Scientists make key breakthrough that could solve major issue with EV batteries: 'The idea is to keep it simple'
The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry focused its research on neodymium magnets, the strongest permanent magnets known to man. These powerful components drive EVs, smartphones, and wind turbines — but their production creates massive environmental challenges. Traditional mining and refining processes require hundreds of reactors, generate radioactive waste, and produce enormous amounts of acids and toxic byproducts.
"The idea is to keep it simple, something that doesn't require extremely difficult conditions that would be hard to reproduce on an industrial scale," IOCB researcher Kelsea Jones explained, per Radio Prague International. The team's method uses water as a solvent and operates at room temperature, eliminating the need for harsh chemicals or extreme conditions.
The process employs chelating agents, or organic molecules that bond with metal ions. Scientists add these agents to dissolved magnets, creating compounds with individual rare earth elements that can then be filtered by weight.
The team processed magnets through several separation cycles and obtained neodymium with 99.7% purity, more than enough to produce new magnets.
Reusing battery materials will reduce the risk of toxins leaching into soil and groundwater, and it will decrease resource depletion — a problem that often creates unsafe mining operations.
EVs already help to improve air quality in our cities and reduce pollution compared to gas-powered cars, and more accessible battery recycling could help to accelerate EV adoption by making them more cost-effective.
The Czech researchers have secured patents for their EV battery recycling method and are seeking commercial partners to bring this technology to market. Their breakthrough is a great example of the innovation needed to build a cleaner, more sustainable future — one that benefits both people and the planet.
For those looking to make their next car an EV, this new recycling technology could also mean that even more affordable options are ahead.
Should America invest more in EV battery tech?
Absolutely
No way
Only if it brings down prices
Only if it helps us compete with China
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
New Genetic Test Predicts Children With Future Risk of High BMI
A new test helps predict which kids face the largest genetic risk of a high body mass index (BMI) later in life. That could help parents establish healthy habits early on. The new test, put together by a large team of international researchers, is what's known as a polygenic score or PGS. These scores are used to group genetic variations to predict a certain characteristic, which in this case is BMI. Related: "What makes the score so powerful is its ability to predict, before the age of five, whether a child is likely to develop obesity in adulthood, well before other risk factors start to shape their weight later in childhood," says genetic epidemiologist Roelof Smit, from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. "Intervening at this point can have a huge impact." It's important to note that the test isn't quite as straightforward as it might sound. For one, genetics only accounts for a relatively small proportion of risk for high BMI. And secondly, a growing body of research is suggesting we move away from BMI as a measure of obesity and health in general. Still, the researchers claim the new PGS test is up to twice as accurate as others of its type. It was built from a database of genetic information collected from more than 5.1 million people. After compiling the test, the researchers then tried it out on several separate health databases, covering hundreds of thousands of individuals. In these datasets, both genetic data and BMI over time had been recorded. The researchers added the PGS to other predictors of BMI, and found that higher PGS scores were associated with greater adult weight gain. The accuracy of the PGS at predicting BMI variation depended on age and ancestry. PGS scores at the age of 5 explained 35 percent of the BMI variation at age 18. For middle-aged Europeans, it accounted for 17.6 percent of the variation. In other groups it was much lower: just 2.2 percent for rural Ugandans, for example. This is probably down to underrepresentation in the training data, and the greater genetic diversity in African populations, the researchers say. Another interesting finding from the study: those with stronger genetic predisposition towards having a higher BMI actually lost more weight during the first year of weight loss programs, although they were also more likely to regain weight later. "Our findings emphasize that individuals with a high genetic predisposition to obesity may respond more to lifestyle changes and, thus, contrast with the determinist view that genetic predisposition is unmodifiable," write the researchers in their published paper. The thinking is that if BMI can be predicted more accurately at an early age, that gives those kids and their parents a bigger window of time to instill healthier habits regarding diet or activity levels, which have the potential to influence BMI. "This new polygenic score is a dramatic improvement in predictive power and a leap forward in the genetic prediction of obesity risk, which brings us much closer to clinically useful genetic testing," says geneticist Ruth Loos, from the University of Copenhagen. The research has been published in Nature Medicine. Related News This Diet Helps Lower Dementia Risk, And We May Finally Know Why A Signal of Future Alzheimer's Could Hide in The Way You Speak Something Inside Your Gut Could Be Like a Natural Ozempic Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Are Browsers Key To An Agentic AI Future? Opera, Perplexity Think So
