Category: Other Sciences

Funding for two new microreactors could bring reliable nuclear power to remote locations. Westinghousesecured US $3 million for its eVinci microreactor, and Radiant Industries received $2 million for its Kaleidos microreactor, both in November…

Over the last year, Spectrum’s editors have noticed an emerging through line connecting several major stories: the centrality of technology to geopolitics. Last month, our cover story, done in partnership with Foreign Policy magazine, was on…

After a half-century hiatus,thorium has returned to the front lines of nuclear power research as a source of fuel. In 2025, China plans to start building a demonstration thorium-based molten-salt reactor in the Gobi Desert.

The 10-megawatt…

Wielding a shiny chrome scoop, Michael Rosenthal leans over and digs into the powder in a half-filled 55-gallon drum. He holds up the scoop and takes a pinch in his fingers and smooshes it to show me the texture. It’s like talc, but it’s an…

IEEE Spectrum’s most-read energy stories of 2024 centered on creative ways to produce, store and connect more carbon-free energy. Our readers wanted to know more about power beaming, new kinds of nuclear fusion, vertical solar farms, powerful…

To Nick de Vries, chief technology officer at the solar-energy developer Silicon Ranch, a transformer is like an interstate on-ramp: It boosts the voltage of the electricity that his solar plants generate to match the voltage of grid transmission…

When Meta announced last week that it’s looking for a nuclear energy developer to power its future AI operations, it joined a growing cadre of tech companies all suddenly repeating the same refrain: We need more power—preferably…

While the world is waiting—and waiting—for the giant leap to solid-state batteries, a nimble step to silicon anode cells is well underway. That transitional stage includes a key ingredient made in the U.S., not China.

Sionic Energy today…

This Astrophysicist Makes Stellar Nurseries That Fit in the Palm of Your Hand

By Tulika Bose, Jason Drakeford & Kelso Harper…

This story was co-published with WBUR in Boston. Read its coverage on efforts to improve the Cape’s water pollution, including one innovative town considering “pee-cycling.” The documentary short was supported by the Pulitzer Center.