Stanfords new solar panels work at night and there’s more to come
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We are told solar panels only generate electricity when it’s sunny, but for researchers around the world that hasn’t been true for years. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, ...
The UK starts talks with SpaceX to launch a $20 Bn solar power station into orbit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Solar panels are affected by cloud and other environmental conditions like dust, but in space solar power stations would be free from these challenges and could generate alot more constant electricity. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses...
DeepMind’s AI can now successfully control plasma in a fusion reactor
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In order to maintain fusion superheated plasma has to be held in magnetic confinement and AI’s proving to be very good at managing that. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and...
UK’s National Grid in talks to create an energy island in the North Sea
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Energy islands can accelerate the world’s transition to renewable energy and decrease renewable energy costs by at least 10%. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog....
Japan to trial new energy tankers to transport energy from deep sea wind farms
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Energy that is generated and stored offshore needs transporting, just like we transport oil today, so Japan have created a new breed of “Energy tankers.” Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech...
Innovative Ocean Battery stores renewable energy at the bottom of the deep sea
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Sometimes energy generated by offshore wind farms is hard to store or transfer, this is a neat solution to that problem and new energy tankers can then collect the energy at their leisure. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself...
Novel Israeli startup uses ice to store solar energy and solve energy’s “Duck Curve”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today renewable energy sources don’t generate electricity 24/7, and while they will in the future for now we need a way to store excess energy so it can be released back to the grid when we need it. Love the Exponential Future? Join our...
Scotlands first underwater substation makes waves in the energy sector
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Offshore wind is becoming increasingly important and now a radical new substation design is giving it a big boost. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog....
Hydrofarms Dubai realises world first, uses Hydropanels to produce water from air
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Hydropanels are a new kind of solar panel that generate electricity and water – and they could be game changing. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
The world’s largest carbon capture and storage plant begins operation in Iceland
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas that’s driving climate change, so projects are underways to remove it from the atmosphere. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, read about exponential tech and trends, connect, watch a keynote,...
Michelin’s inflatable sails turn giant polluting cargo ships into giant sailing ships
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The global shipping industry contributes about 3% to all global greenhouse gas emissions, so companies are trying to help the industry go “green.” Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Beyond putting rubber...
Reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050 could cost over $92 Trillion says Bloomberg
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Switching the world away from “unsustainable” business models to “sustainable” net zero ones is a herculean and costly task and going green will take a lot of green. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote,...
China’s EAST nuclear fusion reactor smashes two world records
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Fusion has always been seen as the energy of the future, and slowly it’s getting closer. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Around the world the quest to create the world’s first...
Swedish company unveils the world’s first carbon free “Green steel”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Industries like the steel industry are among the world’s most polluting, but new technologies and techniques are making it greener. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. The world’s first customer delivery of...
Saudi megacity Neom to build world’s first solar dome desalination plant
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF More areas of the world are suffering from water scarcity, and while desalinating seawater is a solution it also has its issues that this goes some way to solving. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch...
The worlds first mountain based solar farm is 50 percent more efficient
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When it comes to solar where you build your solar farm really makes a difference … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. So far over 1 Trillion Watts of renewables have been...
Denmark approves the world’s first “Energy Island” project
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Noone seems to want wind turbines anywhere near their town, but there’s plenty of room at sea for them … Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Denmark, the nation that built the...
Gravity energy storage finds a new way to solve renewable energy’s achilles heel
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today solar panels only generate electricity when there’s sunlight, wind farms when there’s wind, so energy needs to be stored so it can be released later. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Renewable...
The future of power is transcontinental supergrids that connect the world’s energy supplies
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today if you generate electricity in one part of the world you can’t transport it to any other place in the world – supergrids are a paradigm shift. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote,...
New Norwegian wind farm trials giant wind catcher grids with hundreds of wind turbines
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Wind power projects are springing up all over the world and companies are now starting to innovate new more powerful designs. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. By now we’re all familiar...