In the Media

How China became the king of new nuclear power, and how the U.S. is trying to stage a comeback

NBC    ·    September 21, 2023

Jacopo Buongiorno (Nuclear Science and Engineering) discusses the future of nuclear energy in the United States, stating that the U.S. may catch up to China if the new technologies being developed here are technically and commercially successful.

Old west Virginia steel mill becomes a green-energy powerhouse

Wall Street Journal    ·    September 21, 2023

MIT startup Form Energy—co-founded by Yet-Ming Chiang (Materials Science and Engineering)—was created with the goal to “develop batteries that were cheap, didn’t catch fire, didn’t need scarce and costly metals like cobalt and lithium, and could produce electricity for a long time.”

MIT researcher Jessika Trancik says we need to lower the ‘soft’ costs of climate tech

Boston Globe    ·    September 6, 2023

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) discusses her new study that finds improvements in soft tech can accelerate the reduction in solar energy costs.

How to make sure federal climate money helps everyone

New York Times    ·    September 6, 2023

J. Phillip Thompson (Urban Studies and Planning) co-taught a class at MIT that allowed students the opportunity to work with local officials on identifying federal funds for climate change mitigation and deciding how to use them. "Because if we don't, wealthy communities will go green, and low-income communities will stay brown."

How do we power the developing world

PBS / Energy Switch    ·    September 6, 2023

Three quarters of the world's population do not have access to affordable, reliable energy. MITEI Interim Director Robert Stoner discusses how to power the developing world: "We need to focus on access."

A citizen’s guide to fighting disinformation & MIT’s Energy Initiative

Boston Public Radio    ·    September 6, 2023

Interim Director Robert Stoner speaks with Boston Public Radio hosts Jared Bowen and Andrea Cabral about the MIT Energy Initiative and no- and low-carbon solutions that could mitigate climate change.

Climate mitigation patent program boosts green tech financing

Bloomberg Law    ·    August 16, 2023

MITEI Interim Director Robert Stoner discusses the potential impact of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s new pilot program, which seeks to motivate inventors to patent climate technology by expediting the application process and boosting patenting incentives.

The EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism

Associated Press    ·    August 16, 2023

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) weighs in on the feasibility of the EPA's recent auto emissions reduction plan. She states that EVs are cleaner over the course of their life than traditional vehicles—even when accounting for mining practices associated with batteries—and their exponential growth in popularity could exceed EPA predictions.

Climate 2023: The critical importance of electrification

NBC Boston    ·    August 15, 2023

MITEI Interim Director Robert Stoner discusses the importance of electrification in meeting decarbonization goals: "We are going to have to continue to build and diversify our electricity resources."

MIT Professor explains nuclear fusion in 5 levels of difficulty

WIRED    ·    August 4, 2023

Anne White (Nuclear Science and Engineering) explains the nature of nuclear fusion—a limitless, carbon-free energy—to five different people: a child, a teen, a college student, a graduate student, and an expert.

Jewelry industry urged to see the light on sustainability

Financial Times    ·    July 19, 2023

Yang Shao-Horn (Mechanical Engineering) spoke at the State of the Art Jewelry Summit to discuss the industry’s impact on carbon emissions and sustainability, suggesting the problem be addressed with a carbon tax and cleaner mining practices.

MIT climate scientist urges action after hottest days on record

WCVB    ·    July 19, 2023

Sergey Paltsev (MITEI) discussed Earth’s recent hottest day on record, emphasizing the pressing need for policy makers and the public to take action.

Cement emits as much CO2 as India. Why is it so hard to fix?

The Washington Post    ·    July 7, 2023

Randolph Kirchain (Materials Research Laboratory) discusses how the construction industry—one of the most carbon-polluting globally due to the impact of cement—can cut emissions significantly while also ensuring safety.

Meet the 33-year-old Canadian chemist and the renowned MIT professor who are building the ‘electric vehicle of cement making’

CNBC    ·    July 7, 2023

The process of making cement is very carbon-intensive, generating about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. By using heat powered by electrochemistry instead of fossil fuels, Yet-Ming Chiang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Leah Ellis are cleaning up this process through their company, Sublime Systems.

EPA must prioritize life-cycle emissions in building materials policy

The Hill    ·    July 7, 2023

The United Nations estimates that annual global emissions must drop by 30% by the end of the decade to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius. Randolph Kirchain (Materials Research Laboratory) discusses the impact that this urgent goal may have on engineering materials production, which will require more complex solutions than other sectors.

Clean energy sector debates impact of GOP efforts to repeal tax credits

The Hill    ·    June 23, 2023

MITEI Deputy Director Chris Knittel weighs in on GOP efforts to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, saying it hurt both Democrat and Republication jurisdictions and these impacts will vary based on the type of tax credit.

Scientists are trying to pull carbon out of the ocean to combat climate change

Scientific American    ·    June 23, 2023

T. Alan Hatton (Department of Chemical Engineering) and Kripa Varanasi (Department of Mechanical Engineering) discuss their process for removing CO2 from ocean water, aided by the ocean’s ability to pull greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Can Boston’s energy innovators save the world?

Boston Magazine    ·    June 23, 2023

Boston is quickly becoming an energy powerhouse in no small part due to the research and startups coming from MIT. Boston Magazine highlights the work of Dennis Whyte (Plasma Science and Fusion Center), Yet-Ming Chiang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), and startups like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Quaise Energy, and Form Energy.

What is carbon capture? Some say it will help save the world, for others it’s a dangerous distraction

CNN    ·    June 23, 2023

MITEI Senior Research Engineer Howard Herzog discusses what carbon capture is and what role it can play in addressing climate change: “There’s no silver bullet here, but it’s a tool in our portfolio.”

America needs clean electricity. These states show how to do it.

The Washington Post    ·    June 23, 2023

Decarbonizing the energy sector is necessary to avoid the worst climate change projections. MITEI Principal Research Scientist Jennifer Morris advocates for the adoption of nuclear energy in the United States, but says that the right incentives will be necessary to make it more appealing.