Breakthrough Energy Generation Methods
Nuclear Fusion
ITER Project (International)
- Type: Tokamak-based fusion reactor
- Goal: Produce 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW input
- Status: Under construction, first plasma expected by 2025
- ITER Website
National Ignition Facility (NIF) (USA)
- Type: Inertial confinement fusion
- Achievement: First fusion ignition (2022)
- Future Goals: Scaling up for practical energy production
- NIF Website
Advanced Solar Technologies
Perovskite Solar Cells
- Potential: Higher efficiency and lower production costs than silicon
- Key Player: Oxford PV (commercializing perovskite-silicon tandem cells)
- Oxford PV Website
Space-Based Solar Power
- Concept: Collecting solar energy in space and beaming it to Earth
- Key Project: China’s orbital solar power station (planned for 2035)
- ESA’s Space-Based Solar Power Project
Advanced Nuclear Fission
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
- Advantages: Scalable, potentially safer, and more flexible than traditional reactors
- Key Player: NuScale Power (first SMR design approved by US NRC)
- NuScale Power Website
Advanced Energy Storage Solutions
Grid-Scale Storage
Flow Batteries
- Advantage: Long-duration storage, easily scalable
- Key Player: ESS Inc. (iron flow batteries)
- ESS Inc. Website
Cryogenic Energy Storage
- Concept: Storing energy by liquefying air
- Key Player: Highview Power (CRYOBattery™ technology)
- Highview Power Website
Hydrogen Energy Storage
Green Hydrogen Production
- Process: Electrolysis powered by renewable energy
- Key Project: HyDeal Ambition (producing green H2 at €1.5/kg by 2030)
- HyDeal Ambition Info
Hydrogen Storage and Transport
- Innovation: Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC)
- Key Player: Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies
- Hydrogenious Website
Global Energy Grid Initiatives
Superconducting Power Lines
CIGRE Best Paths Project (Europe)
- Goal: Demonstrate various novel network technologies
- Focus: Integrating renewable energy into the European energy mix
- Best Paths Project Info
Global Energy Interconnection
Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO)
- Vision: Worldwide energy distribution network
- Goal: Connect continents with ultra-high voltage power lines
- GEIDCO Website
Advanced Renewable Energy Projects
Floating Offshore Wind
Hywind Scotland
- Type: World’s first floating wind farm
- Capacity: 30 MW
- Hywind Scotland Info
Tidal Energy
MeyGen Project (Scotland)
- Type: Largest planned tidal stream project worldwide
- Planned Capacity: 398 MW
- MeyGen Project Website
Carbon Capture and Utilization
Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Orca Plant (Iceland)
- Type: World’s largest direct air capture and storage plant
- Capacity: 4,000 tons of CO2 per year
- Operator: Climeworks
- Orca Project Info
Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)
CarbFix Project (Iceland)
- Process: Capturing CO2 and mineralizing it in basaltic rocks
- Achievement: 95% of CO2 injected underground turned to stone within 2 years
- CarbFix Website
Next-Generation Nuclear
Molten Salt Reactors
Terrestrial Energy’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor
- Type: Generation IV nuclear reactor
- Advantages: Inherent safety, reduced waste, potential for high-temperature industrial applications
- Terrestrial Energy Website
Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactors
China’s Z-pinch fusion-fission hybrid reactor
- Concept: Using fusion neutrons to drive fission in a subcritical reactor
- Potential: More efficient use of nuclear fuel, reduced waste
