Aalo Atomics, a company building fully modular nuclear plants (XMRs) to power modern AI data centers, unveiled the first non-nuclear prototype of its Aalo-1 reactor as well as its 40,000 ft2 manufacturing facility in Austin. The Aalo-1 reactor is the core component of the company’s Aalo Pod XMR, a 50... Read more →

Columbia Engineering launched the Columbia Fusion Research Center, which aims to accelerate the development of fusion energy science and technology to provide a sustainable and scalable energy source. Carlos Paz-Soldan, associate professor of applied physics and applied mathematics at Columbia Engineering, will serve as founding director. The Center aims to... Read more →

Technology group Wärtsilä has partnered with Brazilian energy company Energetica Suape II S.A, majority owned by Grupo Econômico 4M, to conduct a trial using ethanol to generate clean power. Taking place at the Suape II power station in Recife, Brazil, the trial will test the world’s-first ethanol-fueled engine for large-scale... Read more →

Karpowership—the builder, operator and owner of power-plant ships (Powerships)—has commissioned MAN Energy Solutions to deliver 24 × 18V51/60DF dual-fuel engines. The engines—each providing a capacity of 20.7 MW for power generation—will be employed aboard several barges due to operate globally. In addition to natural gas, the 18V51/60DF engine can also... Read more →

Scientists and engineers at General Atomics (GA) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) will collaborate to establish a Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center in San Diego. The new center sets the stage for even deeper collaborations in advanced digital engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), machine... Read more →

Rio Tinto and Edify Energy have signed two new solar and battery hybrid services agreements (HSAs) to increase the supply of reliable, competitively priced electricity to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone aluminum operations in Queensland. Under the agreements, Rio Tinto will purchase 90% of the power and battery storage capacity generated by... Read more →

Cummins and Liberty Energy announced that the industry’s first natural-gas variable-speed, large-displacement engine to power Liberty’s digiPrime hydraulic fracturing platform will be deployed in the first half of 2025. The companies entered into a strategic partnership in June 2024 to develop the technology jointly for the completions services market. In... Read more →

The UK government is awarding £410 million (US$499 million) to support the rapid development of the UK fusion energy sector over 2025 to 2026 with investment in the skills needed for scientists, engineers, welders and program managers to enter the cutting-edge industry. Fusion already supports thousands of jobs in the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $30 million to increase geothermal power production by unlocking superhot reservoirs deep within the Earth. (DE-FOA-0003556) Currently, geothermal baseload production in the US is limited to 4 gigawatts (GW). ARPA-E’s Stimulate Utilization of Plentiful Energy in Rocks through... Read more →

NANO Nuclear Energy, a nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing portable, clean energy solutions, executed a definitive agreement to acquire select nuclear energy technology assets from Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, “USNC”). The acquired assets include USNC’s patented Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) system,... Read more →

Technology group Wärtsilä is part of a new research project exploring innovative technology for cleaner, more energy-efficient engines utilizing a closed loop combustion cycle. The research will focus on the use of argon—a non-toxic ideal gas present in the atmosphere—to increase efficiency of balancing engines. The co-innovation project is run... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed to strengthen limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from most new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired stationary combustion turbines. The proposal would ensure that new turbines built at power plants or industrial facilities—especially large ones that could operate for decades—would be among the... Read more →

Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Using an unconventional approach inspired by quantum physics, Rice engineer Gururaj Naik and his team designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within... Read more →

GE Vernova announced that the LM6000 gas turbine, included in the GE Vernova LM6000VELOX packaged solution is planned to operate on 100% hydrogen at the Whyalla hydrogen power plant in the Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia. GE Vernova announced it has secured an order with ATCO Australia for four LM6000VELOX... Read more →

Rio Tinto has approved construction of a new 25-megawatt solar plant at its Kennecott copper operation in Utah, bringing the mine’s total solar capacity to 30MW. The new solar plant will be located next to Kennecott’s existing 5MW solar plant, which was completed in 2023. Together, the two solar plants... Read more →

The United States announced new nuclear energy deployment targets at the UN climate summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. As outlined in the framework, the aim is to deploy 200 GW of net new nuclear energy capacity by 2050, at least tripling current US capacity. The net new capacity gains are... Read more →

