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Copper is a quintessential component of electronic circuits, but alternatives like nickel, tungsten, stainless steel, and aluminum are becoming more commonplace. A decarbonizing planet must shift focus to conductive metal alternatives for decreased environmental stress and increased mechanical productivity. These recent advancements reflect a future of next-generation electronics with greater awareness of the climate crisis and novel end applications.
Carbon Nanotubes
A Texan startup called DexMat wants to find a copper alternative with steel-like strength and aluminum’s lightness. It developed Galvorn to replace the metal and carbon-heavy options like steel. These climate experts and scientists create Galvorn by separating hydrocarbons from feedstocks like methane. Manipulating the carbon is effortless, transforming it into mesh, fibers, and films.
The versatility of a material like Galvorn might convince industry professionals to pay attention. Automotive experts would benefit from its properties in battery coatings, while semiconductor manufacturers could leverage it as a powerful wire component. Its ability to remove carbon emissions and make expensive electronics more cost-effective may transform everything from grid modernization to EV adoption.
The only thing stopping Galvorn from hitting the mainstream is the need for scaling. Its biocompatibility and carbon storage potential may be enough to entice investors and expedite manufacturing as copper becomes even more prized and inaccessible.
The CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize
The U.S. Department of Energy noticed the rising prices of copper alongside a desire for more conductive materials compared to cheap alternatives like aluminum. It catalyzed the Conductivity-enhanced Materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and Thermal Applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize, which tasked teams with discovering a way to beat copper. What did a few of the top teams uncover to eliminate this dependence?
Team NAECO
NAECO created a metal disc, submitting the idea under the title “Conductivity-Enhanced Nanocarbon Copper Composite.” This innovation still relies on copper alloy and copper in its recipe. Still, it combines it with the power of graphene to create something extraordinary for industries like aviation and other commercial transportation. Copper burdens planes with additional weight and cannot productively move electrons — if a new material makes them less bulky, emissions and efficiency are optimized.
University of Colorado Boulder
This university team crafted a graphene-copper composite much like NAECO. It used a self-invented “flash” method to manifest it, reimagining conductive metal manufacturing based on ceramic forging. The process produces plasma to pave the way for easy material creation to make everything from wires to plane parts. The method’s name denotes the technique’s speed, rendering the composite in seconds at a fraction of the temperature.
Selva Research Group
Selva took a different approach than other teams attempting to improve copper — it wanted to replace it with superconductors because of their electron maneuverability. The team improved the durability of superconductors to handle temperature variances more gracefully. Their liquid-nitrogen-cooled superconductor has the potential to deliver infinite conductivity.
Metal-Based Molecular Simulations
Other breakthroughs involve rewriting processes in addition to reconstructing conductive metals. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) recently released research on leveraging molecular simulation technologies. It looked at aluminum atom by atom to see where it could change its conductive properties.
This experimentation with digital models worked for the semiconductor industry, so why would it not work for altering metals? The ability of models to replicate real-life scenarios was a revelation, unveiling limitless potential for scientists to explore metals in never-before-seen ways. This could motivate every sector to analyze its primary materials to find ways to eliminate their weaknesses.
In the case of PNNL, it wanted to take advantage of aluminum’s weight but match copper’s conductivity. Engaging in model-suggested edits bolstered research into how experts may manipulate metals.
The Future of Conductive Metals
The body of research discovering new ways to engineer and outperform copper highlights an optimistic future in green, high-performing conductive metals. These are only several recent breakthroughs disrupting electronics, with plenty of evidence to validate copious investments and time in refining.
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