Matthew Nisbet, a professor at Northeastern University who focuses on climate change communication, writes for The Conversation about MIT’s Climate Action Plan. Nisbet writes that MIT’s plan can “serve as a model for how major research universities can accelerate effective societal actions on climate change by collaborating with a diversity of industry members.”
Wired reporter Margaret Rhodes writes about Transatomic Power, an energy company founded by MIT alumnae Mark Massie and Leslie Dewan. Rhodes explains that, “The two MIT nuclear science graduates have sweeping ambitions—to bring back a nuclear reactor design first prototyped in the 1960s, and in doing so, change the landscape of clean energy in the 21st century.”
Olga Kharif writes for Bloomberg Businessweek that MIT researchers have proposed a new design for a smaller and cheaper fusion reactor. The prototype "builds on the design of fusion reactors that use magnetic fields to squeeze superhot plasma, fusing atoms of hydrogen to produce energy."
Don Willmott writes for The Huffington Post about a theoretical design for a compact fusion reactor created by MIT researchers. “The MIT reactor should ultimately be able to produce five to six times the energy it consumes, MIT's scientists say, about 190 megawatts,” explains Willmott.
According to Matt Kaplan of The Economist, Professor Ju Li has devised a method of producing lithium-ion batteries using nanoparticles. “If the process of making the nanoparticles can be industrialized," writes Kaplan, "then the lifetimes of lithium-ion batteries might be considerably extended.”
Andrew Revkin writes for The New York Times about a compact design for a fusion reactor that could make fusion power a possibility within a decade. Revkin highlights how the research originated from an MIT course, writing, “it’s exciting to see academia integrating directly with innovation on this scale.”
In an article for Fortune, Katie Fehrenbacher writes about how startups such as Transatomic Power, which was founded by MIT nuclear scientists Leslie Dewan and Mark Massie, could revive the field of nuclear technology. Fehrenbacher writes that companies like Transatomic “are passionate about how tech innovation can lift the industry out of its nuclear stalemate.”
In an article for Newsweek about nuclear energy, Josh Freed highlights Transatomic, a company founded by two MIT PhD candidates to commercialize their concept for a molten salt reactor that can safely burn nuclear waste.
The Economist reports on how MIT researchers have designed a new plan for floating nuclear reactors that would be moored offshore. Moving nuclear reactors offshore would have both economic and safety benefits, The Economist explains.
“The floating plant design is very much setup like an offshore oil rig in that it has sections going deep underwater,” writes Liat Clark of Wired on research by Professor Jacopo Buongiorno that suggests building offshore nuclear power plants.
Sean Buckley of Engadget reports on a new design concept proposed by Professor Jacopo Buongiorno that calls for the construction of floating nuclear power plants to be placed several miles off shore. These facilities, anchored in deep water, would be virtually immune to natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes.