Can my electric car power my house? Not yet for most drivers, but vehicle-to-home charging is coming

Bidirectional charging is the next big stage for electric vehicles. But storing power in your car and sending it back to your house involves more than flipping a switch.

Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State • conversation
March 29, 2022 ~9 min

How a few geothermal plants could solve America's lithium supply crunch and boost the EV battery industry

Lithium is essential for batteries that power electric vehicles and store energy from solar and wind farms. A new U.S. source could provide 10 times more lithium than the country uses today.

Michael McKibben, Research Professor of Geology, University of California, Riverside • conversation
March 21, 2022 ~8 min


War in Ukraine could cut global supply of essential elements for making green technology

Electric vehicle batteries, wind turbine generators and hydrogen fuel cells are among technologies likely to be affected by the conflict.

Gavin Harper, Research Fellow, Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements & Critical Materials, University of Birmingham • conversation
March 14, 2022 ~6 min

New research centre to develop next-generation battery technologies

A newly-established Cambridge research centre will work to develop next-generation batteries and battery materials, one of the major technological hurdles in

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Jan. 25, 2022 ~3 min

Batteries get hyped, but pumped hydro provides the vast majority of long-term energy storage essential for renewable power – here’s how it works

A team of researchers found 35,000 pairs of existing reservoirs, lakes and old mines in the US that could be turned into long-term energy storage – and they don’t need dams on rivers.

Matthew Stocks, Research Fellow, ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University • conversation
Jan. 19, 2022 ~8 min

Recycled Kevlar battery could boost electric car range by 5X

A new 1,000 cycle lithium-sulfur battery made with nanofibers recycled from Kevlar has the potential to quintuple the range of electric cars.

Kate McAlpine-Michigan • futurity
Jan. 18, 2022 ~6 min

A 21st-century reinvention of the electric grid is crucial for solving the climate change crisis

Renewable energy is expanding at a record pace, but still not fast enough. Here are the key areas to watch for progress in bringing more wind and solar into the power grid in 2022.

Jeffrey Logan, Associate Director of Energy Policy and Analysis, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Jan. 12, 2022 ~10 min

MIT engineers produce the world’s longest flexible fiber battery

The rechargeable battery can be woven and washed, and could provide power for fiber-based electronic devices and sensors.

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 20, 2021 ~7 min


Selective separation could help alleviate critical metals shortage

A new way of processing rare-earth and other key metals to separate them from other materials could reduce environmental impact and cost.

Becky Ham | MIT News correspondent • mit
Dec. 17, 2021 ~7 min

An energy-storage solution that flows like soft-serve ice cream

Researchers make the case for a semisolid electrochemical compound as a cost-efficient, grid-scale battery backup for wind and solar power.

Leda Zimmerman | MIT Energy Initiative • mit
Nov. 30, 2021 ~10 min

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