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Energy

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Energy

Energy powers civilization. Developing technologies that can deliver abundant, sustainable energy is the challenge of our time and the promise of our future. Failure is not an option.
Featured
Four people sit on stage discussing "The Great Progression 2025-2050" at a panel event, with a screen and branded backdrop behind them.
The Great Progression
Three founders look to the future at Freethink’s inaugural Great Progression event
The tech community came together for the launch of the Great Progression event series, curated by Peter Leyden and produced by Freethink.
A satellite with extended solar panels orbits above Earth, with the planet’s blue surface and atmosphere visible in the background.
Aerospace
The billionaire building space lasers to power Earth
Space startup Aetherflux has a mission straight out of sci-fi: harvest solar power in orbit and beam it down to Earth via laser. 
A graphic with the title "The New Potential For Abundance" shows icons for education, wind energy, and healthcare, labeled "Abundant Education," "Abundant Energy," and "Abundant Healthcare.
The Great Progression
The missing tech case for how we create an era of abundance
AI and other new technologies could make things that are costly and scarce today, cheap and abundant for all tomorrow.
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A spacecraft flying near the surface of a large, rocky asteroid in space, with a fiery sky in the background
Asteroids
This startup is racing to mine the final frontier
AstroForge isn’t afraid to take risks if it means being the first to mine asteroids for the rare metals we need for many clean energy technologies.
Collage with house roof solar panels, abstract spheres, red planets, forest, and industrial smoke, centered text: "Solutionism," with a checkered background.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
“Stopping climate change” is the wrong goal
Anything that matters to humans should be under our control. The climate matters—so we should control the climate.
A vibrant yellow background showcases bold, black geometric text that exclaims "The Great Progression 2025-2050" across a dynamic halftone circle.
The Great Progression
What is The Great Progression: 2025 to 2050?
We have a historic opportunity to harness AI and other transformative technologies in order to make a much better world in the next 25 years.
Two people in blue shirts and safety glasses analyze data with electronic devices near a stream in a forested area, exemplifying the growing field of green jobs focused on environmental conservation.
Climate Crisis
These red-hot “green jobs” could help Gen Z cope with its eco-anxiety
“Green” jobs that help combat the climate crisis are on the rise, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 report.
A wind turbine stands in the ocean under a clear blue sky, with a faint rainbow visible near the water's surface.
Clean Energy
Why nations are looking offshore to decarbonize their grids
Interest and investment in offshore solar, wind, and nuclear power systems is increasing as global efforts to decarbonize ramp up.
Wind turbines on rolling hills under a clear blue sky.
Clean Energy
Should we turn the electricity grid over to AI?
AI could one day be woven throughout the grid management system — here are the pros and cons.
An aerial view of an illuminated industrial facility at dusk reveals multiple buildings, storage tanks, and surrounding roads. Nestled among fields with a distant waterway in the background, the scene evokes the intricate network of data centers operating silently beneath the serene landscape.
Sustainability
Charting the race for energy in the Age of AI
As AI’s demand for computing power skyrockets, data centers are under immense pressure to boost efficiency and increase sustainability.
A chart showing the decline in USA and World percentages over a cooling tower emitting steam, indicating decreasing values.
Clean Energy
Charting the evolution of nuclear energy
Nuclear fission’s stalled growth might give way to fusion’s clean energy potential
Close-up of an electric car being charged with a plug connected to its charging port at one of the many available charging stations. The blue car blends seamlessly into the blue background, easing any range anxiety drivers might have.
Clean Energy
The master plan to end EV “range anxiety” forever
A look at the history of EV charging and the tech trends that could encourage more people to make the switch to an electric car.
Two people hold a large white balloon outdoors at dusk, ready to release it and make sunsets an unforgettable memory. Trees and a fading sunset form the picturesque background.
Climate Crisis
The startup using balloons to cool the planet
A look at the history of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), the arguments against it, and the startup putting it into action right now.
Three workers in orange vests and hard hats climb a ladder on the side of a massive concrete cooling tower of a nuclear power plant, against a clear blue sky.
Clean Energy
America’s plan to resurrect nuclear power
To increase its supply of clean nuclear power, the US government is cutting licensing fees, rewarding reactor innovation, and more.
In a bustling data center, a person works with a laptop on a cart, surrounded by racks of illuminated servers and cables.
Clean Energy
The future of data centers — on land, at sea, and in space
As our digital world grows, demand for data centers is also increasing. To meet that demand sustainably, developers are getting creative.
A collage of agricultural elements including a satellite, crop fields, tomatoes, and growth charts illustrating data, boosted breeding techniques, chemical formulas, and a seedling highlights efforts to combat hunger.
Agriculture
Boosted Breeding and beyond: 3 tech trends that could end world hunger
A world without hunger is possible, and the development and deployment of new farming technologies could be one key to manifesting it.
Aerial view of solar panels arranged in rows on green grass, partially obscured by a yellowish haze.
Clean Energy
US hits 180 GW of solar power. Here’s how we get to 1,000 by 2035.
A quick look at the history of solar power in the US and the trends that could lead us into our sun-powered future.
Clean Energy
Which technologies will enable a cleaner steel industry?
Technologies like hydrogen-based direct reduction of ore, electrolysis, and advanced furnace technologies could reduce steel emissions.
A person turning on a kitchen faucet, causing water to splash dramatically into a clear glass below.
Sustainability
Desalination could avert one of the top 10 threats facing the world
Desalination — changing seawater into safe drinking water — could avert a crisis. Here’s how to make it less costly and labor-intensive.
Aerial view of a dense, lush green forest with a variety of trees and uneven clearings after a recent helium discovery under a clear blue sky.
Geology
Helium discovery is the supply breakthrough science, medicine, and industry needed
A helium reservoir in Minnesota has astonishingly high concentrations of the gas, potentially opening doors for commercial extraction.
Two offshore wind turbines amid turbulent sea waves under a cloudy sky.
Clean Energy
Six innovative ways to float skyscraper-sized wind turbines
While most offshore wind farms are firmly rooted in the seabed, engineers are developing new ways to float enormous wind turbines.
Sustainability
Scientists have invented a method to break down “forever chemicals” in our drinking water
Researchers have discovered a way to eliminate “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, which usually take hundreds or thousands of years to break down.
Oil pumpjack operating in the oil fields under a twilight sky.
Disaster Response
Shining a light on oil fields to make them more sustainable
Sensors and analytics give oil well operators real-time alerts when things go wrong, so they can respond before they become disasters.
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