Energy

an overhead shot of land split in three. the left side is dry and dusty. the middle has some vegetation, and the right side has a lot.

Desertification is destroying fertile land. Here’s how we’re fighting it.

a female presenting person in a lab coat holding a solar cell

New “tandem” solar cell breaks world record

A new tandem solar cell containing layers of silicon and perovskite has demonstrated an unprecedented efficiency of 33.7%.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

These 4 charts show the unstoppable growth of solar

Solar is growing fast enough to displace fossil fuels from the entire global economy before 2050, but infrastructure needs to keep up.

Andrew Blakers

Clean Energy

Zero-emission natural gas power plants are coming to US, UK

Net Power has designed a new kind of natural gas power plant that can efficiently capture almost all of the carbon dioxide it generates.

Kristin Houser

Agriculture

This machine can turn agricultural waste into fuel

Dumping and burning agricultural waste causes pollution and contributes to climate change. An India-based startup called Takachar promises to turn the problem into profits.

Teresa Carey

Series| Just Might Work

The secret lab making the most sustainable food in the world

7:02

The secret lab making the most sustainable food in the world

Freethink Team

Climate Crisis

Climate transparency is about to get real with this independent database

A new independent database uses satellite data and AI to track global greenhouse gas emissions in near real-time, boosting climate transparency.

Teresa Carey

Big Tech

Data centers need to be greener — Microsoft is leading the way

Microsoft’s plan for sustainable data centers includes more renewable energy, better temperature control, and new construction materials.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

Climate tech is booming — and this is better news than COP26

It’s estimated that 65% of emissions reductions can be achieved by existing technologies. The other 35% will need to come from tech breakthroughs.

Amanda Winkler

Series| Challengers

Aquaponic shipping containers: The future of food?

6:55

Imagine growing fish and vegetables in a shipping container in your closest parking spot.

Freethink Team

Clean Energy

We could see planes fueled by captured CO2 in 2022

Dimensional Energy, a startup based in New York, plans to use this new environmentally friendly jet fuel to conduct flight tests by 2022.

Amanda Winkler

Agriculture

New startup takes vertical farming underground — literally

GreenForges is building an underground farm it thinks will deliver the benefits of vertical farming without two of its major shortcomings.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

A robot boat tows kelp forests and sequesters carbon

The startup, Phykos, has sent a prototype of a solar-powered watercraft on a carbon-sequestering cruise in the Pacific Ocean, using an innovative kelp forest.

Teresa Carey

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