News

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) discusses her new study that finds improvements in soft tech can accelerate the reduction in solar energy costs.

Jessika Trancik (Institute for Data, Systems, and Society) weighs in on the feasibility of the EPA's recent auto emissions reduction plan. She states that EVs are cleaner over the course of their life than traditional vehicles—even when accounting for mining practices associated with batteries—and their exponential growth in popularity could exceed EPA predictions.

MITEI Interim Director Robert Stoner discusses the potential impact of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s new pilot program, which seeks to motivate inventors to patent climate technology by expediting the application process and boosting patenting incentives.

MITEI Interim Director Robert Stoner discusses the importance of electrification in meeting decarbonization goals: "We are going to have to continue to build and diversify our electricity resources."

Anne White (Nuclear Science and Engineering) explains the nature of nuclear fusion—a limitless, carbon-free energy—to five different people: a child, a teen, a college student, a graduate student, and an expert.

Sergey Paltsev (MITEI) discussed Earth’s recent hottest day on record, emphasizing the pressing need for policy makers and the public to take action.

Yang Shao-Horn (Mechanical Engineering) spoke at the State of the Art Jewelry Summit to discuss the industry’s impact on carbon emissions and sustainability, suggesting the problem be addressed with a carbon tax and cleaner mining practices.

The United Nations estimates that annual global emissions must drop by 30% by the end of the decade to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius. Randolph Kirchain (Materials Research Laboratory) discusses the impact that this urgent goal may have on engineering materials production, which will require more complex solutions than other sectors.

The process of making cement is very carbon-intensive, generating about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. By using heat powered by electrochemistry instead of fossil fuels, Yet-Ming Chiang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Leah Ellis are cleaning up this process through their company, Sublime Systems.

Randolph Kirchain (Materials Research Laboratory) discusses how the construction industry—one of the most carbon-polluting globally due to the impact of cement—can cut emissions significantly while also ensuring safety.

What goes into making an electric vehicle? From where do EV components come and at what human cost? MIT Joint Program Deputy Director Sergey Paltsev (MITEI) comments on EV supply chain tradeoffs and ongoing dependence on China.

Professor Yet-Ming Chiang (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) discusses his research aimed at closing gaps in renewable energy availability when there’s no sun or wind. Through their company, Form Energy, Chiang and William Woodford PhD ’13 have developed iron-air batteries that can store electricity for up to 100 hours.