A team of researchers with Prof. Laura Nousch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Dresden has developed a demonstrator based on a high-temperature fuel cell stack (solid oxide fuel cell, SOFC) that can use ammonia to generate electricity directly and with high efficiency. Electricity and... Read more →

X-Energy Reactor Company, a nuclear reactor and fuel design engineering company, announced a Series C-1 financing round of approximately $500 million, anchored by Amazon. The investment will help meet growing energy demands by funding the completion of X-energy’s reactor design and licensing as well as the first phase of its... Read more →

The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program has successfully enrolled 515 megawatts (MW) of capacity, with more than 265,000 participants contributing to the state’s efforts to maintain a clean, reliable energy grid during extreme events. Launched in August 2022, the DSGS program is part of California’s... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE), through its Loan Programs Office (LPO), has closed a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program to Holtec Palisades to help finance the restoration and resumption of service of an 800-MW nuclear generating station... Read more →

LiquidPiston, an innovator of efficient internal combustion engine technology and hybrid power systems, has begun testing its 10kW heavy-fueled generator prototype. The genset is powered by LiquidPiston’s 25hp heavy-fueled XTS-210 rotary engine, which itself entered its integrated engine testing phase in April 2024. The company has been awarded more than... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) opened an opportunity (DE-FOA-0003415) for up to $112.5 million in funding to advance the commercial readiness of wave energy technologies through open water testing and system validation. This five-year investment will significantly accelerate the design, fabrication, and testing of multiple... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) recently announced $8.8 million for 11 university-based research and development projects to improve the performance of hydrogen-fueled turbines. The selected projects will develop advanced materials and components that can better manage and withstand the extreme environment... Read more →

Hyliion Holdings has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) government contract by the United States Navy. Phase 1 of the award, N241–060, will allow Hyliion to create a preliminary design of a modular generator system that integrates the Navy’s specifications with Hyliion’s KARNO generator technology. The KARNO generator... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a report that makes actionable recommendations to address five gaps in the domestic hydropower supply chain. Hydropower makes up about 27% of renewable electricity generation in the United States and is an important component of the nation’s goal of achieving a 100% clean... Read more →

Bloom Energy is now offering the Bloom Energy Server power solution with ~60% electrical efficiency while using 100% hydrogen. Bloom engineers achieved the milestone efficiency at the company’s research and development facility in Fremont, California. Carbon-free hydrogen fuel cell for electricity production enables 24 X 7 clean power in conjunction... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will award $41 million to 14 projects to develop technologies, Renewables-to-Liquids (RtL), for harnessing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to produce liquids for sustainable fuels or chemicals that can be transported and stored as easily as carbon-intensive liquids such as gasoline... Read more →

Coal stockpiles at US electric power plants totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the first half of 2020 when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced electricity demand and coal consumption, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In the United States,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) announced an intent (DE-FOA-0003427) to provide up to $112.5 million in funding to advance the commercial readiness of wave energy technologies through open water testing and system validation. Topic Area 1 leverages wave energy technologies that provide power to distributed... Read more →

Natura Resources, LLC (Natura) is partnering with the Texas Produced Water Consortium (TxPWC) at Texas Tech University to look at the deployment of Natura’s liquid-fueled molten salt reactor (LF-MSR) technology to power the Permian Basin. Dubbed “Fortifying the Future,” this partnership provides an opportunity to deploy Natura’s LF-MSR technology to... Read more →

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that the United States will generate more electricity from renewables and coal in the second half of this year, as electricity demand and natural gas prices increase. In its July Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts that natural gas prices will be about... Read more →

Rolls-Royce has started, with a consortium of five companies and research institutes, to develop the necessary technologies for a highly efficient first-of-a-kind hydrogen combustion engine to drive combined heat and power (CHP) systems. Under the Phoenix (Performance Hydrogen Engine for Industrial and X) project, funded by the German Government, the... Read more →

Technology group Wärtsilä launched the world’s first large-scale 100% hydrogen-ready engine power plant. The IEA World Energy Outlook 2023 shows that hydrogen is an essential component of future power systems. According to the report, the pathway to reach net zero emissions by 2050 requires 17 Mt of hydrogen to be... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced six projects selected to receive approximately $9.3 million in federal funding to develop technology solutions to make clean hydrogen a more available and affordable fuel for electricity generation, industrial decarbonization, and transportation. The projects will... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released the DOE Fusion Energy Strategy 2024. DOE Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 is organized around three pillars: closing the science and technology (S&T) gaps to a commercially relevant fusion pilot plant; preparing the path to sustainable, equitable commercial fusion deployment; and building and leveraging... Read more →

