Energy Archives - Interesting Engineering

energy

Our coverage spans conventional power generation, renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, and emerging energy technologies.

9/13/2026

China’s deep-sea expedition uncovers high-grade gold, silver deposit in the Pacific

China’s latest deep-sea expedition identified three large sulphide mounds rich in gold, silver and other economically important minerals.

17 hours ago

Brazil’s 1.1-billion-ton rare earth project hits peak 95% terbium recovery in lab tests

With China dominating much of the global rare earth supply chain, projects such as Itarantim are attracting attention as alternative sources of critical magnet materials.

a day ago

Bill Gates-backed nuclear fusion firm gets Hyundai Motor backing in $1 billion raise

The ARC commercial plant directly scales up this high-temperature superconducting architecture.

a day ago

Fusion research to get major boost with new high-temperature superconducting tape manufacturing

The planned production site, which will be the first-of-its-kind in Germany and Europe, will create an essential industrial foundation in Lower Saxony.

a day ago

9/12/2026

Nuclear reactor material testing cut from days to hours with new US technology

Researchers can now non-destructively observe an object’s form, composition, and atomic order simultaneously.

2 days ago

New organic flow battery tech ditches scarce, corrosive materials for safer grid storage

The new organic flow battery partnership could bring scalable, long-duration energy storage closer to commercial use.

2 days ago

9/11/2026

Carbon-based thermal batteries target round-the-clock cheap energy for US industry

Carbon blocks could store electricity as heat, giving factories a new way to access round-the-clock energy.

3 days ago

10C lithium titanium oxide battery aims to keep data center grid fluctuations below 1%

The new 10C battery system could help data centers handle rapid power swings without straining the grid.

3 days ago

Google signs 20-year deal for electricity from Finland’s Loviisa nuclear plant

Google will secure electricity from Finland’s Loviisa nuclear plant through 2049 while supporting investments to extend the reactors’ operation to 2050.

3 days ago

Quantum sensors reduce X-ray uncertainty by up to 8 times at US nuclear sites

The sensors operate at a fraction of a degree above absolute zero.

3 days ago

Space nuclear reactor secures $161M defense deal to end 60-year orbital power gap

Antares plans to test its Mark-1 reactor for more than six months in 2027 on a ground-to-space demonstration.

3 days ago

Underwater solar cells achieve operational stability 30 feet below the surface

Submerged photovoltaics can provide a viable power source for underwater sensors, cameras, and communication systems.

3 days ago

New hydrogen fuel cell delivers four times more power, claim Chinese scientists

A new proton-transfer interface boosts fuel cell performance while using less platinum.

3 days ago

New 390-MW nuclear reactor design moves closer to approval with graphite report

Terrestrial Energy takes another step toward commercial molten salt reactor.

3 days ago

250,000 tons of waste could be annually turned into power for California’s data centers

Every single day, the Golden State buries over 110,000 tons of garbage underground.

3 days ago

US’ first commercial scale rare earth recycling plant opens with 27,500-ton capacity

The automated plant recovers critical materials for domestic manufacturing.

3 days ago

9/10/2026

Multi-kilojoule lasers built for nuclear fusion could power next-gen air defense

The new partnership aims to adapt powerful pulsed lasers designed for fusion energy into potential military defense systems.

3 days ago

Compact geothermal drill completes first commercial borehole job for low-carbon heat

Dig Energy took roughly two weeks to complete its first commercial geothermal drilling project in Boston.

3 days ago

Louisiana unveils 5 GW power push combining gas, batteries and advanced nuclear

Three proposed projects could deliver 5 GW of power through gas generation, battery storage, data centers and advanced SMRs.

4 days ago

New 154,000-square-foot US plant makes lithium carbonate from 100% recycled batteries

The new R3 lithium facility can shred 30,000 metric tons of battery material each year for lithium recovery.

4 days ago

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AboutEnergy

Energy sits underneath almost everything, industry, transport, computing, and cities, but is often discussed only when something breaks or gets expensive. This category examines how energy is produced, stored, moved, and used in the real world, and how those systems are changing under technical, economic, and political pressures.

Coverage at Interesting Engineering spans conventional power generation, renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, and emerging energy technologies. That includes solar and wind systems, batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture, advanced reactors, transmission infrastructure, and the software increasingly used to monitor and manage them. The focus isn't on abstract targets or idealized transitions, but on the engineering decisions that determine whether new systems are reliable, scalable, and affordable.

Energy systems are defined by constraints. Power density, intermittency, materials availability, land use, safety, and cost all shape what can be deployed and where. This category examines those trade-offs, along with the reasons many promising technologies struggle to move beyond pilots or subsidies. Grid integration, permitting delays, supply chains, and long build times, matters as much as technical performance.

We also look at how energy demand is shifting, driven by electrification, data centers, AI workloads, industrial decarbonization, and transportation. These pressures are forcing upgrades to aging infrastructure and raising questions about resilience, redundancy, and long-term planning. Reliability is as central as sustainability, especially as energy systems become more complex and more interconnected.

Energy also examines who builds these systems, who pays for them, and what determines whether new energy projects survive beyond early pilots.

Rather than framing energy as a single transition, this category treats it as a series of overlapping, uneven changes. It tracks what's being deployed now, what’s quietly failing, and what still requires significant engineering work before it can operate at scale. The emphasis is on systems that endure; not just technologies that look good on paper, but those that can deliver power consistently, safely, and economically over decades.