Articles tagged with "energy-innovation"
StorEn: Leading the Future of Home Energy Storage - CleanTechnica
The article highlights StorEn as a pioneering company in home energy storage, addressing significant limitations of current lithium-ion batteries like Tesla’s Powerwall. Unlike typical home batteries that degrade within 5–10 years, pose fire hazards, and contribute to environmental waste, StorEn offers a durable, non-flammable, and fully recyclable battery with a 20-year lifespan. Their compact design leverages industrial-grade technology adapted for residential use, providing a safer and more sustainable energy storage solution for homeowners. With the residential energy storage market projected to exceed $90 billion by 2033, driven by clean energy adoption and lithium supply constraints, StorEn is well-positioned to capture market share. While Tesla currently dominates with 62%, StorEn’s safer, longer-lasting batteries also serve telecom, microgrids, and remote communities, broadening their commercial potential. Backed by CEO Angelo D’Anzi’s extensive expertise and a strong investor base raising $12.5 million, StorEn is accelerating production and global
energyhome-energy-storagebattery-technologyclean-energyrenewable-energyenergy-innovationsustainable-energyDanish firm's 100 MW thorium molten salt reactors get funding boost
Danish company Copenhagen Atomics has received a significant funding boost from the European Innovation Council (EIC), securing a $3 million grant and access to $17 million in potential equity to advance its thorium molten salt reactor (MSR) technology. Their innovative "Onion Core" design features a compact, containerized reactor engineered for factory mass production, aiming to deliver scalable, clean energy globally. Operating at atmospheric pressure with thorium-based liquid fuel and heavy water moderation, each 100 MWth unit can also utilize recycled nuclear waste, addressing both energy production and long-term nuclear waste management challenges. The company has made notable progress, having built and tested two full-scale non-fission prototypes and key components that have accumulated over 10,000 operating days. The new funding will support the construction of a third prototype and preparation for the first nuclear fission test in partnership with Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute. Copenhagen Atomics plans to have its first commercial reactor operational by 2028, with a
energynuclear-energythorium-reactormolten-salt-reactorclean-energysustainable-energyenergy-innovationTidal energy breakthrough: Six years of nonstop power sets global record
The MeyGen tidal stream array off Scotland’s northern coast has set a global record by operating continuously for over six years without unplanned maintenance, demonstrating unprecedented reliability for tidal energy systems. This milestone was achieved through the collaboration of SKF, a global engineering firm, and Proteus Marine Renewables, which developed turbines equipped with specialized underwater components designed to withstand harsh subsea conditions. The success of this pilot project, commissioned in 2017 and running continuously since 2018, marks a significant step toward proving tidal energy as a dependable and scalable clean power source capable of diversifying the global energy mix and reducing carbon emissions. Building on this achievement, Proteus plans to deploy 30 new 3-MW AR3000 turbines starting in 2026 across sites in Scotland, France, and Japan, each capable of powering approximately 3,000 homes, with ambitions to expand to 300 turbines. The predictable nature of tidal energy, unlike solar or wind, offers a consistent renewable resource, and the UK
tidal-energyrenewable-energymarine-turbinesenergy-innovationclean-energysustainable-powerSKF-engineeringTrump-backed DOME facility clears path for microreactor testing
The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has launched the world’s first nuclear microreactor test bed, known as the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME), aimed at accelerating the commercialization of advanced portable nuclear reactors. Backed by President Trump’s administration, which seeks to expand U.S. nuclear capabilities and global leadership, the DOME facility will enable private companies to conduct fueled reactor experiments as early as spring 2026. The Department of Energy (DOE) has conditionally selected Westinghouse and Radiant to test their innovative microreactor designs at DOME, leveraging streamlined regulatory processes introduced through recent NEPA reforms and an executive order to reduce bureaucratic delays. DOME repurposes the historic EBR-II dome at INL and benefits from priority status under the Defense Production Act, allowing experiments generating up to 20 megawatts of thermal energy. Westinghouse will test its eVinci Nuclear Test Reactor, a compact, transportable unit producing 5 meg
energynuclear-powermicroreactorIdaho-National-LaboratoryDepartment-of-Energyadvanced-reactor-technologyenergy-innovationGoogle inks its first fusion power deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Google has entered into its first fusion power agreement by committing to purchase half the output—200 megawatts—of Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ (CFS) first commercial fusion power plant, called Arc, expected to be operational in the early 2030s. Alongside this power purchase agreement, Google is participating in a new funding round for CFS, comparable in size to the previous $1.8 billion Series B round closed in 2021. CFS is currently building a demonstration fusion reactor, Sparc, near Boston, slated for completion in 2026, which will pave the way for the commercial Arc plant. This deal marks only the second major corporate power purchase agreement from a fusion startup, following Microsoft’s 2023 agreement with Helion Energy. Google’s investment aligns with its broader energy strategy to meet growing electricity demand driven by AI and cloud services, which require reliable, 24/7 power. While Google continues to invest heavily in renewables like solar, wind, and
energyfusion-powerrenewable-energycommercial-power-plantGoogle-energy-investmentclean-energy-technologyenergy-innovation‘Wings’ on poles: Bill Gates-backed wind tech plant takes off in US
Airloom Energy, a Wyoming-based startup backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, has begun construction on its first pilot facility in Rock River, aiming to revolutionize utility-scale wind energy. The company secured $13.75 million in funding last year to develop its innovative wind turbines, which are notably smaller and lighter than conventional models—standing at 82 feet compared to the typical 328 feet. Unlike traditional horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs), Airloom’s proprietary design features compact, modular turbines with rectangular swept areas, enabling higher energy conversion efficiency in less space. This approach addresses growing US energy security concerns and the anticipated energy shortfalls forecasted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Gartner. Airloom Energy’s CEO Neal Rickner emphasizes the urgent need for affordable, flexible, and rapidly deployable energy systems to meet increasing electricity demand driven by factors such as AI and digital infrastructure growth. The company’s turbines, made with mass-manufacturable US components, can
energywind-energyrenewable-energywind-turbinesenergy-innovationAirloom-Energysustainable-energyNew 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