In the media

DOE awards research funds for offshore nuclear generation

The U.S. Department of Energy has granted funding to the MIT Energy Initiative, Core Power, and the Idaho National Laboratory for a three-year study. The study will look into the development of offshore floating nuclear power generation in the United States.

Resilience of people and ecosystems under climate stress

MITEI Deputy Director Robert Stoner traveled to the Vatican to participate in a workshop with leading energy transition and environmental leaders from around the globe. The resulting paper recommends a powerful global response to climate change–with specific recommendations for mitigation, adaptation, and transformation.

U.S. oil refiners are doing well, even though gasoline prices are down

MITEI Deputy Director for Policy Christopher Knittel joins the Marketplace Business News Podcast to discuss “crack spread”—the difference between the cost of crude oil and the cost to refine it.

Future house, emerging solar technology

On an episode of "This Old House," home technology expert Ross Trethewey visits MIT.nano to speak with Vladimir Bulović (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) about the future of solar technology.

NightSide with Dan Rea, “Code red for humanity”

In the wake of President Biden’s visit to the former Brayton Point power plant in Somerset, Massachusetts, MITEI Deputy Director for Policy Christopher Knittel joins Dan Rea on NightSide to discuss the transition to new energy.

U.S. solar and wind projects stalled in Q2. What happened?

Clean energy projects have slowed down this year despite projected growth. John Reilly, co-director emeritus at MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, notes that tax-credit deadlines last year could have incentivized companies to front-load their deployment efforts.

Feds must step in or renewable energy will have nowhere to go, says MIT report

MITEI's "The Future of Energy Storage" report calls for federal government support to help develop and build green energy storage at scale to enable deeply decarbonized energy systems.

DOE must look beyond lithium for 100% clean grid — study

MITEI Future of Energy Storage study emphasizes need for more types of energy storage to maintain reliability and control cost as electricity grids increasingly incorporate sources of variable renewable energy. “When we get to very high degrees of penetration of variable renewable resources, we're going to need to have long-duration storage technologies that make that last part of decarbonization more affordable,” says MITEI Director Robert Armstrong.

The Future of Energy Storage, with Dick Schmalensee

Dick Schmalensee (MIT Sloan School of Management) joins Resources Radio to discuss the key takeaways from the recent MIT study on the future of energy storage, along with related insights and implications for current and future policy.

Fact check: Energy costs of wind turbine manufacturing recouped in months

In an article refuting claims that it takes decades to recoup the financial and energy costs of manufacturing wind turbines, Michael Howland (Civil and Environmental Engineering) says that investors wouldn’t fund wind turbine projects if these assertions were true.

Radio segment: MIT is creating a digital twin earth to help model climate change

One of the five MIT Climate Grand Challenges flagship research teams is developing a digital twin model of earth to help predict how climate change will affect us.

To make commercial fusion a reality, MIT is joining forces with a Bill Gates-backed startup

A new five-year agreement between MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems greatly expands the partnership between the Institute and the leading fusion startup, allowing for the increased interdisciplinary work toward commercial fusion power plants.

These are the batteries we need to ease the power crunch

In a Washington Post article on the importance of energy storage in decarbonizing energy systems, reporter Anjani Trivedi highlights findings from MITEI's Future of Energy Storage report, including that a focus on short-term policy goals has limited research and development of newer technologies.

MIT research explores whether plant DNA can solve our plastic problem

Kristala Prather (Chemical Engineering) discusses her work using synthetic biology to develop new materials that function like plastic, but don't rely on fossil fuels and biodegrade when no longer in use.

Optimize rising renewables levels by increasing deployment of different types of energy storage: MIT

MITEI’s Future of Energy Storage report “provides a blueprint for supporting and using grid storage technologies—existing and emerging—to affordably slash emissions,” reports Utility Dive.

Can this MIT metallurgist clean up copper production?

Copper is an essential component in the clean energy transition, but purifying it is an incredibly carbon-intensive process. Antoine Allanore (Materials Science and Engineering) has devised a new, fossil fuel-free method that employs electrolysis to separate copper from ore.

Can electric vehicles decarbonize transportation?

In the United Nations climate blog “Electric Future,” Sergey Paltsev (MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, MITEI) highlights challenges in making EVs truly emissions free.

Energy storage makes ‘deep decarbonization affordable,’ finds three-year MIT study

The Future of Energy Storage, a new report from MITEI, is the culmination of a three-year study exploring the role energy storage can play in charting a path to a reliable, affordable, and equitable decarbonized electricity system.

Reused power plants could be part of the green energy future, MIT report finds

"The report focuses on a persistent problem facing renewable energy: how to store it. Storing fossil fuels like coal or oil until it's time to use them isn't a problem, but storage systems for solar and wind energy are still being developed that would let them be used long after the sun stops shining or the wind stops blowing," says Asher Klein for NBC10 Boston on MITEI's "Future of Energy Storage" report.

MIT report says energy storage is crucial to stall climate change

"A major report from the MIT Energy Initiative finds the development and deployment of new ways to store renewable energy will be crucial to transitioning to clean energy and averting the worst effects of climate change" reports Bruce Gellerman for WBUR.