AI-powered conversational search engine Perplexity is in the news for offering to buy Google's Chrome browser for $34.5 billion. But in December of 2024, Perplexity considered buying The Browser Co. And just months ago, Perplexity reportedly offered to buy Brave, the privacy-focused browser, for about $1 billion. Why does Perplexity want a web browser so badly? Possibly because a browser just might be key to our agentic AI future. I recently interviewed Opera senior product leader Henrik Lexow on my TechFirst podcast. Opera, the 30-year-old browser company that pioneered tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, and ad blockers, has about 300 million active users globally. This year, Opera was the first to bring AI agents right into our browsers in a project called Opera Neon. 'The agentic browser … is that sort of the new operating system?' Lexow asked during the podcast. 'It's a big question.' Regardless of where the browser goes, Opera's pretty sure about the future of the internet itself. That's a huge shift, by the way. An agentic internet would be a massive and fundamental change from a user-driven internet to an agent-driven version. In a user-driven internet, you search, you see results, you make selections, you click links, you fill out forms, you book flights, and you buy products. In a sense, you are the agent. In an agentic internet, you tell something – maybe your agentic browser – to do those things for you. Except you don't say search, look, select, and buy; you say buy me more of the underwear I got six months ago. The agent then consults its memory, forms a plan, takes multiple steps, and handles it all: from which underwear you bought, and where you bought them, to finding the same ones online (and maybe checking around for better prices), to adding them to cart, to checking out … and reporting back to you with the results. The agent – in this case potentially an agentic browser – is therefore essentially a personal assistant, a force multiplier. But will an agentic browser be the main way we engage with agents? Perplexity seems to think it's pretty important, given the company's persistent and repeated but so far unfruitful attempt to buy a browser. Opera certainly thinks so, if only because Opera has a browser, and a very innovative one at that. Opera launched AI in a browser back in 2023 in a project called ARIA. ARIA enabled contextual interactions within web pages in a GPT-based chat interface. Over time, that's evolved to a tripartite strategy under the Opera Neon brand: The reality is that for many of us, most of our work happens in a browser. I'm writing this story in a browser. I recorded the interview in a browser. I've researched Opera and Perplexity in a browser. I made episode art for the podcast in a browser (thanks, Canva). Opera's thesis is that having agents embedded where you work makes them vastly more useful: they have access to your history, to your work, to your sites and apps. Important note: the Neon agentic browser's AI lives locally on your hardware, making it your agent, not Opera's, and not your employer's. This should boost your privacy, which is critical if you're going to give an agent access to very personal information including, likely, your credit card. Of course, this is just one vision of the future. Apple with Siri, as justly maligned as it is, would have another vision. Google, with Gemini and its own vast fleet of Android-enabled phones, would have another. Microsoft's Copilot is another. And OpenAI, which has ChatGPT apps for mobile devices as well as full computers, might have yet another vision of how we'll integrate AI into our lives and work. So whether the browser will be the locus of our agentic AI future or not is yet to be determined. Remember the old proverb: every problem looks like a nail to the person who only has a hammer. But it seems like a fairly good bet to me.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kevin O'Leary Says New Executives Get No Stock Options, No Benefits, And No Full-Time Title Until They Prove Themselves, Just Like The Swiss
Kevin O'Leary says he has completely changed the way he hires executives, and is apparently taking inspiration from Swiss business culture. The investor and television personality explained in a recent post on X, 'No stock options, no benefits, no full-time title... until they prove it. I learned this from the Swiss, and it's revolutionized our operations.' A Six-Month Trial Instead Of A Full-Time Commitment O'Leary described the approach in a video, using the example of hiring a new CEO for a growing venture. Once he narrowed the field to two candidates, he asked one: 'Would you consider becoming a contractor for six months as opposed to a fully empowered employee, and we'll pay you 30% more than your base contract's going to be? No stock options, no benefits for the six-month period. But wouldn't you like to test us first?' Don't Miss: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — Bill Gates Warned About Water Scarcity. The idea, he said, is to give both sides the chance to 'road test' each other, making sure the candidate integrates well with the existing team and the parent company. 'Don't you want that experience?' he recalled asking. In this case, the candidate agreed. O'Leary calls it an "apprentice" model, common in Switzerland and across Europe, where the focus is on confirming a cultural fit before offering a permanent position. 'We don't do [this] in America,' he said. 'And we should do it.' He noted that about two-thirds of candidates complete the trial and move on to full-time roles with stock options and benefits. The remaining third leave on good terms, having gained valuable experience but deciding the position isn't right for them. 'We're not firing anybody,' he said. 'Those Swiss guys got it right.' Trending: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can Business Is Binary, Says O'Leary For O'Leary, this hiring method is just one example of his direct approach to business. "Business is binary. There are winners and losers. You either make money or you don't," he posted on X last year. He believes success requires relentless effort, especially for young entrepreneurs. "If you want to succeed in business you have to work 25 hours a day because there's someone across the world who will kick your a*s if you don't." He advises those in their 20s to forget about work-life balance while building a business, stressing that the competition is global and tireless. "You're competing with people in Mumbai or Shanghai who are willing to work 24 hours a day, eight days a week," he said last year.O'Leary adds that the early years are the best time to make sacrifices, because "In your 20s, you can afford the time, the focus and all the stress that comes with building something from the ground up. You should start thinking about taking some time off only after establishing that foundation." For O'Leary, sacrifice, preparation, and persistence are non-negotiable. Whether it's a new hire or a new venture, the standard remains the same: prove yourself. Read Next: 2,000 High Earners Manage $6B With This AI Platform — UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Kevin O'Leary Says New Executives Get No Stock Options, No Benefits, And No Full-Time Title Until They Prove Themselves, Just Like The Swiss originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
