energy
Our coverage spans conventional power generation, renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, and emerging energy technologies.
Used EV batteries get a second life powering factories and hungry data centers
Redwood plans to combine second-life EV batteries with solar power to build microgrids for factories and data centers.
NASA battery survives -274°F extreme cold, could power future lunar rovers and tools
Prototype cells withstand extreme lunar temperatures without damage, potentially reducing spacecraft heating needs.
New electric car battery concept promises lighter packs with improved driving range
Companies are building better performing, lighter, and compact solid-states batteries for EV vehicles running on roads.
New floating nuclear power project secures 4.95% enriched uranium fuel for testing
Bluecore Energy is advancing its floating nuclear reactor project with enriched uranium.
Tesla batteries help Texas energy site double storage capacity to 300 megawatts
The expansion doubles Bocanova’s capacity as data centers drive demand.
X-ray imaging detects pores as small as 80 nanometers in nuclear fuel cladding
Protective oxide layers remained intact after years inside nuclear reactors.
New 800V battery for electric trucks delivers 358 kW, charges to 80% in 42 minutes
The Aventor battery can withstand extreme vibrations, water, and dust.
From wind farms to concrete: Old turbine blades could cut rebar emissions by 90%
Discarded turbine blades can supply cement ingredients and concrete reinforcement.
US technology to tap 100,000 tons of lithium for EV batteries and energy storage
Commercial production is expected to begin in 2028.
New hydrogen-based synthetic fuel systems target military and critical infrastructure
The companies will assess modular fuel systems using renewable hydrogen to strengthen energy security and reduce supply chain risks.
Paper mill waste could become key material for cheaper sodium-ion batteries
The process converts this material into high-performance carbon nanofibers for sodium-ion batteries.
US’ only commercial uranium enrichment site reaches 75% capacity expansion target
Urenco’s uranium enrichment facility in Eunice, New Mexico, currently offers 4.3 million SWU per year, about a third of the US demand.
Texas oilfield wastewater could help cool data centers without draining freshwater
Texas researchers propose treating oilfield wastewater to cool data centers and reduce their dependence on freshwater.
US Genesis Mission backs digital twin to predict fusion plasma in under 20 minutes
Four US national labs and industry partners will develop a virtual SPARC model that updates using experimental data.
World’s largest diesel reactor could turn fuel into hydrogen for army vehicles, camps
Lower heat emissions could make the technology suitable for military operations.
Scientists develop new catalyst for zinc-air batteries to run for over 300 hours
The durable catalyst is based on spinels, which are naturally occurring minerals composed of nickel, iron, and oxygen, like trevorite.
US scientists grow better perovskite crystals, boost solar cell efficiency to 26%
A temporary liquid phase boosted perovskite device efficiency to 26%, with solar cells retaining most of their efficiency after eight weeks.
Energy-importing countries record 3x faster clean energy generation than exporters
At the same time, exporting countries outside the Middle East are increasing production to compensate for disrupted supplies.
Why plugging ships into the grid can cost more than running onboard generators
Port charges represent just 15–20% of shore power costs.
17-gigawatt Texas power project passes key hurdle for world’s largest private grid
Despite recent progress, crucial regulatory steps remain before reactor construction can begin.
About Energy
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.
