The Department of Energy said Thursday that it had finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to upgrade around 5,000 miles of transmission lines. The grid upgrades would ease the flow of electricity in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. The project, which will address lines owned by American Electric Power, won’t add any new […]
Trump DOE decides to keep at least one Biden-era energy program Read More »
Energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems said Thursday it’s working with Google’s DeepMind division to fine tune — and even improve — the operation of its forthcoming Sparc reactor using AI. The companies plan will simulate the plasma that will burn inside CFS’s reactor using specialized DeepMind software known as Torax. They also plan on pairing
The real reason Google DeepMind is working with a fusion energy startup Read More »
Apple announced Tuesday that it had signed contracts for 650 megawatts of renewable power in Europe. This includes wind and solar projects that are either operational or will be soon. A large chunk of the power they’ll produce will go toward offsetting the energy use by Apple customers. Use of everything from Mac Pros to
Apple adds 650 megawatts of renewables in Europe with more coming in China Read More »
A decade ago, two college students built a fire extinguisher that snuffed out a fire using nothing more than a booming 10-inch subwoofer. The internet lapped it up, and Jimmy Fallon even booked a demonstration for The Tonight Show. But since that brief viral moment, there hasn’t been much more than a whisper about the
Inaudible sound might be the next frontier in wildfire defense Read More »
Plastic recycling startup Novoloop has inked a deal with a major manufacturer to produce its upcycled thermoplastic polyurethane at commercial scale, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The agreement helps nudge the Menlo Park-based Novoloop through the so-called “valley of death” that many climate tech startups must slog through. Startups that depend on hardware are particularly susceptible
Novoloop’s upcycled plastic takes a step closer to production Read More »
Despite the well-known environmental benefits of recycling, it’s estimated that less than 10% of the world’s plastic gets recycled. Ganiga Innovation looks to bring that percentage up using AI-enabled robotic waste bins. Italian startup Ganiga built three products to help better manage waste and recycling. The first is a fleet of robotic waste bins, called Hoooly, that use generative AI to determine what is trash and what is recycling and sort the waste accordingly. The second is a smart lid that
Ganiga will showcase its waste-sorting robots at TechCrunch Disrupt Read More »
Healthcare is awash in single-use plastics. In U.S. healthcare facilities alone, more than 2,800 tons of plastic packaging and products are thrown out every day. Few people are more aware of this than Eddie Yu. Early in the pandemic, Yu founded a company that made disposable masks. One day, his niece was with him while
Okosix will show its biodegradable plastic at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy has taken equity stakes in Canadian company Lithium Americas and its Nevada mining joint venture with General Motors as part of a renegotiation of a federal loan. Under the new terms, the U.S. government will take a 5% equity ownership in Lithium Americas and a 5% ownership in the Lithium
U.S. government takes stake in Canadian lithium miner and its Nevada mining project Read More »
Making democracy work isn’t easy, as recent events have made clear. Some critics would argue that technology is making it worse. But one startup is hoping that AI could help bridge some differences instead of widen them. “I had an a-ha moment one day when I realized people are asking AI to explain something like
Complex Chaos thinks AI can help people find common ground Read More »
Just over a year ago, Moxion Power closed its doors, adding its name to a list of high-profile bankruptcies that roiled the climate tech world in 2024. The portable battery startup had raised more than $110 million in a bid to replace diesel generators at festivals and construction sites, but even that wasn’t enough to
