Materials
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Energy economics: an overview?
This data-file provides an overview of energy economics, across 175 different economic models constructed by Thunder Said Energy, in order to put numbers in context. This helps to compare marginal costs, capex costs, energy intensity, interest rate sensitivity, and other key parameters that matter in the energy transition.
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Commodity prices: metals, materials and chemicals?
Annual commodity prices are tabulated in this database for 70 materials commodities; covering steel prices, other metal prices, chemicals prices, polymer prices, all with data going back to 2012. 2022 was a record year for commodities. The average material commodity traded 25% above its 10-year average and 60% of all material commodities made ten-year highs.
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Microwave Chemical: electrical heating?
Microwave Chemical is a small-cap company, developing microwave-based heating solutions, across over a dozen use cases, from acrylic recyling, to producing food/cosmetic compounds, to carbon fiber (particularly interesting!). We reviewed a dozen of the company’s patents in this data-file, which is a Microwave Chemical technology review and finds a moat in efficient microwave heating.
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Leilac low-carbon cement technology?
This data-file explores Leilac low-carbon cement technology, which separates the calcination stage, within an indirectly heated reactor, so that 98% pure CO2 can be gathered and sequestered, with requiring post-combustion CCS (amines). Patents from parent company, Calix, lock up the technology, with clear and intelligible details, although this also shows where the challenges are.
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Commodity intensity of global GDP in 30 key charts?
The commodity intensity of global GDP has fallen at -1.2% over the past half-century, as incremental GDP is more services-oriented. So is this effect adequately reflected in our commodity outlooks? This 4-page report plots past, present and forecasted GDP intensity factors, for 30 commodities, from 1973->2050. Oil is anomalous. And several commodities show rising GDP…
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Phosphoric acid production costs?
Phosphoric acid production costs are $500-900/ton, for a 10% IRR on a new facility, with $1,000-2,000/Tpa of capex. This is using the ‘wet process’, where phosphate ores are reacted with sulfuric acid. CO2 intensity is 0.6 tons/ton. However, the numbers depend on product purity. There is also a 10x higher carbon, yet potentially lower-cost process,…
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Bill of materials: electronic devices and data-centers?
Electronic devices are changing the world, from portable electronics to AI data centers. Hence what materials are used in electronic devices, as percentage of mass, and in kg/kW terms? This data-file tabualates the bill of materials, for different devices, across different studies.
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Peak commodities: everything, everywhere, all at once?
This 15-page note evaluates 10 commodity disruptions since the Stone Age. Peak demand for commodities is just possible, in total tonnage terms, as part of the energy transition. But it is historically unprecedented. And our plateau in tonnage terms is a doubling in value terms, a kingmaker for gas, plastics and materials. Outlooks for 30…
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Global polysilicon production capacity?
Polysilicon is a highly pure, crystalline silicon material, used predominantly for photovoltaic solar, and also for ‘chips’ in the electronics industry. Global polysilicon capacity is estimated to reach 1.65MTpa in 2023, and global polysilicon production surpasses 1MTpa in 2023. China now dominates the industry, approaching 90% of all global capacity.
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New energies: the age of materials?
Over the past decade, costs have deflated by 85% for lithium ion batteries, 75% for solar and 25% for onshore wind. Now new energies are entering a new era. Future costs are mainly determined by materials. Bottlenecks matter. Deflation is slower. Even higher-grade materials are needed to raise efficiency. This 14-page note explores the new…
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