Energy & Climate
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US and Japan Announce $40 Billion Small Modular Reactor Deal as America's Nuclear Construction Pipeline Widens
The US and Japan unveiled a $40 billion plan to build BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama, weeks after the NRC granted TerraPower a historic advanced reactor permit.
Global Wind and Solar Additions Hit Record 814 GW in 2025, Pushing Total Capacity Past the 4 Terawatt Mark
The world installed a record 814 GW of wind and solar capacity in 2025, a 17 percent increase over 2024, lifting total global capacity past 4 terawatts for the first time while wind and solar overtook fossil fuels in EU electricity generation.
The Solid-State Battery Race Reaches a Turning Point as Chinese and Western Players Sprint Toward Commercialization
Eve Energy, QuantumScape, Changan, and others are moving solid-state batteries from lab curiosity to production reality in 2026, but divergent strategies and persistent cost challenges will determine who leads the next era of energy storage.
DOE Deploys $1.9 Billion SPARK Program to Upgrade US Transmission Grid Through Reconductoring Instead of New Construction
The US Department of Energy has opened a $1.9 billion funding round under its SPARK program to accelerate grid modernization by replacing aging transmission wires with advanced conductors, a strategy that can double line capacity at half the cost of building new infrastructure.
Toyota and Hyundai Showcase Competing Hydrogen Strategies at Tokyo Expo as Industry Pivots from Passenger Cars to Industrial Scale
Toyota debuted a 5MW electrolyzer and Hyundai launched its HTWO brand at the Tokyo H2 Expo, while Hyundai deployed South America's first hydrogen truck fleet in Uruguay.
Chemical Recycling of Plastic Reaches Industrial Scale as Neste Opens World's Largest Upgrading Facility and Researchers Crack Low-Energy PET Conversion
Neste has commissioned a EUR 111 million facility in Finland for 150,000 tons of waste plastic per year, while UNIST researchers demonstrate PET decomposition at half the usual temperature with hydrogen co-production.
Fourth Power Nears Completion of Thermal Battery Prototype That Stores Grid Energy as White-Hot Heat in Liquid Tin
The MIT spinout plans to demonstrate a 1 MWh thermal battery in Bedford, Massachusetts this year, using graphite bricks heated to 2,400 degrees Celsius and liquid tin to deliver grid-scale storage at a claimed $25 per kilowatt-hour, a fraction of lithium-ion costs.
Carbon Capture Enters Its Commercial Era as First Megascale DAC and CCS Plants Near Operations
With the Stratos direct air capture facility in Texas targeting Q2 startup, California's first CCS project nearing injection, and Norway's Northern Lights expanding, the carbon capture industry is transitioning from pilot projects to commercial-scale operations in 2026.
Fervo Energy Secures $421 Million in Debt Financing for Cape Station as IPO Plans Take Shape
Fervo Energy closed a $421 million non-recourse financing package for its flagship Cape Station enhanced geothermal project in Utah, with first power expected in 2026 and an IPO filing reportedly underway.
Deep-Sea Mining Regulations Stall at ISA as Scientists Catalog 788 Unknown Species in the Zone Slated for Extraction
The ISA adjourned without completing deep-sea mining rules as a Nature study found 90 percent of species in the target zone remain unknown and the US fast-tracks its own permits.
Flocean One Nears Launch at Mongstad as the World's First Commercial Subsea Desalination Plant Prepares to Deliver Freshwater from 600 Meters Below the North Sea
Norwegian startup Flocean is preparing to launch Flocean One, the world's first commercial subsea desalination plant, at Mongstad in Q2 2026, using deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 50 percent.
Unprecedented March Heat Wave Shatters Records Across the Western US as Phoenix Hits 105 Degrees
An extraordinary heat dome is delivering summer-like temperatures across the American Southwest in mid-March, breaking century-old records and threatening already depleted snowpack.