutions to new global challenges including climate change, promote jobs and investment in both our countries, and deepen the already-strong ties between Canada and the United Kingdom.

Canada and the United Kingdom have each released national Critical Minerals Strategies, and there is a strong case for us to work in concert to achieve our aims. Both countries are committed to ensuring critical minerals markets are diverse, resilient, guided by fair market practices and underpinned by the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, along with demonstrating respect for Indigenous peoples’ rights and local communities. Both countries will also seek to ensure that the supply chains that bring these minerals from mine to end product are transparent and innovation-driven, including a focus on recycling and mineral circularity. The United Kingdom-Canada Critical Minerals Supply Chains Dialogue will be established, building on the enduring ties between our nations, demonstrated through the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (and ongoing negotiations for a high ambition, bespoke bilateral Free Trade Agreement), the March 2022 Leaders’ statement on collaborating on economic resilience and critical minerals, our joint work through Five Eyes, and our joint membership in the Minerals Security Partnership, the IEA’s Critical Minerals Working Party and the Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance.

We will deepen Canada and the United Kingdom’s engagement and cooperation on critical minerals supply chain resilience and trade, ESG credentials, and Research and Innovation. We will capitalise on the respective strengths of both countries, and our shared commitment to growing the sector to strengthen international critical minerals supply chains, promote economic security, and contribute to meeting net zero targets.

Canada is a global mining leader and home to advanced exploration projects for battery minerals and metals such as lithium and graphite, as well as rare earths and other critical minerals that are vital inputs for EVs and the clean technology sectors. With high ESG credentials and one of the lowest ESG risks across global mining projects, Canada is a leader in community engagement, conservation, governance and Canadian critical minerals are carbon competitive. Canadian nickel, cobalt, copper, aluminium, uranium, and potash are some of the least emissions intensive in the world. With clean electricity and a mining industry’s commitment to sustainability, Canada has a global reputation as a secure partner across the critical mineral value chains for batteries, EVs, and other advanced technologies for the net zero and digital transition.

The UK is home to strong mining and engineering sectors, and is a global centre for financing, standards and metals trading. It has mining and mineral processing expertise, including various industrial clusters and Europe’s leading mining school, and its own pockets of critical minerals wealth. British advanced manufacturers are customers for critical minerals and play an important role in their supply chains. The UK also has a role as an international dealmaker, leveraging its expertise in regulatory diplomacy, its extensive engagement in multilateral forums and its strong relationships with mineral-rich producer countries and consumer markets.

Through the United Kingdom-Canada Critical Minerals Supply Chains Dialogue, it is intended that both countries will work together to pursue the following shared objectives:

  • Promote and build secure and integrated UK-Canada critical mineral supply chains, including through information-sharing, facilitating investment, and building commercial relationships between Canadian and UK industries, and sharing supply chain resilience analysis.
  • Drive higher ESG performance across all elements of the critical minerals value chain, through government signalling, active promotion throughout our respective industries and close collaboration in multilateral fora.
  • Leverage the existing strengths of the two countries to promote skill-sharing and R&D between UK and Canadian industry, academia, and governments, along with other close international allies to spur supply chain innovation. This collaboration will build new linkages in upstream and midstream segments of critical mineral value chains, extending to downstream reuse and recycling.

Officials from Natural Resources Canada and Global Affairs Canada, and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) will work closely together and with other participants of the United Kingdom-Canada Critical Minerals Supply Chains Dialogue to lead this work and identify an initial set of priorities for our collaboration.

Now, the March 6, 2023 UK’s Department for International Trade/Department for Business and Trade press release,

The UK and Canada have agreed a landmark agreement to co-operate on critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium that are essential to the economy.

  • UK and Canada to sign agreement to bolster vital technologies such as smart phones, solar panels and electric vehicles.
  • Agree to work together on critical minerals research and make supply chains more resilient as demand for some minerals expected to rise 500% by 2040.
  • Agreement signed on Minister Nus Ghani’s five-day visit to Canada to meet counterparts and attend the International Mines Ministers Summit and the closing of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The UK and Canada have agreed a landmark agreement [sic] to co-operate on critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium that are essential to the economy and used in almost all modern and green technologies, from solar panels to electric vehicles.

The partnership, to be launched today [Monday 6 March {2025}] by Business and Trade Minister Nusrat Ghani MP and Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, will help make UK manufacturers of cutting-edge technologies more resilient to global shocks by promoting research and development between UK and Canadian businesses, driving innovation and growth.

The announcement comes on a five-day visit to Canada, during which time Minister Ghani will also meet Canadian government counterparts to discuss critical minerals and attend the International Mines Ministers Summit and the closing of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Minister for Business and Trade, Nusrat Ghani MP, said:

Every single one of us depend on critical minerals to make the technology we use in our everyday lives. With a dash for minerals to meet national business needs, it is essential we work to build more resilient supply chains for critical minerals.

