Resources

September 22, 2024

The International Energy Agency's Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 discusses the supply of and demand for minerals used in decarbonizing our energy system. Copper is the most supplied mineral: more than 22 million tonnes of it is mined each year, mostly across Asia, South America and Africa. It's used in everything from EVs to solar panels. 

September 11, 2024

A robot began entering the Unit 2 reactor at the defunct Fukushima nuclear power plant, in an attempt to retrieve a tiny piece of the fuel that melted down in 2011. The device, dubbed Telesco by operators (and site owners) Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), is a robotic grabber that will be maneuvered into the reactor core using telescoping poles. If successful, it will bring back about three grams — out of the estimated 880 tons — of nuclear waste for examination by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. 

September 10, 2024

Although the next era of nuclear energy inspires big green energy ambitions, the reactors powering that vision are surprisingly small. Terrapower, the Bill Gates-backed nuclear plant that broke ground in Wyoming earlier this year, is roughly one-third the size of your typical large energy plants.

September 10, 2024

Efficient storage of hydrogen at scale is needed to facilitate the widespread adoption of this alternative fuel type. The US Department of Energy is funding a multiyear study to determine the viability, safety, and reliability of storing pure hydrogen or hydrogen-natural gas blends in different types of underground environments. 

September 4, 2024

UK researchers have offered a peek at their designs for a prototype reactor meant to show fusion power is practical, providing electricity to the grid by the early 2040s. To keep costs low, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production may rely on electromagnets made from innovative superconducting tape, and its reactor vessel and magnets may be jointed to allow easy access to replace worn components. 

July 1, 2024

It took 20 years, but the design and delivery of the International Fusion Energy Project's massive toroidal magnets is complete. The 19 coils are now in Southern France, according to an ITER news release, setting the stage for the massive nuclear fusion project to make its first plasma ... eventually.

June 21, 2024

The U.S. Senate passed what's being called the ADVANCE Act, for Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy. Among a number of other changes, the bill would attempt to streamline permitting for newer reactor technology and offer cash incentives for the first companies that build new plants that rely on one of a handful of different technologies. It enjoyed broad bipartisan support both in the House and Senate and now heads to President Biden for his signature.

June 10, 2024

The United Nations (UN) has officially declared 2025 to be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). Agreed by its general assembly, the year-long worldwide celebration will highlight the impact and contribution of quantum science. It also aims to ensure that all nations have equal access to quantum education and opportunities. The year was chosen as it marks the centenary of Werner Heisenberg's efforts to develop the mathematical formulation of quantum phenomena. 

June 6, 2024

Mexico elected its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo — a politician with a background in physics and environmental engineering. Despite her scientific pedigree, not all researchers are confident that she will have their interests at heart, given that her mentor and predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, cut science budgets and had a sometimes antagonistic relationship with the Mexican science community. To get a view of what might come, historians and policy experts are asked about how five other scientists-turned-world-leaders fared in office, and whether their backgrounds in science were a benefit — or a detriment.

May 13, 2024

Some of the brightest synchrotron x-rays in the world are set to be beaming around China's new high-energy facility by the end of this year. The 4.8-billion-yuan (USD$665-million) High Energy Photon Source will be the first of its kind in Asia, placing China among only a handful of countries in the world that have fourth-generation synchrotron light sources. 

March 28, 2024

The UK Government has announced a £16.6m investment to give semiconductor researchers and businesses access to new equipment helping them to test and make chips for use in high-energy machines such as electric vehicles and manufacturing equipment. Of the funding, £14m is targeted particularly at semiconductors used in power electronics.