FuelCell Energy and Gyeonggi Green Energy announced that pursuant to a long-term service agreement, GGE has agreed to purchase 42 1.4-megawatt upgraded carbonate fuel cell modules from FuelCell Energy to replace existing fuel cell modules at the Hwaseong Baran Industrial Complex fuel cell power platform, the world’s largest fuel cell... Read more →

Swiss Steel Group is participating in a consortium for renewable energies, the “Initiative EE-Industrie”. This initiative, comprising 19 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, aims to build, operate and utilize wind and photovoltaic plants for self-supply with green electricity. Based on initial forecasts, the consortium will require a total... Read more →

Hydro-Québec, the largest power utility in Canada, and a major player in the global hydropower industry, has joined the Linux Foundation Energy (LF Energy)—the open-source foundation focused on harnessing the power of collaborative software and hardware technologies to accelerate the energy transition—as a General Member. LF Energy members provide funding... Read more →

Used primarily in high-voltage electrical switchgear in electric power grids, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is one of the most potent greenhouse gases on Earth. The GWP of SF6 is 24,300 that of CO2, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). In the 21st century, atmospheric... Read more →

In California, an increase in power sector greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from in-state generation, in recent years is offsetting progress made in the transportation sector, and threatening the state’s goals overall, according to the 15th annual California Green Innovation Index, released by the nonpartisan nonprofit Next 10 and prepared by... Read more →

Kohler Power Systems, part of Kohler Energy, collaborated with Toyota Motor North America to develop and install a hydrogen fuel cell power generation system at the Klickitat Valley Health hospital in Goldendale, Washington. The fuel cell power system combines Kohler and Toyota technologies to showcase the viability of the zero-emission... Read more →

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced two innovative marine energy projects will receive a combined $6 million to develop a tidal energy research, development, and demonstration pilot site in the United States. In addition, a community-led river current energy research and development project was selected to receive $9.5 million. Tides... Read more →

Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply its Gladstone operations in Queensland, agreeing to buy the majority of electricity from Windlab’s planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind energy project. The agreement, which follows the announcement last month of a PPA for the Upper Calliope... Read more →

Holtec International announced a new power plant design which melds the benefits of nuclear (high energy density, non-polluting, base load) with those of solar (zero fuel cost, minor regulatory barriers) that is entirely carbon-free and is adaptable for deployment in any country. Called CNSP, an acronym for Combined Nuclear/Solar Plant,... Read more →

Rio Tinto will drive development of Australia’s largest solar power project near Gladstone, after agreeing to buy all electricity from the 1.1GW Upper Calliope Solar Farm to provide renewable power to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone operations. The agreement will bring more renewable power into one of Australia’s most important industrial hubs... Read more →

Tokyo Tech scientists have developed environmentally benign inverse-perovskites with high energy conversion efficiency with potential for practical application as thermoelectric materials (TEMs). Addressing the limitations typically faced with TEMs, such as insufficient energy conversion efficiency and environmental toxicity due to heavy elements, the new TEMs provide a suitable alternative to... Read more →

MAN Energy Solutions and Turkey-based Karpowership have signed a contract for the delivery of a total of 48 dual-fuel engines for Karpowership’s fleet of power plant ships (Powerships). The engine order consists of MAN 18V51/60DF dual-fuel engines with a mechanical output of 20.7 MW each. The main advantage of dual... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $30 million in funding to develop first-wall materials—the materials used for the chamber where fusion reactions occur—that can maintain design performance in a fusion power plant. (DE-FOA-0003240) As fusion energy advances toward commercial deployment, finding materials capable of optimized performance for... Read more →

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is partnering with Zodiac Maritime, HD KSOE and KEPCO E&C in a joint development project for the research and development of nuclear-propelled ship designs, including bulk carriers and containerships, with the parties signing a MOU at Korea’s HD Hyundai Global R&D Center. The move comes as the... Read more →

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have found that in some parts of the country, compound energy droughts—i.e., when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, both at the sametime—can last nearly a week. The team published the findings in an open-access paper in the journal Renewable... Read more →