Through this Dialogue, we will work with one of our closest global allies in Canada to build and strengthen our supply chains and boost innovation, securing jobs and growing the UK economy in the process.

Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, said:

Canada and the United Kingdom share similar goals and values.

By collaborating on the development of the critical mineral supply chains that we need to achieve our net-zero future, we can reinforce global energy security, advance the fight against climate change and ensure significant economic opportunity and support good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

Today’s announcement is a step forward toward a sustainable and secure clean energy ecosystem.

Canada is the UK’s 13th largest export partner, with UK companies exporting £14.1 billion worth of goods and services to Canada in the 12 months to September 2022. Canada represents a large opportunity for UK mining and engineering firms, with the country currently producing 60 minerals and metals at 200 mines and 6,500 quarries. [emphasis mine]

The Critical Minerals Statement of Intent and Dialogue will be launched by Minister Ghani at the 2023 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention. They also commit Canada and the UK to high environmental, social and governance standards in critical minerals supply chains.

Demand for certain critical minerals is expected to rise by as much as 500% by 2040, and the Statement and Dialogue are a part of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy to secure supply chains for these minerals and therefore the UK’s position in the growing markets for green technologies, such as hydrogen production and nuclear energy. A refreshed approach for delivering the Strategy is due to be published later this year [2023].

Yes, again, we are the staples economy, aka (also known as) the hewers of wood and drawers of water. Or, in the context of this 2023 UK press release, Canadians provide a good market for UK products while happily supplying the UK with the resources for those high value products, which they sell back to us thereby extracting both Canadian resources and more profit for the UK.

I gather Keir Starmer’s Labour government is taking a ‘softly, softly’ approach in comparison to the Sundak Conservative government’s more direct approach. Of course that ‘softly, softly’ approach features a press release, which lists approximately 19 UK researchers as opposed to five Canadian researchers. So, approximately 80% of the researchers are affiliated with UK institutions. Interesting.

Also interesting? No mention in any release of the Geological Survey of Canada as opposed to the mention of the British Geological Survey.

A Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic (brainlike) Computing in the UK

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A May 6, 2025 Aston University press release (also on EurekAlert but published May 7, 2025) announces a UK ‘neuromorphic initiative’, Note: Links have been removed,

  • Aston University to lead the UK’s new centre to pioneer brain-inspired, energy-efficient computing technologies 
  • The initiative will receive £5.6 million over four years from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EPSRC]
  • The aim of the centre is to become a focal point for networking and collaboration on fundamental research and technology.

The UK will be getting a new centre to pioneer brain-inspired, energy-efficient computing technologies.

The UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing is led by Aston University and will receive £5.6 million over four years from the UKRI [UK Research and Innovation] Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The aim of the centre is to become a focal point for networking and collaboration on fundamental research and technology of neuromorphic computing to address the sustainability challenges facing today’s digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence systems.

The centre will be led by the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT) and will include the world-leading researchers from Aston University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, Loughborough University and the University of Strathclyde. 

Neuromorphic computing seeks to replicate the brain’s structural and functional principles, however scientists currently lack a deep, system-level understanding of how the human brain computes at cellular and network scales. The researchers aim to tackle that challenge directly, blending stem-cell-derived human neuron experiments with advanced computational models, low-power algorithms and novel photonic hardware.

The centre team includes world-leading researchers with broad and complementary expertise in neuroscience, non-conventional computing algorithms, photonics, opto- and nano-electronics and materials science. In collaboration with policymakers and industrial partners the scientists and engineers aim to demonstrate the capabilities of neuromorphic computing across a range of sectors and applications. The centre will be supported by a broad network of industry partners including Microsoft Research, Thales, BT, QinetiQ, Nokia Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard Labs, Leonardo, Northrop Grumman and a number of small to medium enterprises. Their contribution will focus on enhancing the centre’s impact on society.

Professor Rhein Parri, co-director and neurophysiologist at Aston University said: “For the first time, we can combine the study of living human neurons with that of advanced computing platforms to co-develop the future of computing. 

“This project is an exciting leap forward, learning from biology and technology in ways that were not previously possible.”

The experts aim to co-design brain-inspired neuromorphic systems by studying human neuronal function using the latest human induced pluripotent stem cell – or hiPSC technologies – and developing new computational paradigms and low-power AI algorithms. They also plan to create devices and hardware that are inspired by biological systems, like the human brain. These devices will use light – or photonic hardware – to process information. This approach will be the next big step in making computing more energy-efficient and capable of handling many tasks at the same time. They also aim to create a sustainable UK research ecosystem through training, road mapping, and international collaboration.

