World's Largest

Australia’s Hunter Valley is set to become home to the world’s biggest battery. At 1.2 gigawatts, it will set a new global benchmark – albeit one that’s sure to be eclipsed as the benefits of these giant grid-scale batteries become better understood.

​Back in 1991, paleontologists from the University of Alberta discovered the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex in the province of Saskatchewan. Nicknamed "Scotty" in honor of a celebratory bottle of Scotch that was enjoyed when its skeleton was found, it has now been declared the world's largest T rex.

Right on schedule, the world’s tallest statue has officially opened in India. Standing almost 600 ft (182 m) tall, the new Statue of Unity depicts Indian freedom fighter Vallabhbhai Patel, and was dedicated by India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at a ceremony on October 31.

Costing 15.73 billion RMB (around US$20 billion) and measuring 55 km (34 miles)-long including connecting roads, the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is the world's longest sea crossing bridge. Following nine years of construction, it connects the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and Macau.

3D-printed construction is portable and inexpensive, and could help build a safe barracks in a shorter time. With this in mind, the US Marine Corps Systems Command recently constructed a prototype concrete barracks in under two days with what it says is the world's largest 3D printer.

​Back in 1998, scientists from the University of Kansas unearthed a gigantic fossilized dinosaur foot in the Black Hills of Wyoming. Nicknamed "Bigfoot" at the time, it's now been officially certified as the largest dinosaur foot ever found.

​Australian company Titomic has unveiled what it claims is the world's largest metal 3D printer. Utilizing a patented process co-developed with Australian federal scientific research agency the CSIRO, the 3D metal printer boasts a build area 9 m long, 3 m wide and 1.5 m high (29.5 x 9.8 x 4.9 ft).

​Last month, GE unveiled its plan to build the world's largest, most powerful offshore wind turbine, known as the Haliade-X. This Tuesday, it was announced that the rig will be tested and developed over the next five years, at the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult research center.

Dinosaurs are famous for their size, but the largest known animal to have ever existed is still with us today: the blue whale. Now a new study reports the discovery of a huge fossilized jawbone belonging to an unknown species of ichthyosaur that may have measured up to 26 m (85 ft) long.​

Northern France isn't generally thought of as a tropical paradise but a section of it soon will be, courtesy of Coldefy & Associates. The French firm recently unveiled its plan to construct the world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse in the Pas-de-Calais area.

After more than three years of construction the world's largest statue is on track for an October 2018 opening. The massive Statue of Unity in India is set to tower an extraordinary 600 feet (183 m), almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty.

Here at New Atlas we cover a wide variety of topics, so it's always interesting to arrive at the end of another year and see what most struck a chord with readers over the past 12 months. Read on to see what captured the imagination of you, our readers, in 2017.