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
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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How to slay a hurricane
Hurricanes are becoming more powerful — can scientists engineer a way to weaken them and save lives?
Nuclear fusion experiment puts ignition within our grasp (Updated)
Scientists appear on the brink of achieving nuclear fusion ignition, bringing the dream of near-limitless clean energy closer to fruition.
3D-printed nuclear reactor parts installed at US plant
An Alabama power plant is now using 3D-printed nuclear reactor parts, a milestone that could shape the future of nuclear energy.
Using body bags to treat heatstroke
The Pacific Northwest heat wave crushed hospitals with heatstroke victims. Doctors turned to body bags to save lives.
Ancient frozen viruses hold clues to life and climate
Using new techniques, researchers at Ohio State have identified ancient viruses we’ve never seen before.
3D-printed bridge reduces use of “most destructive material on Earth”
Researchers have found a way to reduce the CO2 emissions of a concrete bridge: remove the reinforcement. And the results are stunning.
The world’s first sodium-ion battery for EVs has arrived
The world’s biggest battery maker for EVs is now manufacturing a sodium-ion battery that could help end the industry’s dependence on lithium.
Watching the moon’s “wobble” may help prevent flooding on Earth
A new NASA study predicts record flooding in the 2030s due to a combination of rising sea levels and a “wobble” in the moon’s orbit around Earth.
Oxford study: Move copper mining to dormant volcanoes
A more sustainable approach to copper mining may be digging wells under dormant volcanoes to suck out the metal-containing fluids below them.
Returning old clothes to the earth can help cotton grow again
An Australian cotton industry trade group aims to return used cotton cloth to the soil to help new cotton grow.
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Hard Reset
Murder-free chicken nuggets: Real meat grown in a lab
Would you eat lab-grown chicken meat? This Singapore restaurant is the first to serve cell-cultured meat to diners.
To find leaking methane, ready the satellites
Researchers are using methane-hunting satellites to sniff out the potent greenhouse gas, helping to reduce methane emissions.
Goodbye AC: This new roofing material keeps houses cool
A scientist has invented “cooling paper” — a material that reflects the sun’s rays off rooftops and even absorbs heat from homes and buildings. And it is made from recyclable paper.
E. coli turns plastic waste into vanillin
Scientists have engineered E. coli bacteria to convert plastic waste into vanillin, an in-demand compound used in vanilla flavoring and more.
Hippos in tracking study unexpectedly contract anthrax
A study into the movement of hippos led to new research on anthrax outbreaks when some of the animals wearing GPS trackers contracted the disease.
Cultured meat is now being mass-produced In Israel
Israeli startup Future Meat Technologies’ industrial-scale cultured meat production facility is designed to get lab-grown meat onto consumers’ plates ASAP.
Green sand beaches could erase carbon emissions
By spreading green sand all over a Caribbean beach, Project Vesta hopes to pull tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and lock it away for eons.
New kind of nuclear reactor to be built at retiring coal plant
TerraPower, a nuclear power startup founded by Bill Gates, has announced plans to build a new kind of nuclear reactor at a retiring coal plant.
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Hard Reset
How mirrors could power the planet… and prevent wars
If adopted globally, concentrated solar power could make major waves in manufacturing, not to mention prevent wars over oil and mitigate climate change.
How subterranean microbes are devouring carbon emissions
Researchers at Pellissippi State Community College found naturally occurring microbes deep in the Earth’s crust are helping soak up CO2.
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