Professor Sergei K. Turitsyn, director of the centre and AIPT, said: “The project’s ambition is not only to develop future technologies, but also to create a new internationally known UK research brand in neuromorphic computing that will unite the UK’s best minds across disciplines and will lead to sustainable operation and a long-term impact. It’s a proud moment for AIPT and Aston University to lead this national effort.”

Professor Natalia Berloff, co-director of the centre who is based at the University of Cambridge said: “One of the most exciting aspects of neuromorphic computing is the potential of photonic hardware to deliver truly brain-like efficiency. 

“Light-based processors can exploit massive parallelism and ultrafast signal propagation to outperform conventional electronics on demanding AI workloads, while consuming far less power. By combining these photonic architectures with insights from living human neurons, we aim to co-design neuromorphic systems that move beyond incremental improvements and toward a genuinely transformative computing paradigm.”

In addition, the researchers aim to tackle the increasing global energy footprint of information and communication technologies which is developing at an unsustainable pace, driven partly by the explosive growth of artificial intelligence. Today’s AI systems are built on traditional computing hardware with increasingly high-power consumption (kW), posing a barrier to scalability and sustainability. In contrast, the human brain performs complex computation and communication tasks using just 20 watts.

Professor Dimitra Georgiadou, co-director of the centre who is based at the University of Southampton added: “To address the challenge of substantially lowering the power consumption in electronics, novel materials and device architectures are needed that can effectively emulate computation in the brain and cellular responses to certain stimuli.”

The centre’s ambition goes beyond technology development as it aims to serve as a foundation for a long-term, interdisciplinary research ecosystem – actively expanding its membership and reach over time. It aims to establish a sustainable centre that continues to be a focal point for the community and will thrive beyond the initial funding period, reinforcing innovation, partnership, and impact in the field of neuromorphic computing.

…

Good luck to this effort to lower power consumption.

Where are those space elevators? Here are some answers as graphene celebrates a 20th anniversary

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In the last week or so I’d been wondering what happened to the space elevators (it’s exactly what it sounds like, an elevator that takes you into space) and then this September 23, 2024 essay by Stephen Lyn (Strathclyde Chancellor’s Fellow, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde) on The Conversation popped up, Note: Links have been removed,

Graphene at 20: still no sign of the promised space elevator, but here’s how this wonder material is quietly changing the world

Twenty years ago [2004] this October , two physicists at the University of Manchester, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, published a groundbreaking paper on the “electric field effect in atomically thin carbon films”. Their work described the extraordinary electronic properties of graphene, a crystalline form of carbon equivalent to a single layer of graphite, just one atom thick.

Around that time, I started my doctorate at the University of Surrey. Our team specialised in the electronic properties of carbon. Carbon nanotubes were the latest craze, which I was happily following. One day, my professor encouraged a group of us to travel to London to attend a talk by a well-known science communicator from the University of Manchester. This was Andre Geim.

We were not disappointed. He was inspiring for us fresh-faced PhD students, incorporating talk of wacky Friday afternoon experiments with levitating frogs, before getting on to atomically thin carbon. All the same, we were sceptical about this carbon concept. We couldn’t quite believe that a material effectively obtained from pencil lead with sticky tape was really what it claimed to be. But we were wrong.

The work was quickly copied and reproduced by scientists across the globe. New methods for making this material were devised. Incredible claims about its properties made it sound like something out of a Stan Lee comic. Stronger than steel, highly flexible, super-slippery and impermeable to gases. A better electronic conductor than copper and a better thermal conductor than diamond, as well as practically invisible and displaying a host of exotic quantum properties.

Graphene was hailed as a revolutionary material, promising ultra-fast electronics, supercomputers and super-strong materials. More fantastical claims have included space elevators, solar sails, artificial retinas, even invisibility cloaks. [emphasis mine]

…

Lyn takes us back to earth, from the September 23, 2024 essay,

In terms of public perception, it’s fair to say that graphene has been held to an impossible standard. The popular media can certainly exaggerate science stories for clicks, but academics – including myself – are not immune from over-egging or speculating about their pet projects either. I’d argue this can even be useful, helping to drive new technologies forward. Equally, though, there can be a backlash when progress looks disappointing.

Having said that, disruptive technologies such as cars, television or plastic all required decades of development. Graphene is still a newcomer in the grand scheme of things, so it’s far too early to reach any conclusions about its impact.

Lyn goes on to point out where graphene has made inroads, from the September 23, 2024 essay, Note: Links have been removed

What has quietly occurred is a steady integration of graphene into numerous practical applications. Much of this is thanks to the Graphene Flagship, a major European research initiative coordinated by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. This aims to bring graphene and related materials from academic research to real-world commercial applications, and more than 90 products have been developed over the past decade as a result.

