00:00Niobium batteries, a Brazilian invention that promises to be the solution for battery technologies.
00:12Hi engineering fans, I'm Igor Felipe and today we're going to talk about a recent development
00:17in battery technologies, which is the use of niobium in their manufacturing.
00:22But after all, what is niobium? Niobium is a chemical element identified by the symbol
00:28NB. It is found in group 5 of the periodic table and has an atomic number of 41 and an
00:34atomic mass
00:35of 92.9. The metal was discovered in 1801 by English chemist Charles Hatchett through studies of the
00:43mineral columbite. At the time, he named the new element he found columbium. Later, in 1846 independently,
00:51the German chemist Heinrich Roes discovered the element and named it niobium, a name adopted
00:58by the international community starting in 1950. But it was only in the mid-20th century that the
01:04element started to gain more prominence. That's because niobium has the ability to transform the
01:09properties of other materials. This means that niobium has countless uses such as in cars,
01:16aircraft turbines, magnetic resonance imaging machines, pacemaker devices, rockets, electronic
01:23components and now also in batteries. Today, the metal is mainly used in special alloys mixed with
01:31other metals such as steel, titanium or copper. This blend of materials increases the final product's
01:37mechanical strength. A great example is the use of niobium in pipeline tubes, where mixing steel with
01:44niobium even in a small percentage greatly increases the mechanical strength of these tubes. However,
01:52since the use of the metal is very specific, the demand for its use is also limited. In this way,
01:58niobium is at the same time strategic from a technological point of view, but still not highly
02:04valued. So it's necessary to create more uses for this metal with such interesting properties. And that's
02:10where the Brazilian niobium battery comes in, which, if it's as powerful as promised, could prove to be
02:16an excellent use and revolutionize the energy storage market. And just so you have an idea if the niobium
02:22battery takes off, this will be excellent news for us Brazilians, since niobium practically only exists
02:28here in Brazil, where we have almost 98% of the world's reserves. But if this niobium is so good,
02:35why haven't we gotten rich from extracting it? This is because niobium is a substitutable metal.
02:41This means that, although it has good properties, it can be replaced by metals with similar characteristics.
02:48Another detail that hurts the commercialization of niobium is the fact that we sell niobium as a
02:54raw material, that is, raw niobium, and not as a product that uses niobium in its composition.
03:00Now, with this idea of building a battery made of niobium, we end up adding value to a product.
03:07In other words, we don't export the raw material, but rather a technology produced here. That way,
03:13when we use the metal in other technologies, like batteries, we also add value to its extraction and
03:20production chain of niobium. But what are the advantages of niobium? Niobium's main advantages are
03:26its high thermal and electrical conductivity. Ductility, which is the ability of the material
03:31to undergo deformation without losing its physical characteristics, malleability, and high resistance
03:38to heat, wear, and corrosion. These characteristics end up giving the metal the ability to enhance
03:44physical properties, making the metals that are alloyed with niobium more efficient. And it's because
03:50of these characteristics that niobium has several ways in which it can be applied. For example,
03:56niobium is essential for technological innovations, focusing on the development of smarter and more
04:01resistant materials, making them lighter, increasing performance, efficiency, and safety. This benefits
04:09the mobility sector, enabling the creation of orthopedic processes for people with advanced technology.
04:16And not only that, because niobium helps solve engineering challenges, enabling material
04:22savings and efficiency. Projects with more modern structures can have more design freedom,
04:28with greater strength, and in a more sustainable way. That's because, with the use of niobium,
04:34we can increase the strength characteristics of materials, and this opens up possibilities to improve
04:39calculations and optimize structures. Niobium is a wealth of Brazil, with a great need
04:45for better appreciation and use. And the investment of two major companies in battery technology
04:51sets an important precedent for the future of the country's economy. But then, who actually developed
04:58this niobium battery? This achievement should be credited to Volkswagen trucks and buses in partnership
05:04with the Brazilian metallurgy and mining company, who signed an agreement to develop and manufacture
05:09niobium-based batteries for electric vehicles. According to the teams from both companies,
05:14one of the advantages of this Brazilian technology is that it allows electric cars to be charged in
05:19a record time of up to six minutes. Charging an electric car as quickly as refueling a gas car
05:25is an unprecedented achievement. The project is expected to elevate Brazil's position in the automotive
05:31sector thanks to the partnership between the vehicle manufacturer and the Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia
05:36e Mineração. And if you don't know, a Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração extracts niobium
05:44and develops new technologies with it. This project is the result of almost four years of research in
05:49Japan and also involves several technologies from Toshiba. To help you understand better,
05:54niobium is used in batteries, replacing graphite. This allows them to be half the size of conventional
06:01batteries. But it's important to point out that its energy density is lower than that of conventional
06:07electric vehicle batteries, so the vehicle's range will also be lower. That's why a specific
06:13charging infrastructure for this technology needs to be implemented, since fast charging is one of the
06:19main advantages of the niobium battery. In other words, you might have a shorter range, but fast charging
06:24would eliminate that problem. And if you think they're going to be like those disposable batteries we see
06:30nowadays, studies show that the niobium battery can have a lifespan of almost 20 years and more than
06:3610,000 cycles. In comparison, these batteries would have up to 5 times more cycles than typical lithium-ion
06:43batteries. And not only the battery lifespan, but we also have the benefit of safety. Since they don't
06:50degrade at extreme temperatures like other batteries, they reduce the risk of fire. Now imagine you're
06:57driving an electric car with a Brazilian niobium battery and knowing that you can fully charge it
07:02in just 6 minutes. What do you think? Do you think this trend could catch on around here? Leave your
07:08thoughts in the comments. I'll leave two videos that complement this topic and that you might also like,
07:13so make sure to click on one of them and check it out. Did you enjoy the video? Leave your
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07:22That's it, my friends. A big hug and I'll see you in the next video.
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