Articles tagged with "energy-innovation"
New solar reactor makes green hydrogen cheaper than electrolysis
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia has developed a novel "beam-down" solar reactor that uses concentrated sunlight to produce green hydrogen fuel more cost-effectively than traditional electrolysis. Unlike conventional solar thermal systems that focus sunlight atop a tower, this design uses heliostats to reflect sunlight downward onto a ground-level platform, where intense heat drives a thermochemical reaction to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This approach leverages doped ceria, a modified mineral that facilitates a two-step oxygen exchange process at reduced temperatures, enabling efficient and reusable hydrogen production. This innovation addresses the challenge of decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industry and transport, which currently rely heavily on fuel-based energy sources. While electrolysis remains energy-intensive and costly, CSIRO’s beam-down reactor demonstrates strong reactivity under moderate conditions and has the potential to match electrolysis in both performance and cost with further refinement. The ground-level receiver design also offers greater flexibility for high-temperature
green-hydrogensolar-reactorrenewable-energyhydrogen-productionsolar-thermal-technologyclean-energyenergy-innovationGerman firm advances plan to build world's first nuclear fusion plant
Proxima Fusion, a Munich-based start-up spun out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in 2023, has secured €130 million ($150 million) in its Series A funding round, bringing total funding to over €185 million ($213 million). The company aims to build the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant using a stellarator design, leveraging a simulation-driven engineering approach and high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technology. Key near-term milestones include completing the Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) by 2027 to demonstrate HTS application and selecting a site for its demonstration stellarator, “Alpha,” which is planned to begin operations by 2031. Alpha is intended to achieve net energy gain (Q>1), a critical step toward a functional fusion power plant. Proxima Fusion’s technical strategy centers on the “Stellaris” concept, the first peer-reviewed stellarator design integrating physics, engineering, and maintenance from inception. This quasi-isodynamic stellarator
energynuclear-fusionfusion-power-plantstellaratorhigh-temperature-superconductorsclean-energyenergy-innovationSam Altman thinks AI will have ‘novel insights’ next year
In a recent essay, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman outlined his vision for AI’s transformative impact over the next 15 years, emphasizing the company’s proximity to achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI) while tempering expectations about its imminent arrival. A key highlight from Altman’s essay is his prediction that by 2026, AI systems will likely begin generating “novel insights,” marking a shift toward AI models capable of producing new and interesting ideas about the world. This aligns with OpenAI’s recent focus on developing AI that can assist scientific discovery, a goal shared by competitors like Google, Anthropic, and startups such as FutureHouse, all aiming to automate hypothesis generation and accelerate breakthroughs in fields like drug discovery and material science. Despite this optimism, the scientific community remains cautious about AI’s ability to create genuinely original insights, a challenge that involves instilling AI with creativity and a sense of what is scientifically interesting. Experts like Hugging Face’s Thomas Wolf and former OpenAI researcher Kenneth Stanley highlight the difficulty of this task, noting that current AI models struggle to generate novel hypotheses. Stanley’s new startup, Lila Sciences, is dedicated to overcoming this hurdle by building AI-powered laboratories focused on hypothesis generation. While it remains uncertain whether OpenAI will succeed in this endeavor, Altman’s essay offers a glimpse into the company’s strategic direction, signaling a potential next phase in AI development centered on creativity and scientific innovation.
AIartificial-intelligencescientific-discoverymaterial-scienceenergy-innovationAI-agentsnovel-insightsNREL Announces 2025 Executive Energy Leadership Cohort - CleanTechnica
energyrenewable-energyenergy-leadershipenergy-technologyNRELclean-energyenergy-innovationUS' largest SMR simulator to advance nuclear science for clean energy
clean-energynuclear-powersmall-modular-reactorsenergy-innovationVirginia-energyrenewable-energynuclear-engineeringWorld’s first mass-produced nuclear reactor to enter testing in US
nuclear-energymicroreactorsenergy-innovationmodular-reactorsportable-energy-solutionsadvanced-nuclear-technologyrenewable-energyWinners of Solar District Cup Class of 2024–2025 Announced
solar-energyrenewable-energyenergy-innovationenergy-managementsolar-storageclean-technologyenergy-competitionRealta Fusion taps $36M in fresh funds for its fusion-in-a-bottle reactor
energyfusionclean-energypower-plantsplasma-technologyrenewable-energyenergy-innovation