These include blended plastics for high-performance sports equipment, more durable racing tyres for bicycles, motorcycle helmets that better distribute impact forces, thermally conductive coatings for motorcycle components, and lubricants for reducing friction and wear between mechanical parts.

Graphene is finding its way into batteries and supercapacitors, enabling faster charging times and longer life spans. Conductive graphene inks are now used to manufacture sensors, wireless tracking tags, heating elements, and electromagnetic shielding for protecting sensitive electronics. Graphene is even used in headphones to improve the sound quality, and as a more efficient means of transmitting heat in air-conditioning units.

Graphene oxide products are being used for desalination, wastewater treatment and purification of drinking water. Meanwhile, a range of graphene materials can be bought off the shelf for use in countless other products, and major corporations including SpaceX, Tesla, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Apple are all rumoured or known to be using them to develop new products.

I am thankful for Lyn’s September 23, 2024 essay, which answers my question about space elevators and offers a good update on graphene’s integration and impact on society. If you have an interest in hearing the Sir Andre Geim talk “Random Walk to Graphene,” Lyn has embedded the almost 38 minutes talk in his essay. Finally, h/t to phys.org’s Sept. 23, 2024 news item.

Insect-inspired microphones

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I was hoping that there would be some insect audio files but this research is more about their role as inspiration for a new type of microphone than the sounds they make themselves. From a May 10, 2023 Acoustical Society of America news release (also on EurekAlert),

What can an insect hear? Surprisingly, quite a lot. Though small and simple, their hearing systems are highly efficient. For example, with a membrane only 2 millimeters across, the desert locust can decompose frequencies comparable to human capability. By understanding how insects perceive sound and using 3D-printing technology to create custom materials, it is possible to develop miniature, bio-inspired microphones.

The displacement of the wax moth Acroia grisella membrane, which is one of the key sources of inspiration for designing miniature, bio-inspired microphones. Credit: Andrew Reid

Andrew Reid of the University of Strathclyde in the U.K. will present his work creating such microphones, which can autonomously collect acoustic data with little power consumption. His presentation, “Unnatural hearing — 3D printing functional polymers as a path to bio-inspired microphone design,” will take place Wednesday, May 10 [2023], at 10:05 a.m. Eastern U.S. in the Northwestern/Ohio State room, as part of the 184th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America running May 8-12 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel.

“Insect ears are ideal templates for lowering energy and data transmission costs, reducing the size of the sensors, and removing data processing,” said Reid.

Reid’s team takes inspiration from insect ears in multiple ways. On the chemical and structural level, the researchers use 3D-printing technology to fabricate custom materials that mimic insect membranes. These synthetic membranes are highly sensitive and efficient acoustic sensors. Without 3D printing, traditional, silicon-based attempts at bio-inspired microphones lack the flexibility and customization required.

“In images, our microphone looks like any other microphone. The mechanical element is a simple diaphragm, perhaps in a slightly unusual ellipsoid or rectangular shape,” Reid said. “The interesting bits are happening on the microscale, with small variations in thickness and porosity, and on the nanoscale, with variations in material properties such as the compliance and density of the material.”

More than just the material, the entire data collection process is inspired by biological systems. Unlike traditional microphones that collect a range of information, these microphones are designed to detect a specific signal. This streamlined process is similar to how nerve endings detect and transmit signals. The specialization of the sensor enables it to quickly discern triggers without consuming a lot of energy or requiring supervision.

The bio-inspired sensors, with their small size, autonomous function, and low energy consumption, are ideal for applications that are hazardous or hard to reach, including locations embedded in a structure or within the human body.

Bio-inspired 3D-printing techniques can be applied to solve many other challenges, including working on blood-brain barrier organoids or ultrasound structural monitoring.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Unnatural hearing—3D printing functional polymers as a path to bio-inspired microphone design by Andrew Reid. J Acoust Soc Am 153, A195 (2023) or JASA (Journal of the Acoustical Sociey of America) Volume 153, Issue 3_supplement March 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0018636

You will find the abstract but I wish you good luck with finding the paper online; I wasn’t able and am guessing it’s available on paper only.

Congratulate China on the world’s first quantum communication network

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China has some exciting news about the world’s first quantum network; it’s due to open in late August 2017 so you may want to have your congratulations in order for later this month.

An Aug. 4, 2017 news item on phys.org makes the announcement,

As malicious hackers find ever more sophisticated ways to launch attacks, China is about to launch the Jinan Project, the world’s first unhackable computer network, and a major milestone in the development of quantum technology.

