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.
Top News
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France has upped the ante in the quest for fusion power by maintaining a plasma reaction for over 22 minutes – a new record. The milestone was reached on Feb. 12 at the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives WEST Tokamak reactor. -
China has approved what is set to become the biggest hydropower dam complex in the world, capable of producing nearly three times as much power as the current record-holder, the Three Gorges Dam. -
Elecom has launched the world's first power bank to feature a sodium-ion battery inside. It promises significantly longer cycle life than traditional lithium-ion batteries, as well as the ability to operate in extremely hot and cold climes.
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Latest News
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November 30, 2025 | Malcolm AzaniaHigh-efficiency, inexpensive LEDs and solar cells may arise from crystalline structures cheaper than silicon. A new vapor-based method works like superconductor manufacturing, creating perovskite layers at the Angstrom level for greater durability. -
November 30, 2025 | Michael FrancoWhile lithium extraction technologies generally focus on ways to get the essential metal out of the ground, there's another source to mine: existing batteries that no longer work. A new technique could now make that process economically viable. -
November 28, 2025 | Abhimanyu GhoshalInspired by children's science projects that used a lemon and copper wire to power a lightbulb, researchers explored how citric acid could enhance a gelatin-based electrolyte and create a biodegradable battery that can also stretch. -
November 23, 2025 | David SzondyWhat if you could draw energy from the night sky without effort? That's the question that researchers at the University of California, Davis are trying to answer with a new engine that generates power simply by sitting under the clear starry heavens. -
November 20, 2025 | David SzondyStar Catcher Industries has set a new record for beaming power at a distance. Its Star Catcher Network technology beamed 1.1 kW of power at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida using off-the-shelf solar panel components. -
November 17, 2025 | Malcolm AzaniaBumblebee Power is changing the space race with wireless charging technology suitable for missions to Mars. It’s one giant step for the impact of space-tech entrepreneurs, and even more surprising for a company advertising tech for charging phones. -
November 14, 2025 | David SzondyNuclear waste and a hydrogen economy may seem poles apart, but a new study by the University of Sharjah claims that spent fuel from nuclear power plants could be used to increase the efficiency of converting water into hydrogen and oxygen. -
November 14, 2025 | Malcolm AzaniaA human-metabolism-inspired biofuel cell uses glucose and riboflavin to deliver 20 times more energy than similar previous tech. Made from cheap, eco-friendly substances, it offers energy storage for a world craving electrification. -
October 30, 2025 | David SzondyRolls-Royce is ditching diesel for methanol with its new maritime engine, described as the world's first high-speed marine engine in its performance class to operate exclusively on pure wood alcohol for a potentially CO₂-neutral drivetrain. -
October 29, 2025 | Michael FrancoJanta Power has just snagged US$5.5 million in a round of seed funding to continue the deployment of its pivoting solar power towers. The vertical design and smart tracking functions of the towers offer big improvements over flat panel arrays. -
October 21, 2025 | Bronwyn ThompsonChina has finished construction of what’s being billed as the world’s first wind-powered underwater data center. The project, which cost around 1.6 billion yuan (US$226 million), marks a bold step in green, high-performing computing infrastructure. -
October 20, 2025 | David SzondyIn the shadow of a service outage that affected millions of users, outside of Richland, Washington, internet commerce giant Amazon is building the first of a series of modular nuclear power stations to protect its data services from outages. -
October 17, 2025 | Michael FrancoThanks to the development of new, lightweight rotors, engineers in Germany have created a small wind turbine that excels at efficiency, even when breezes aren't blowing strongly. The development is a big step toward efficient green home power generation. -
October 12, 2025 | David SzondyLiving up to its name, University of Washington spin-off company ZAP Energy's Century system is developing fusion power technology by blasting plasma with super-lightning-like pulses 12 times per minute, without relying on superconducting magnets or laser beams. -
October 02, 2025 | Abhimanyu GhoshalScientists have been working on enhancing concrete to store energy. That includes researchers at MIT, who found a way to combine cement, water, and carbon black to create a 'supercapacitor' for this purpose back in 2023. It's now 10x better at this.
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