Following the Nobel Prize for graphene's discovery in 2010, the gee-whiz nanomaterial has been lauded as a "wonder material" with endless theoretical applications, including graphene super batteries, leading to a "sugar rush" of investor excitement and high valuations of graphene makers such as Applied Graphene Materials Plc. (OTCQB:APGMF) and First Graphene Limited (OTCMKTS:FGPHF). Unfortunately, the actual pace of commercial adoption has been much slower than initially anticipated, causing huge market corrections as expectations realigned with…

South Korea’s move to kill coal will almost certainly have repercussions on two of its largest energy customers, Australia and the United States. A decision on the polluting fossil fuel was made at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, when South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced plans to retire most of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2040, and to at least halve its carbon emissions by 2035. Forty of the plants already have confirmed closure dates. South Korea has been criticized for not…

The energy transition is often sold as a story of ethereal "green" progress, but if you look at the balance sheets of the companies actually building it, the story is written in soot and high-voltage electricity. While the financial press spends its time obsessing over the price of lithium or the latest solid-state battery breakthrough, a much more grounded, and expensive, reality is setting in. We are entering the era of the engineered anode. New data suggests the market for ultra-high-purity (UHP) graphite is on a trajectory to hit $1.43 billion…

Iran's leadership is facing mounting pressure from abroad and emerging dissent from within as street protests over its reeling economy and the threat of a new round of military strikes hang over the country. Demonstrations were reported in several cities, with markets and shops shuttered and students holding rallies at universities, on December 30. This follows two days of demonstrations that saw security forces launch volleys of tear gas to disperse crowds. People were chanting anti-government slogans to protest a sharp weakening of the currency.…

As tech companies worldwide invest heavily in the deployment of large-scale data centres to power advanced technologies, not everyone is so happy about the new phenomenon. Concerns over energy security and a prolonged reliance on fossil fuels are just two of the issues that are repeatedly coming up, as governments seek to better regulate the sector.  In the United States, $64 billion in data centre projects have been blocked or delayed due to growing opposition. A Data Centre Watch report estimates that $18 billion worth of data centre projects…