Named after the eastern Chinese city where the technology was developed, the network is planned to be fully operational by the end of August 2017. Jinan is the hub of the Beijing-Shanghai quantum network due to its strategic location between the two principal Chinese metropolises.

“We plan to use the network for national defence, finance and other fields, and hope to spread it out as a pilot that if successful can be used across China and the whole world,” commented Zhou Fei, assistant director of the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, who was speaking to Britain’s Financial Times.

An Aug. 3, 2017 CORDIS (Community Research and Development Research Information Service [for the European Commission]) press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the technology,

By launching the network, China will become the first country worldwide to implement quantum technology for a real life, commercial end. It also highlights that China is a key global player in the rush to develop technologies based on quantum principles, with the EU and the United States also vying for world leadership in the field.

The network, known as a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network, is more secure than widely used electronic communication equivalents. Unlike a conventional telephone or internet cable, which can be tapped without the sender or recipient being aware, a QKD network alerts both users to any tampering with the system as soon as it occurs. This is because tampering immediately alters the information being relayed, with the disturbance being instantly recognisable. Once fully implemented, it will make it almost impossible for other governments to listen in on Chinese communications.

In the Jinan network, some 200 users from China’s military, government, finance and electricity sectors will be able to send messages safe in the knowledge that only they are reading them. It will be the world’s longest land-based quantum communications network, stretching over 2 000 km.

Also speaking to the ‘Financial Times’, quantum physicist Tim Byrnes, based at New York University’s (NYU) Shanghai campus commented: ‘China has achieved staggering things with quantum research… It’s amazing how quickly China has gotten on with quantum research projects that would be too expensive to do elsewhere… quantum communication has been taken up by the commercial sector much more in China compared to other countries, which means it is likely to pull ahead of Europe and US in the field of quantum communication.’

However, Europe is also determined to also be at the forefront of the ‘quantum revolution’ which promises to be one of the major defining technological phenomena of the twenty-first century. The EU has invested EUR 550 million into quantum technologies and has provided policy support to researchers through the 2016 Quantum Manifesto.

Moreover, with China’s latest achievement (and a previous one already notched up from July 2017 when its quantum satellite – the world’s first – sent a message to Earth on a quantum communication channel), it looks like the race to be crowned the world’s foremost quantum power is well and truly underway…

Prior to this latest announcement, Chinese scientists had published work about quantum satellite communications, a development that makes their imminent terrestrial quantum network possible. Gabriel Popkin wrote about the quantum satellite in a June 15, 2017 article Science magazine,

Quantum entanglement—physics at its strangest—has moved out of this world and into space. In a study that shows China’s growing mastery of both the quantum world and space science, a team of physicists reports that it sent eerily intertwined quantum particles from a satellite to ground stations separated by 1200 kilometers, smashing the previous world record. The result is a stepping stone to ultrasecure communication networks and, eventually, a space-based quantum internet.

“It’s a huge, major achievement,” says Thomas Jennewein, a physicist at the University of Waterloo in Canada. “They started with this bold idea and managed to do it.”

Entanglement involves putting objects in the peculiar limbo of quantum superposition, in which an object’s quantum properties occupy multiple states at once: like Schrödinger’s cat, dead and alive at the same time. Then those quantum states are shared among multiple objects. Physicists have entangled particles such as electrons and photons, as well as larger objects such as superconducting electric circuits.

Theoretically, even if entangled objects are separated, their precarious quantum states should remain linked until one of them is measured or disturbed. That measurement instantly determines the state of the other object, no matter how far away. The idea is so counterintuitive that Albert Einstein mocked it as “spooky action at a distance.”

Starting in the 1970s, however, physicists began testing the effect over increasing distances. In 2015, the most sophisticated of these tests, which involved measuring entangled electrons 1.3 kilometers apart, showed once again that spooky action is real.

Beyond the fundamental result, such experiments also point to the possibility of hack-proof communications. Long strings of entangled photons, shared between distant locations, can be “quantum keys” that secure communications. Anyone trying to eavesdrop on a quantum-encrypted message would disrupt the shared key, alerting everyone to a compromised channel.

But entangled photons degrade rapidly as they pass through the air or optical fibers. So far, the farthest anyone has sent a quantum key is a few hundred kilometers. “Quantum repeaters” that rebroadcast quantum information could extend a network’s reach, but they aren’t yet mature. Many physicists have dreamed instead of using satellites to send quantum information through the near-vacuum of space. “Once you have satellites distributing your quantum signals throughout the globe, you’ve done it,” says Verónica Fernández Mármol, a physicist at the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid. …

Popkin goes on to detail the process for making the discovery in easily accessible (for the most part) writing and in a video and a graphic.

