Energy
Humankind's insatiable appetite for energy has put the planet in a very precarious position environmentally, but it also drives prosperity and improved living standards. New Atlas keeps you up to date with the latest breakthroughs in the energy sector, from the expanding field of renewable energy production to the exponential rise of battery technology and the slow march towards nuclear fusion.
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A new report has assessed the feasibility of deploying small modular nuclear reactors to meet increasing energy demands around the world. The findings don't look so good for this particular form of energy production. -
Minesto's fully operational Dragon 12 looks like some sort of futuristic military drone – but it behaves remarkably like a kite underwater. It uses lift generated by tidal flows to fly patterns faster than the currents, harvesting renewable energy. -
Sweden's CorPower has announced "breakthrough" results from Atlantic ocean testing of its full-scale floating generators, which cleverly time their motions to amplify smaller waves while protecting themselves against dangerous storm conditions.
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Latest News
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October 08, 2024Seeking to improve the tokamak fusion reactor known as ITER, researchers have found a way to stop rogue tungsten atoms from shearing off the walls and messing with the plasma. The finding is another important milestone on fusion's road to success. -
October 08, 2024Swedish company NoviOcean has tested a third-gen prototype of its combination wind/solar/wave energy platform, a floating platform rated for up to 1 MW of consistent clean energy around the clock, thanks to a fascinating buoyancy-driven mechanism. -
September 26, 2024Scientists in Japan have developed a new organic device that can harvest energy from heat. Unlike other thermoelectric generators, this one works at room temperature without a heat gradient. -
September 26, 2024Westinghouse Electric Company is advancing its revolutionary eVinci nuclear microreactor. Based on space nuclear technology, it boasts a tiny footprint, no moving parts, and can be swapped out for refueling, much like replacing a used gas bottle. -
September 26, 2024An innovative hybrid solar device that combines a PV panel and energy storage has achieved record levels of energy storage efficiency. Unlike conventional batteries, the molecular solar thermal energy storage (MOST) device doesn't rely on scarce materials. -
September 22, 2024In a remarkable topical twofer, not only is Microsoft turning to nuclear power to run its data centers, it's commissioned the restarting of the infamous Three Mile Island station – the site of the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history. -
September 19, 2024When you picture a sci-fi energy source, glowing green crystals are right up there. Scientists in China have now demonstrated just that, in the form of a “micronuclear battery” that can provide continuous low levels of power for decades. -
September 17, 2024Taking a leaf out of the plant book, scientists have used a method not unlike photosynthesis to harness the power of sunlight and turn two destructive greenhouse gases into useful, prized chemicals for renewable fuel and greener manufacturing. -
September 15, 2024China leads the world in solar power. And not just by a small margin either. It has over twice as much solar power as the next highest country, the USA. Where do you store any excess solar energy? Answer: in ridiculously big batteries. -
September 09, 2024If you find yourself in the Australian port city of Albany and spot a humongous yellow machine bobbing in the waves of King George Sound, don't be alarmed. It's just a generator prototype making a case for renewable wave energy. -
September 06, 2024Aeromine has installed a silent and motionless wind energy harnessing system on the roof of BMW's MINI manufacturing plant in Oxford, UK. They're meant to complement the factory's solar panels to produce clean energy, while taking up a lot less space. -
September 05, 2024The WindFloat Atlantic project – the world's first semi-submersible floating offshore wind farm – has exceeded expectations over the last four years of operation, generating a total of 320 GWh of electricity, enough to power about 25,000 homes each year. -
September 04, 2024Mingyang Smart Energy said last week that it's installed “the world’s largest single-capacity offshore wind turbine” in a project in Hainan, China. The turbine delivers a power output of up to 20 MW, besting its previous 18 MW model from 2023. -
September 03, 2024Sweden’s Enerpoly has flung open the doors to its zinc-ion battery megafactory in the north of Stockholm – making it the first manufacturing facility to use this battery technology at a large scale in the world. -
August 30, 2024Researchers at Switzerland's ETH Zurich have devised a cheap and safe way to store hydrogen in ordinary steel-walled containers for months without losing it into the atmosphere – using iron.
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