Energy & Climate
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Inertia Enterprises and Lawrence Livermore Sign Landmark Fusion Partnership, Licensing 200 Patents to Commercialize NIF Science
Fusion startup Inertia Enterprises signed three agreements with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on April 14, gaining rights to ~200 patents to build a commercial laser fusion power plant.
Nissan Validates 23-Cell Prototype Pack as China's Greater Bay Technology Ships First All-Solid-State A-Samples
Nissan's 23-layer solid-state prototype meets vehicle performance targets; GAC-backed Greater Bay Technology rolls out first A-samples aiming for GWh production in 2026.
SunZia Wind Begins Feeding the Grid, Breaking California Wind Records Eight Times in Four Weeks
Pattern Energy's 3.5 GW SunZia project in New Mexico—the largest clean energy infrastructure project in US history—started commissioning in April 2026, delivering power across a 550-mile HVDC line to California and Arizona.
Rivian Starts R2 Production Days After Tornado Rips Through Factory, Stakes Company's Future on Affordable EV
Rivian began building its mass-market R2 SUV on April 22 despite an EF-1 tornado tearing through the Normal, Illinois factory five days earlier.
TEPCO Resumes Commercial Operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6, the First Post-Fukushima Restart for the Fukushima Operator
Tokyo Electric Power Company restarted commercial operations at the world's largest nuclear plant on April 16, 2026, ending a 14-year shutdown of TEPCO's entire nuclear fleet since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident.
Meta Reserves Up to 1 GW of Noon Energy's Carbon-Oxygen Batteries, Betting a NASA Mars Chemistry Can Power AI Data Centers for 100 Hours
Meta signed a reservation deal for up to 100 GWh of ultra-long-duration storage from Noon Energy, a startup whose reversible fuel cell borrows chemistry from NASA's MOXIE Mars experiment.
CATL Unveils Third-Generation Shenxing LFP Battery That Charges to 98 Percent in 6 Minutes 27 Seconds, Leapfrogging BYD's Blade 2.0
At its April 21 Super Technology Day in Beijing, CATL introduced a new ultra-fast charging LFP cell that outpaces BYD's recently unveiled Blade Battery 2.0 and reshapes the fast-charging race.
New Jersey Lifts 50-Year Nuclear Moratorium as NRC Unveils First New Licensing Framework Since 1989
New Jersey ends a de facto nuclear construction ban while the NRC finalizes Part 53, a landmark rule that streamlines reactor approvals for the first time in decades.
EPFL and CSEM Break 30% Efficiency Barrier With Perovskite-Silicon Triple-Junction Solar Cell
Swiss researchers set a new certified record of 30.02% efficiency for a triple-junction solar cell combining silicon with two perovskite layers, published in Nature.
China's Battery Makers Are Building 900 GWh of Storage Capacity as Export Rebates Fade
Chinese battery makers are racing to add stationary-storage capacity while Beijing phases out export rebates, a shift that could tighten margins abroad and deepen domestic grid-storage demand.
Wright Tells Congress First 5 to 10 New US Nuclear Reactors Will 'Almost Certainly' Get DOE Loans
At an April 16 House Appropriations hearing, Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged that the first five to ten new planned US nuclear reactors will almost certainly receive financing from the DOE lending office, directing the agency's renamed loan authority toward first-of-a-kind projects.
ERCOT Projects Texas Peak Demand Could Quadruple to 367 GW by 2032 as Data Centers Drive Over 60% of Growth, but Grid Operator Warns Forecast Is Likely Inflated
ERCOT's preliminary 2026-2032 load forecast filed April 15 projects peak demand reaching 367,790 MW, more than four times the current record, with data centers accounting for over 60% of the projected growth. CEO Pablo Vegas and the PUCT say the number is almost certainly too high.