Russell Brandom writing for The Verge in a June 15, 2017 article about the Chinese quantum satellite adds detail about previous work and teams in other countries also working on the challenge (Note: Links have been removed),

Quantum networking has already shown promise in terrestrial fiber networks, where specialized routing equipment can perform the same trick over conventional fiber-optic cable. The first such network was a DARPA-funded connection established in 2003 between Harvard, Boston University, and a private lab. In the years since, a number of companies have tried to build more ambitious connections. The Swiss company ID Quantique has mapped out a quantum network that would connect many of North America’s largest data centers; in China, a separate team is working on a 2,000-kilometer quantum link between Beijing and Shanghai, which would rely on fiber to span an even greater distance than the satellite link. Still, the nature of fiber places strict limits on how far a single photon can travel.

According to ID Quantique, a reliable satellite link could connect the existing fiber networks into a single globe-spanning quantum network. “This proves the feasibility of quantum communications from space,” ID Quantique CEO Gregoire Ribordy tells The Verge. “The vision is that you have regional quantum key distribution networks over fiber, which can connect to each other through the satellite link.”

China isn’t the only country working on bringing quantum networks to space. A collaboration between the UK’s University of Strathclyde and the National University of Singapore is hoping to produce the same entanglement in cheap, readymade satellites called Cubesats. A Canadian team is also developing a method of producing entangled photons on the ground before sending them into space.

I wonder if there’s going to be an invitational event for scientists around the world to celebrate the launch.

Sniffing for art conservation

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) has produced a video titled, “How that ‘old book smell’ could save priceless artifacts” according to their Sept. 6, 2016 news release on EurekAlert,

Odor-detecting devices like Breathalyzers have been used for years to determine blood-alcohol levels in drunk drivers. Now, researchers are using a similar method to sniff out the rate of decay in historic art and artifacts. By tracking the chemicals in “old book smell” and similar odors, conservators can react quickly to preserve priceless art and artifacts at the first signs of decay. In this Speaking of Chemistry, Sarah Everts explains how cultural-heritage science uses the chemistry of odors to save books, vintage jewelry and even early Legos. …

Here’s the video,

Heritage Smells, the UK project mentioned in the video, is now completed but it was hosted by the University of Strathclyde and more project information can be found here.

Testing technology for a global quantum network

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This work on quantum networks comes from a joint Singapore/UK research project, from a June 2, 2016 news item on ScienceDaily,

You can’t sign up for the quantum internet just yet, but researchers have reported a major experimental milestone towards building a global quantum network — and it’s happening in space.

With a network that carries information in the quantum properties of single particles, you can create secure keys for secret messaging and potentially connect powerful quantum computers in the future. But scientists think you will need equipment in space to get global reach.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of Strathclyde, UK, have become the first to test in orbit technology for satellite-based quantum network nodes.

They have put a compact device carrying components used in quantum communication and computing into orbit. And it works: the team report first data in a paper published 31 May 2016 in the journal Physical Review Applied.

A June 2, 2016 National University of Singapore press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail,

The team’s device, dubbed SPEQS, creates and measures pairs of light particles, called photons. Results from space show that SPEQS is making pairs of photons with correlated properties – an indicator of performance.

Team-leader Alexander Ling, an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT) at NUS said, “This is the first time anyone has tested this kind of quantum technology in space.”

The team had to be inventive to redesign a delicate, table-top quantum setup to be small and robust enough to fly inside a nanosatellite only the size of a shoebox. The whole satellite weighs just 1.65-kilogramme.

Towards entanglement

Making correlated photons is a precursor to creating entangled photons. Described by Einstein as “spooky action at a distance”, entanglement is a connection between quantum particles that lends security to communication and power to computing.

Professor Artur Ekert, Director of CQT, invented the idea of using entangled particles for cryptography. He said, “Alex and his team are taking entanglement, literally, to a new level. Their experiments will pave the road to secure quantum communication and distributed quantum computation on a global scale. I am happy to see that Singapore is one of the world leaders in this area.”

Local quantum networks already exist [emphasis mine]. The problem Ling’s team aims to solve is a distance limit. Losses limit quantum signals sent through air at ground level or optical fibre to a few hundred kilometers – but we might ultimately use entangled photons beamed from satellites to connect points on opposite sides of the planet. Although photons from satellites still have to travel through the atmosphere, going top-to-bottom is roughly equivalent to going only 10 kilometres at ground level.

The group’s first device is a technology pathfinder. It takes photons from a BluRay laser and splits them into two, then measures the pair’s properties, all on board the satellite. To do this it contains a laser diode, crystals, mirrors and photon detectors carefully aligned inside an aluminum block. This sits on top of a 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres printed circuit board packed with control electronics.

Through a series of pre-launch tests – and one unfortunate incident – the team became more confident that their design could survive a rocket launch and space conditions. The team had a device in the October 2014 Orbital-3 rocket which exploded on the launch pad. The satellite containing that first device was later found on a beach intact and still in working order.

Future plans

Even with the success of the more recent mission, a global network is still a few milestones away. The team’s roadmap calls for a series of launches, with the next space-bound SPEQS slated to produce entangled photons. SPEQS stands for Small Photon-Entangling Quantum System.

With later satellites, the researchers will try sending entangled photons to Earth and to other satellites. The team are working with standard “CubeSat” nanosatellites, which can get relatively cheap rides into space as rocket ballast. Ultimately, completing a global network would mean having a fleet of satellites in orbit and an array of ground stations.

In the meantime, quantum satellites could also carry out fundamental experiments – for example, testing entanglement over distances bigger than Earth-bound scientists can manage. “We are reaching the limits of how precisely we can test quantum theory on Earth,” said co-author Dr Daniel Oi at the University of Strathclyde.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Generation and Analysis of Correlated Pairs of Photons aboard a Nanosatellite by Zhongkan Tang, Rakhitha Chandrasekara, Yue Chuan Tan, Cliff Cheng, Luo Sha, Goh Cher Hiang, Daniel K. L. Oi, and Alexander Ling. Phys. Rev. Applied 5, 054022 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.5.054022 Published 31 May 2016

This paper is behind a paywall.

Music on the web, a spider’s web, that is

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I was expecting to see Markus Buehler and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) mentioned in this latest work on spiderwebs and music. Surprise! This latest research is from three universities in the UK as per a June 3, 2014 news item on ScienceDaily,

Spider silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies so that, when plucked like a guitar string, its sound carries information about prey, mates, and even the structural integrity of a web.

The discovery was made by researchers from the Universities of Oxford, Strathclyde, and Sheffield who fired bullets and lasers at spider silk to study how it vibrates. They found that, uniquely, when compared to other materials, spider silk can be tuned to a wide range of harmonics. The findings, to be reported in the journal Advanced Materials, not only reveal more about spiders but could also inspire a wide range of new technologies, such as tiny light-weight sensors.

A June 3, 2014 University of Oxford news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, explains the research and describes how it was conducted (firing bullets?),

‘Most spiders have poor eyesight and rely almost exclusively on the vibration of the silk in their web for sensory information,’ said Beth Mortimer of the Oxford Silk Group at Oxford University, who led the research. ‘The sound of silk can tell them what type of meal is entangled in their net and about the intentions and quality of a prospective mate. By plucking the silk like a guitar string and listening to the ‘echoes’ the spider can also assess the condition of its web.’

‘Most spiders have poor eyesight and rely almost exclusively on the vibration of the silk in their web for sensory information,’ said Beth Mortimer of the Oxford Silk Group at Oxford University, who led the research. ‘The sound of silk can tell them what type of meal is entangled in their net and about the intentions and quality of a prospective mate. By plucking the silk like a guitar string and listening to the ‘echoes’ the spider can also assess the condition of its web.’

This quality is used by the spider in its web by ‘tuning’ the silk: controlling and adjusting both the inherent properties of the silk, and the tensions and interconnectivities of the silk threads that make up the web. To study the sonic properties of the spider’s gossamer threads the researchers used ultra-high-speed cameras to film the threads as they responded to the impact of bullets. [emphasis mine] In addition, lasers were used to make detailed measurements of even the smallest vibration.

‘The fact that spiders can receive these nanometre vibrations with organs on each of their legs, called slit sensillae, really exemplifies the impact of our research about silk properties found in our study,’ said Dr Shira Gordon of the University of Strathclyde, an author involved in this research.

‘These findings further demonstrate the outstanding properties of many spider silks that are able to combine exceptional toughness with the ability to transfer delicate information,’ said Professor Fritz Vollrath of the Oxford Silk Group at Oxford University, an author of the paper. ‘These are traits that would be very useful in light-weight engineering and might lead to novel, built-in ‘intelligent’ sensors and actuators.’

Dr Chris Holland of the University of Sheffield, an author of the paper, said: ‘Spider silks are well known for their impressive mechanical properties, but the vibrational properties have been relatively overlooked and now we find that they are also an awesome communication tool. Yet again spiders continue to impress us in more ways than we can imagine.’

Beth Mortimer said: ‘It may even be that spiders set out to make a web that ‘sounds right’ as its sonic properties are intimately related to factors such as strength and flexibility.’

The research paper has not yet been published in Advanced Materials (I checked this morning, June 4, 2014).

