Energy

How Solar-Based Microgrids Could Bring Power to Millions

Millions of the world’s poorest lack power. Microgrids could be a clean-energy solution.

America's Petrochemical Landscape

Beyond the drilling rigs, the fossil-fuel industry spreads far and wide across the land.

Greener Plastics

Plastics have become synonymous with waste, but they can be made sustainably.

Untapped Potential

A 1938 article anticipated the opportunities—and challenges—of harnessing the sun’s energy.

Cleaning Up Diesel Trucks and Cooking Stoves Could Reduce Climate Change

Zeroing in on black carbon may slow the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Cheaper Ways to Capture Carbon Dioxide

Techniques developed at MIT and Pacific Northwest National Lab could make it more affordable to burn fossil fuels without releasing carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Cheap Batteries for Backup Renewable Energy

A battery made of cheap materials could store power when it’s windy for use when it’s not.

How Better Place Came to a Bitter End

A battery-swapping startup’s innovative system for charging electric vehicles suffered from overreach and limited consumer demand.

Grasping for Ways to Capture Carbon Dioxide on the Cheap

Wind and solar get all the attention, but a key path to lowering emissions involves finding a less expensive way to do carbon capture.

Fuel Cells Could Offer Cheap Carbon Dioxide Storage

A new type of fuel cell could make CO2 storage cheaper, but it could also prove to be a good way to pump more oil out of the ground.

Material That Sorts Molecules by Shape Could Lower the Price of Gas

A hydrocarbon-sorting material could replace energy-intensive oil refining steps.

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