Sustainability

Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout, has announced plans to “build its first fusion power plant in Virginia, with the aim of generating zero-emissions electricity there in the early 2030s,” reports Raymond Zhong for The New York Times. “The proposed facility is among the first to be announced that would harness nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, to produce power commercially, a long-elusive goal that scientists have pursued for the better part of a century,” explains Zhong. 

MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems has announced plans to build the “world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia, to generate power by the early 2030s,” reports Timothy Gardner for Reuters. The project, “could revolutionize the global energy industry by tapping into a virtually limitless power source, similar to that which fuels the stars,” writes Gardner. 

Forbes reporter Tom Teicholz spotlights the artistic work of alumna Lauren Bon. “Over the last two decades, as part of her art practice, Bon has undertaken projects that involve an exploration of urban natural resources in ways that have a positive environmental and societal impact,” writes Teicholz. 

Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with ABC News reporter Julia Jacobo about the role of green hydrogen in decarbonization efforts. “Hydrogen itself could be a really important component to a green transition,” says Trancik. 

MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative Program Scientist Scott Odell speaks with USA Today reporter Kate Petersen about the impact of renewable energy mining. “We can really reduce the amount of virgin metal we need to mine just by using the old metal we've already got,” says Odell. “We need to design our systems such that we have the capacity to recycle those metals.”

Joe Higgins, MIT’s vice president for campus services and stewardship, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Sabrina Shankman about the Consortium for Climate Solutions, a new effort led by MIT, Harvard and Mass General Brigham to enable the development of large-scale renewable energy projects. “The science is telling us that we need to triple the amount of renewable energy on the power grids by 2030 and it’s not happening fast enough,” says Higgins. “It really came down to, we need new models … and how do we come together to do that with much greater impact, at a much greater speed?”

Financial Times reporter Clive Cookson spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a “new filtration material based on natural silk and cellulose that removes a wide range of PFAS, while having antimicrobial properties that prevent fouling by bacteria and fungi.” 

The Consortium for Climate Solutions, which is led by MIT, Harvard and Mass General Brigham, is enabling the development of a solar farm in Texas and a wind farm in North Dakota, which should generate enough renewable energy annually to power 130,000 homes, reports Martha Bebinger for WBUR. The effort is intended to “cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by 950,000 tons, about the equivalent of the carbon that trees covering 600,000 acres of forest would absorb in a year.”

Research Scientist Susan Amrose speaks with Knowable Magazine reporter Lele Nargi about the use of inland desalination for farming communities. Amrose, who studies inland desalination in the Middle East and North Africa, is “testing a system that uses electrodialysis instead of reverse osmosis,” explains Nargi. “This sends a steady surge of voltage across water to pull salt ions through an alternating stack of positively charged and negatively charged membranes.” 

Prof. Christopher Reinhart speaks with GBH reporter Craig LeMoult about the feasibility of harvesting energy from the Charles River. Reinhart notes that using renewable heat pumps along with the old, existing steam infrastructure could be a good option for Boston and other cities around the country that have district energy systems. “I think you would see a lot of those, especially with the overall push towards decarbonization,” says Reinhart.  

Writing for Bloomberg, David Zipper, senior fellow at the MIT Mobility Initiative, highlights the impact of the robotaxi industry on public transportation. “Transit-robotaxi synergy is an enticing message at a time when public transportation agencies face a dire funding shortage, and it could especially resonate among left-leaning residents in places like the Bay Area who value buses and trains even if they seldom use them,” writes Zipper. “But caveat emptor: The robotaxi industry’s embrace of public transportation conceals a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” 

Prof. Admir Masic speaks with New York Times reporter Amos Zeeberg about his research studying the benefits of lime clasts – a material used in ancient Roman infrastructure. According to Masic’s research, “these lime clasts were actually reservoirs of calcium that helped fill in cracks, making the concrete self-healing,” writes Zeeberg. “As cracks formed, water would seep in and dissolve the calcium in the lime, which then formed solid calcium carbonate, essentially creating new rock that filled in the crack.”

Prof. Jessika Trancik speaks with BBC reporter Isabelle Gerretsen about the future of electric vehicles and how shifting to EVs can help reduce carbon emissions. Trancik and her research lab developed an online tool, dubbed Carboncounter, that can analyze the climate impact of different vehicles. “A shift to an electric vehicle is one of the single most impactful decisions that someone can make if they want to reduce their own emissions," explains Trancik. 

MIT researchers have developed “a new type of reconfigurable masonry using 3D-printed recycled glass,” reports Srishti Gupta for Interesting Engineering. “The team has developed robust, multilayered glass bricks shaped like figure eights,” explains Gupta. “These bricks are designed to interlock seamlessly, similar to LEGO pieces, making them versatile and easy to assemble.” 

Designboom reporter Matthew Burgos spotlights how MIT engineers “3D printed recycled glass and produced robust LEGO-like bricks for buildings and facades.” The researchers found that “in mechanical testing, a single 3D printed recycled glass brick can withstand pressures similar to those of a concrete block,” Burgos explains. “This means that the material can be just as robust as concrete, making it ideal for construction.”