As vital as it is for society to transition to renewable energy, it’s not as easy as simply swapping out fossil fuels for solar panels. To ensure they’re as efficient as possible, power infrastructures need powerful batteries to reliably house their excess generated energy for later use. Storage equipment has…
Read MoreWelcome aboard the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell superyacht
Superyachts are notoriously dirty luxury toys, with a single billionaire’s boat emitting as much as 7,020 tons of CO2 per year. And while it’s unlikely uber-wealthy shoppers are going to forgo from their statement vessels anytime soon, at the very least there’s now a chance to make superyachts greener. That’s…
Read MoreStellarator fusion reactor gets new life thanks to a creative magnet workaround
The quest to harness the holy grail of clean energy is potentially moving a step in the right direction thanks to the same principles behind refrigerator magnets. Earlier this week, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) revealed their new stellarator–a unique fusion reactor that uses…
Read MoreAI companies eye fossil fuels to meet booming energy demand
It takes massive amounts of energy to power the data center brains of popular artificial intelligence models. That demand is only growing. In 2024, many of Silicon Valley’s largest tech giants and hoards of budding, well-funded startups have (very publically) aligned themselves with climate action–awash with PR about their sustainability…
Read MoreEPA says over half of all new cars must be EVs or hybrids by 2032
The Biden administration has announced some of the biggest pollution regulations in US history. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency revealeded the finalization of new, enforceable standards meant to ensure electric and hybrid vehicles make up at least 56 percent of all passenger car and light truck sales by 2032.…
Read MoreHuge 60-foot-tall buoy uses ocean waves to create clean energy
Giant buoys over 60-feet tall may one day generate clean energy to feed into local power grids—but making it a reality isn’t as simple as going with the ocean’s flow. To successfully keep the idea afloat, it’s all about timing. Swedish company CorPower recently announced the completion of its first…
Read MoreCan EVs drive in National Radio Quiet Zone?
The United States National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) is a 13,000 square-mile rectangle covering the southernmost tip of Maryland’s western panhandle, the Allegheny Mountains in Eastern West Virginia, and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Central Virginia. The area exists to protect key government installations deep in the heart of the…
Read MoreHuge underwater ‘kite’ turbine powered 1,000 homes in the Faroe Islands
It’s been over a decade since PopSci last checked in on Minesto’s underwater “kite” turbine technology. Since then, the Swedish green energy startup has made some big strides in their creative approach to generating clean electricity from swimming against the ocean currents. Last week, Minesto announced a major moment for…
Read MoreAging reactor sets new fusion energy record in last hurrah
After 40 years of major nuclear fusion milestones, the Joint European Torus (JET) facility finally shut down in December 2023—but not without one final record shattering achievement. On Thursday, representatives for the groundbreaking tokamak reactor confirmed its final experiment generated 69.26 megajoules of energy in only five seconds. That’s over…
Read MoreSteel built the Rust Belt. Green steel could help rebuild it.
This article originally appeared in Grist. In the Mon Valley of western Pennsylvania, steel was once a way of life, one synonymous with the image of rural, working-class Rust Belt communities. At its height in 1910, Pittsburgh alone produced 25 million tons of it, or 60 percent of the nation’s…
Read More