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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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.
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.
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MIT grads unveil the world’s first ammonia-powered semi truck
Amogy, a startup founded by four MIT grads, has unveiled an ammonia-powered semi truck that can be refueled in just eight minutes.
Tokyo wants to build a future-proof city. Here’s how.
Tokyo’s municipal government has announced plans to build a high-tech, sustainable city on reclaimed land in its bay area.
This MIT research could help us unlock smaller, lighter, and safer batteries
Replacing the liquid electrolyte in rechargeable lithium batteries with a thinner, lighter ceramic material could revolutionize technology.
This 3D-printed home is made entirely of bio-based materials
Maine researchers are testing a new approach to 3D printing homes, swapping out the standard concrete “ink” for a material made of wood waste.
This Swedish start-up is building an electric airliner
A Swedish startup has joined the race to build the world’s first electric airplane to help reduce the carbon impact of flying.
How do floating wind turbines work?
Several full-scale demonstration projects with floating wind turbines are already operating in Europe and Asia. How do they stay afloat?
The mail is finally going electric (its trucks, anyway)
After withering criticism from the EPA, Biden officials, and 16 states, the USPS has announced it will order more electric delivery vehicles.
This company turns food waste and mushrooms into building materials
UK-based company Biohm uses natural vegetative material like food waste and mushrooms to ‘grow’ insulation panels.
New experiment produces hydrogen with LEDs
Quantum simulations have identified a cheap way of extracting hydrogen fuel from liquid ammonia using LED light.
Paper-thin solar cell can turn any surface into a power source
MIT researchers have developed a scalable fabrication technique to produce ultrathin solar cells that can be stuck onto any surface.
Pricing groundwater will help solve California’s water problems
The state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act is a great opportunity — but only if it goes far enough.
Seven science and tech breakthroughs you may have missed this year
A roundup of major science and tech achievements that flew under the radar in 2022, including new vaccines, advanced solar cells, and more.
Rewilding: letting nature do its own thing
Rewilding organisations in Europe are reintroducing lost species including the Eurasian lynx and Marsican brown bear.
After 50 years, fusion power hits a major milestone
Researchers in California achieved net energy gain in a thermonuclear fusion experiment. But how great of a breakthrough is this, really?
New battery is cheaper than lithium-ion with four times the capacity
A new type of room temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) battery could help solve the renewable energy storage problem.
Here’s what that fusion power breakthrough really means
This year, NIF reports that it has achieved “ignition” — that is, it has achieved slightly more fusion energy output than laser energy input.
What can cities do to survive extreme heat?
Urban heat waves are getting worse, but better data and timely government action could make them less deadly.
Rolls-Royce tests its first hydrogen-powered plane engine
Rolls-Royce and easyJet have demonstrated for the first time that a modern plane engine can be safely powered by hydrogen fuel.
A green trifecta: how a concrete alternative can cut emissions, resource use, and waste
Building materials and construction generate about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. What if there was an alternative?
Seabin: How these “floating garbage bins” can help clean up our waters
Each floating garbage bin is capable of capturing 90,000 plastic bags every year for less than $1 a day, just by being in the water.
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