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.
Latest News
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Revolutionary grid-scale wave energy generator deployed in Hawaii
July 26, 2024Ocean Energy has deployed its 826-tonne wave energy converter buoy OE-35 at the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site off the coast of the island of Oahu ahead of it being hooked up to Hawaii's electricity grid. -
Seawater-slurping hydrogen reactor able to power a sub for 30 days
July 25, 2024MIT scientists have discovered an intriguing new way to produce hydrogen fuel, using just soda cans, seawater and coffee grounds. The team says the chemical reaction could power engines or fuel cells in marine vehicles that suck in seawater. -
World’s first ‘meltdown-proof’ nuclear reactor aces safety test
July 24, 2024China's Tsinghua University has scored a world first by demonstrating the inherent safety of the first operating commercial pebble-bed nuclear reactor by shutting off the power and letting the passive systems maintain control of the reactor core. -
World-first wind turbine tech puts an 8-megawatt charger on an oil rig
July 24, 2024In the Belgian North Sea, maintenance vessels are now able to tether to an automatic cable at a wind farm to get their batteries topped up. The innovative system is the first of its kind and a major step in helping reduce emissions from shipping. -
Massive 40-MW floating wind turbine array wins major tick of approval
July 23, 2024Wind Catching Systems has received an important tick of approval for its enormous 40-megawatt Windcatcher offshore floating wind turbine array, as it prepares to build a full size demonstrator project off the Norwegian coast. -
Wind energy blows away coal-fired power in the US
July 21, 2024According to the US Energy Information Administration, in the five years from 2019 to 2024, in March and April specifically, electricity production using wind power has almost doubled, significantly outdoing generation from coal-fired power plants. -
Massive Australia-to-Singapore clean energy cable gets green light
July 17, 2024The world's largest renewable energy and transmission project has received key approval from government officials. The Australia-Asia Power Link project will send Australian solar power to Singapore via 4,300 kilometer-long undersea cables. -
World's first dual-tower solar thermal plant boosts efficiency by 24%
July 17, 2024Two 650-foot-tall towers have risen in China's Gansu Province. Combined with an array of 30,000 mirrors arranged in concentric circles, the new facility is expected to generate over 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. -
Fusion energy companies unite to accelerate commercial power
July 08, 2024A recent ITER workshop bringing together almost 50 CEOs and senior scientists from private fusion startups suggests that combining the technologies from magnetic and laser fusion experiments could accelerate the development of practical fusion power. -
New hybrid perovskite solar cell boasts long life and high efficiency
July 07, 2024Perovskite materials are poised to take on the reigning champion of solar, silicon, but their stability is holding them back. Now, scientists in China have developed a new type of hybrid perovskite that boasts a very good efficiency over a long life. -
Full-scale self-assembling wind turbine system funded for construction
July 05, 2024These remarkable modular wind turbines stack themselves up section by section, removing the need for gigantic cranes and promising to slash the cost of offshore wind installation by as much as half. New investment has kicked off the first project. -
Geothermal fracking plant scores world-record energy contract in Utah
July 04, 2024Just a year ago, Fervo Energy successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of its horizontally oriented geothermal system. Now the company has landed a massive contract for providing its clean, virtually endless power to the California grid. -
Offshore wind turbine platform pivots downwind like a weathervane
July 02, 2024A new offshore wind farm system that promises faster, cheaper installation and operations will be tested in the Mediterranean. Called the NextFloat+ Project, it received a €13.4-million (US$14.4-million) grant from the European Commission. -
Green hydrogen breakthrough swaps in water for iridium
June 21, 2024Hydrogen shows a lot of promise as a powerful, clean fuel source – as long as the process that creates it is also green. A new report shows how tough it might be to get to truly green hydrogen, while a new study removes a barrier to its creation. -
Energy-positive laser fusion approach heads toward commercialization
June 19, 2024With the promise of unlimited energy, Xcimer has raised over US$100 million from investors and the US Department of Energy to develop a high-energy laser system that's intended for use in a practical fusion power plant.
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