However, there is this video from the researchers,

As for Markus Buehler’s work at MIT, you can find out more in my Nov. 28, 2012 posting, Producing stronger silk musically.

NanoCelluComp; a European Commission-funded nanocellulose project

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It was a bit of a surprise to find out there’s yet another nanocellulose fibre project but here it is in a Mar. 7, 2013 news item on Nanowerk,

The overall aim of the NanoCelluComp project is to develop a technology to utilise the high mechanical performance of cellulose nanofibres, obtained from food processing waste streams, combined with bioderived matrix materials, for the manufacture of 100% bio-derived high performance composite materials that will replace randomly oriented and unidirectional glass and carbon fibre reinforced plastics in a range of applications including transportation, wind turbines, biomedical, sport and consumer goods. More specifically, the project aims to develop a manufacturing process to form a 100% bio-composites with controlled alignment of the native modified cellulose nanofibres and evaluate these process with regard to the physical and mechanical performance of produced materials and suitability for use by industry via existing composite processing technologies. The project will also study the sustainability of the process and materials (nanocellulose bio-composites) in terms of environmental impacts and cost compared to existing materials, namely, carbon fibre reinforced plastics and glass fibre reinforced plastics.

It’s a project funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme whose funding runs out in Feb. 2014. Their fourth newsletter (PDF) is available for viewing. The most interesting bit of news in the publication (for me) is the announcement of a fifth meeting. From the 4th newsletter,

The consortium will next meet on the 14th and 15th of March at the facilities of KTH in Stockholm for its fifth meeting. The Project Technical Adviser, Prof Maria Tomoaia-Cotisel will also be in attendance. (p. 1)

The NanoCelluComp consortium is an amalgam of academic, government, and business agencies, from the NanoCelluComp website’s Consortium page,

Institute of Nanotechnology

The Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN) is one of the global leaders in providing nanotechnology information. It supplies industry and governments with intelligence on nanotechnology and its applications and has produced several important milestone publications. …

CelluComp

CelluComp is a composite materials technology company founded in 2004 by two expert materials scientists, Dr David Hepworth and Dr Eric Whale. …

University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde (USTRATH) will be represented by the research group of Dr Simon Shilton. Dr Shilton’s group at Strathclyde has pioneered the use of rheological factors in hollow fibre membrane spinning. …

University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen team (UCPH) comprises of research groups from the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, the Department of Agriculture and Ecology and the Department of Food science at the Faculty of Life Sciences representing the complete repertoire of expertise and analytical methods required for the project. Prof. Peter Ulvskov will lead the team. …

Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)

The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) team is represented in the project by the cellulose-based nanomaterials group of the Division of Glycoscience led by Prof. Qi Zhou. The current research program of the group is centred on the construction of self-assembled composite materials with multi-functionalities and well-defined architectures using cellulose nanofibers, native and modified carbohydrate polymers.  …

University of Reading

The University of Reading team (UREAD) is represented by researchers from the department of Chemistry led by Dr Fred Davis. …

SweTree Technologies

SweTree Technologies (STT) is a plant and forest biotechnology company providing products and technologies to improve the productivity and performance properties of plants, wood and fibre for forestry, pulp & paper, packaging, hygiene, textile and other fibre related industries. …

AL.P.A.S. S.r.l.

AL.P.A.S. S.r.l. (ALPAS) is a manufacturer of Epoxy Resin, Polyurethane, PVC and other adhesive systems based in Northern Italy. The company has over 30 years experience in supplying these products to the Automotive, Electric/Electronics, Marble, Building and other industries. …

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA)

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) is a materials science and technology research institution. …

Novozymes

Novozymes (NZ) is a world leader in bioinnovation and the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, with a market share of approximately 45%. …

Biovelop

Biovelop (BV) is an innovative Life Science company with production facilites in Kimstad, Sweden. The company specializes in the development and scaling up of cornerstone technologies in the area of extraction of functional ingredients from cereal grains and brans. …

I wish there was a bit more information in the fourth newsletter about what has been accomplished, from  the newsletter,

Work packages 1 and 2 are now completed (with feasibility studies on alternative vegetable waste streams performed, and methods for liberating and stabilizing nanocellulose achieved).

Work package 3 will conclude shortly with a better understanding of how to improve the mechanical properties of the liberated nanocelulose.

Activities in work package 4 are also nearing completion, with novel production processes achieved and resultant fibres now being tested.

Work package 5 activities to integrate all project research results have been slightly delayed, however initial test composites have been made. Following successful testing of these, the process will be scaled up to industrially relevant amounts.

Work package 6 has produced a report describing environment, health and safety (EHS) aspects and initial findings on end- user acceptability criteria for the developed composites. (p. 3)

Perhaps there’ll be something more in their mid-term report, assuming it gets published.