What I Got Wrong Building My Net Zero Home

I have some regrets. A few years ago, I set out to build my dream net zero energy home. I've been living here for a little over two years now, and so far, I’ve been more than satisfied. I have enough solar and battery storage to balance

How 40-Ton Spinning Wheels Are Saving the Power Grid

When Spain's power grid failed on April 28th, 2025, it quickly became a very serious issue. Not only for the economic impacts, but life-or-death serious due to multiple, indirect deaths associated to the blackout. Emergency services, transportation, communication and other vital services were halted during this power outage.

Why Everyone Gets Heat Pumps Wrong

If you believe half of what you hear about heat pumps, you'd think they're a $20,000 scam that stops working the second it gets cold outside. But here's what the skeptics don't mention: modern heat pumps work in temperatures down to

Are Sodium Batteries Already Dead?

NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly associated the failure of Northvolt to their sodium ion battery production issues, but their challenges weren't chemistry specific.  That section has been removed. I’ve got sodium batteries right here in my hands, but three sodium battery companies went bankrupt

The Solar Underdog That Could Rival Perovskite

Perovskite solar cells are smashing efficiency records and starting to hit the market, but what if the real future of solar is a material you’ve probably never heard of? It’s called kesterite, and new research suggests it could match perovskites’ efficiency without any toxic lead in the stack.

BEST Things I Saw in Vegas at CES 2026

BEST Things I Saw in Vegas at CES 2026 CES can be a mixed bag. But between the robot invasions…and AI takeovers…I encountered tech that really stopped me in my tracks. First, a solid-state battery claim so bold that even battery skeptics are doing a double take. We&

How Graphene is Changing the World … Right Now

What if your phone battery charged in seconds instead of hours? What if buildings could cut their carbon emissions in half? What if medical sensors could detect diseases years earlier than they do today? Graphene was supposed to deliver all of this and more. Since 2004, researchers called it a