News

Form Energy, an MIT spinout co-founded by Yet-Ming Chiang (Materials Science and Engineering), has developed a low-cost, iron-air battery that can discharge power for days and could have big ramifications for storing electricity on the power grid.

Sergey Paltsev, deputy director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, emphasizes the importance of reaching net-zero emissions as fast as possible. “By pushing natural gas—which is indeed cleaner than coal, but it’s still a fossil fuel that releases a lot of CO2 and more importantly, a lot of methane—we are actually hurting renewables,” says Paltsev.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a new goal to reduce the cost of grid-scale, long-duration energy storage by 90 percent by 2030. MITEI’s Nestor Sepulveda SM ’16 PhD ’20 says, “One big obstacle right now is that there’s no policy requirements for utilities to build long-duration storage.”

Forbes has released a list of the 100 most influential female engineers across the globe. Four of the top 10 are MIT faculty members, including Barbara Liskov, the Ford Professor of Engineering, Dava Newman, the Apollo Professor of Aeronautics, and MITEI affiliates Daniela Rus, the director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Dina Katabi, the Andre and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

MIT spinout LiquiGlide’s super slippery, food-safe coating will be used by Colgate to create a new line of toothpaste that promises to deliver every last drop. Co-founded by Kripa Varanasi (Mechanical Engineering), the initial research for LiquiGlide was supported by MITEI’s Seed Fund Program.

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) discusses the benefits of EVs over hybrid vehicles in achieving our emissions reduction goals. Her lab has created an interactive tool that compares the relative climate impacts of a wide array of different cars based on range of relevant factors.

Jacopo Buongiorno (Nuclear Science and Engineering) discusses findings from MITEI’s Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon Constrained World study and the need for significant cost reductions if nuclear energy is going to play a significant role in decarbonizing the U.S. power sector.

MIT spinout LiquiGlide announced that it has secured $13.5 million in funding, bringing its total raised to $50 million. Co-founded by Kripa Varanasi (Mechanical Engineering), LiquiGlide has developed a slippery coating for the inside of bottles or tubes that prevents sticking of any viscous liquids. The initial research for LiquiGlide was supported by MITEI’s Seed Fund Program.

Elsa Olivetti (Materials Science and Engineering) and Chris Knittel (MIT Sloan School of Management) discuss the future of renewable energy in New England.

Christopher Knittel (Sloan School of Management) discusses the challenges of gaining approval for new cross-state or cross-country transmission lines, which are essential to assisting New England in reaching its clean energy goals.

Tim Swager (Chemistry) and his team have developed customizable and inexpensive sensors that can detect and monitor methane in a wide array of contexts—from industrial, natural, or home settings—with the goal of mitigating the gas’ harmful impacts.

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) explores how government policies can help spark innovation in solar, wind and battery markets, helping to reduce carbon emissions.