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Energy

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MIT senior and civil and environmental engineering major René García Franceschini

René García Franceschini: Engineering energy solutions for all

“The human impact that I have is equally, if not more, important to me than the technical rigor of the work I’m doing,” says the senior.

November 26, 2018

A new MIT plane is propelled via ionic wind. Batteries in the fuselage (tan compartment in front of plane) supply voltage to electrodes (blue/white horizontal lines) strung along the length of the plane, generating a wind of ions that propels the plane forward.

MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts

The silent, lightweight aircraft doesn’t depend on fossil fuels.

November 21, 2018

Photos show a solar installation from 1988 (left) and a present-day version. Though the basic underlying technology is the same, a variety of factors have contributed to a hundredfold decline in costs. Now, researchers have identified the relative importance of these different factors.

Explaining the plummeting cost of solar power

Researchers uncover the factors that have caused photovoltaic module costs to drop by 99 percent.

November 20, 2018

Using a high-resolution system called electron tomography, researchers probed a tiny sample of kerogen to determine its internal structure. At left, the sample as seen from the outside, and at right, the detailed 3-D image of its internal pore structure.

Structure of fossil-fuel source rocks is finally decoded

Detailed 3-D imaging of kerogen, a source of petroleum and natural gas, could improve estimates of recoverable amounts.

November 12, 2018

Researchers demonstrating the ability of aluminum to repel oil underwater.

Extending the life of low-cost, compact, lightweight batteries

New design could greatly extend the shelf life of single-use metal-air batteries for electric vehicles, off-grid storage, and other applications.

November 8, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a coating for windows that rejects up to 70 percent of incoming solar heat.

See-through film rejects 70 percent of incoming solar heat

Material could be used to coat windows, save on air-conditioning costs.

November 8, 2018

Cadenza Innovation Founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions

A novel way to advance a better battery design

Led by “Queen of Batteries” Christina Lampe-Onnerud, Cadenza Innovation is licensing its lithium ion battery cell architecture to manufacturers around the world.

November 7, 2018

“By better understanding boiling heat transfer at high pressures, we could improve the performance of components inside these reactors ... and eventually help increase power output at plants,” says Artyom Kossolapov.

Heat-seeking studies

Graduate student Artyom Kossolapov takes precision measurements of critical heat flux in nuclear reactors — and rocks out on electric guitar.

November 6, 2018

The Campus Sustainability Incubator Fund is supporting new projects exploring on-site renewable energy storage systems and prototyping carbon-neutral cooling systems.

Office of Sustainability names 2018 grant winners

Campus sustainability incubator grants provide funding for innovative projects that bring together faculty, staff, and students and use MIT as a test bed for innovation.

November 2, 2018

MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert Armstrong welcomes attendees to MITEI’s annual research conference, which featured panels on topics ranging from climate change to energy startups to the critical role artificial intelligence and machine learning can play in developing technology for a low-carbon energy future.

Q&A: Climate change, tough tech startups, and the future of energy intelligence

MIT Energy Initiative Director Robert Armstrong offers his perspective on the takeaways from MITEI’s annual research conference.

October 25, 2018

The Infinite Cooling team accepts the $100K Diamond Winner Award at the MassChallenge Awards on Oct. 17 in Boston. Left to right: co-founder Associate Professor Kripa Varnasi, co-founder Maher Damak, co-founder Karim Khalil, and COO Derek Warnick.

MIT spinoff takes top honor at MassChallenge Awards

Infinite Cooling, a startup from the Varanasi Research Group, was a $100K Diamond Winner at the MassChallenge Awards.

October 23, 2018

A research collaboration agreement between the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and INALUM was announced at a supporting event of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Pictured, left to right: Business executive Rudy Setyopurnomo MS ’92, founder of the MIT Club of Indonesia; Wendy Duan, manager of Asia Pacific energy partnerships at MITEI; Budi Guna...

INALUM collaborates with MIT Energy Initiative to advance low-carbon energy technologies

Indonesian company will support research through MITEI’s Low-Carbon Energy Center for Materials in Energy and Extreme Environments.

October 12, 2018

Based on a rigorous, integrated analysis of population and economic growth, technological change, Paris Agreement pledges and other factors, the 2018 Food, Water, Energy and Climate Outlook projects likely global and regional environmental changes over the course of this century and identifies steps needed to align near-term Paris pledges with the long-term 2 degrees Celsius and 1.5 C goals.

Charting the Earth’s future for the 21st century

MIT report highlights challenges and opportunities for conserving natural resources and stabilizing the climate.

October 11, 2018

Matt Ellis PhD ’17 (left) and Sam Shaner SM ’14 PhD ’18 have designed a nuclear reactor that deploys a molten nitrate salt coolant that allows the reactor to reach higher operating temperatures than current water-cooled reactors.

Powered by idealism and pragmatism

Matt Ellis PhD ’17 and Sam Shaner SM ’14, PhD ’18 launch a startup to develop an advanced nuclear reactor design.

October 11, 2018

The ARC conceptual design for a compact, high magnetic field fusion power plant. The design now incorporates innovations from the newly published research to handle heat exhaust from the plasma.

A new path to solving a longstanding fusion challenge

Novel design could help shed excess heat in next-generation fusion power plants.

October 9, 2018