Energy

Silhouette of an oil pump jack against a vivid orange sunset with a large sun near the horizon.

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.

Zach Winn | MIT News Office

Clean Energy

US will accelerate geothermal exploration on federal land

The Bureau of Land Management is taking steps to make it easier for public lands to be considered for geothermal power systems.

Kristin Houser

A high-tech modular structure illuminated by blue lights, standing on a barren, moon-like landscape at night.

Batteries

World’s biggest battery maker unveils grid-scale storage system

CATL, the world’s biggest battery manufacturer, just unveiled TENER, a new energy storage system for utility companies.

Kristin Houser

Animals

The murder hornet’s genome may help stop the invasion

The Asian giant hornet has invaded the Pacific Northwest. Researchers hope a map of the murder hornet’s genome can help their hunt for them.

B. David Zarley

Climate Crisis

Raising Pacific islands to save them from high sea levels

The president of Kiribati announced a new plan to fight against sea level rise: raise the islands.

Teresa Carey

Animals

Scientists have found the locust swarm pheromone

A locust swarm is flying famine, devouring millions of pounds of crops. Researchers have found the swarming trigger — and perhaps an answer to stopping it.

B. David Zarley

Disaster Response

Google wants to make the world’s largest earthquake detector

Google wants to create the world’s largest earthquake detector by using the accelerometers of Android phones and city-level location data.

B. David Zarley

Animals

These ultra-black deep-sea fish absorb over 99% of light

Researchers have discovered ultra-black deep-sea fish that can absorb over 99% of light. Their skin may hold secrets to creating new ultra-dark materials.

B. David Zarley

Oceans

Divers remove wildlife-killing “ghost nets” from shipwreck

The Healthy Seas initiative removes wildlife-killing “ghost nets” from the ocean so that they can be recycled into useful Econyl yarn.

Kristin Houser

Building trees in the Metaverse might actually save the forest

NatureXR, a new collective, is the first to build 3D model trees, then have scientists certify them as "real” for virtual reality.

Teresa Carey

Clean Energy

New solar cells could be a breakthrough in clean energy

Better solar cells are an objectively good thing. Two new breakthroughs may help us harness more light, more cost effectively.

B. David Zarley

Oceans

This underwater base could become the ISS of the ocean

Aquanaut Fabien Cousteau has announced plans to build Proteus, the world’s biggest underwater base for scientific research.

Kristin Houser

Sustainability

Want to save the planet? start with reinventing the motor

6:00

In partnership with Turntide

This highly efficient switched reluctance motor has the ability to save manufacturers millions of dollars and significantly reduce their carbon emissions.

Doug Dais

Sections

Video

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.