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.
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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.
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.
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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Swiss scientists are making jet fuel from sunlight and air
The fuel’s reliance on sunlight makes desert areas prime land for production sites, leaving valuable agricultural land available for food.
Volkswagen reveals release date for electric Microbus
Volkswagen will begin selling its all-electric ID. Buzz — a modern take on the iconic Microbus — in the U.S. in 2024.
This company is tackling Kuwait’s ‘tire graveyard’ problem by tire recycling
Kuwait wants to build 25,000 new houses on the site of a former tire graveyard. Here’s how they’re going to do it.
Elon Musk: Europe should revive nuclear energy
The Ukraine crisis has highlighted Europe’s dependence on Russia for fossil fuels. Is more nuclear energy the solution?
Digital sound archives can bring extinct birds (briefly) back to life
Sound recordings remind us that these beings are invaluable, and that humans have a duty to preserve them.
MIT’s new plant-based material could replace plastics
Using cellulose from wood, MIT researchers have made a plant-based material tough as bone and hard as aluminum.
First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
California’s aging power infrastructure has contributed to catastrophic wildfires and multiday outages. Solar canals can help.
Could electrocuting clouds be the key to making it rain?
By analyzing the energy within raindrops, researchers found that they could squeeze water from the clouds by electrically supercharging them – another step to control the weather.
Nuclear fusion: how excited should we be?
We know that fusion works – it is the process that powers the Sun, providing heat and light to the Earth. But can we do it ourselves?
First AI controls plasma inside fusion reactor
DeepMind has co-developed an AI capable of controlling the super-hot plasma inside a tokamak fusion reactor.
Texas A&M grads use flare gas to mine $4M in Bitcoin
Two college grads earned four million dollars by mining the cryptocurrency with specialized shipping containers that use flare gas.
MIT spinoff plans to drill 12 miles into Earth’s crust
MIT spinoff Quaise Energy is building a drill that vaporizes rock so that we can tap into the geothermal energy miles below our feet.
Fusion reactor breaks 24-year-old nuclear record
A new record set by the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor is giving researchers confidence we’re on the path to usable fusion energy.
Why pumping water back into hydro dams beats batteries for renewable power
The U.S. has thousands of reservoirs that could be paired for pumped hydro storage without the need for rivers.
Clean offshore charging buoys can save city air
Shipping giant Maersk is building custom charging buoys that provide electricity to ships moored overnight. The first is set to launch this year at an offshore wind farm.
Scientists propose mechanical trees to soak up CO2
Can we combine our two best ways to remove CO2 from the air?
Toyota is building a “Lunar Cruiser” for Japan
Toyota’s pressurized moon rover, the “Lunar Cruiser,” could help astronauts live on the moon — and help us combat climate change on Earth.
Chile is making its own glaciers
Chilean climate experts will attempt to DIY their own glaciers in 2022, in hopes of supplying fresh water through the dry summer months.
The world’s largest vertical farm is opening in Pennsylvania
Upward Farms plans to build what will be the world’s largest vertical farm in Pennsylvania — and fish are going to fertilize its crops.
New biodegradable straws are made by bacteria
New biodegradable straws developed in China are as cheap as plastic, stronger than paper, and made from edible materials.
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