"Calectra is only just starting to put this concept to the test. With the pre-seed and grant funding in hand, Meskanen and Weger are working to grow their team by hiring a materials scientist and hardware engineers to help nail down the brick-material combinations and build a larger prototype of the system, in preparation for raising a round of seed funding."
"The Supreme Court’s decision thus comes at a critical moment. The justices have empowered Congress to prevent or roll back trade decisions that are too ambiguous or illegal. Trade expert Alan Wolff has argued that Mr. Trump may not have authority to impose 10% across-the-board tariffs. Arguably, the post-Chevron environment permits legal challenges to some existing trade restrictions—say, on steel and aluminum tariffs or on restrictions of electric vehicles and components from allies with market economies. Rules covering restrictions on exports and imports of high-technology equipment and software could also be challenged, according to a Morgan Lewis analysis. Affected parties in both private and public sectors could file complaints."
"The startup aims to eventually deploy thousands of its modular microreactors, though to date it has not brought any online. The first reactor might appear in Europe as soon as 2026, assuming Last Energy manages to meet its extremely aggressive construction, financial, and regulatory timelines — not a common occurrence in the nuclear industry. Venture capital heavyweight Gigafund led the round, which closed early this year but was revealed only today. The startup has raised a total of $64 million since its 2019 founding."
"Incumbents are rushing to develop the technology for the grid, and several startups are betting big on it, too. Natron, an American firm backed by Chevron, an oil giant, is investing $1.4bn to build a sodium-ion battery factory in North Carolina, which is scheduled to open in 2027. Landon Mossburg, the chief executive of Peak Energy, another sodium-ion startup, says he wants his firm to be 'the CATL of America.'"
"This isn't just good policy; it's a moral imperative. Permitting reform is about restoring a healthy power balance between government and individual and ensuring that America remains a place where innovation thrives, entrepreneurs succeed, and opportunity is universal. It's about reclaiming the principles that made this country great."
"The White House enacted steep increases in tariffs Friday that could quadruple the price of electric vehicles from China and double fees on imported solar cells, upping the trade war between the U.S. and the Asian manufacturing giant."
"Exxon Mobil, for example, acquired 120,000 acres in the Smackover Formation in 2023 and aims to start producing battery-grade lithium by 2027. The company said it will produce enough lithium to supply the manufacturing more than 1 million EVs per year by 2030. Standard Lithium, which has operated in Arkansas since 2020, is also expanding its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) facility in El Dorado, thanks to a $100 million investment from Koch Strategic Platforms. DLE is touted as a more eco-friendly extraction method, using advanced filters to reduce energy and water usage."
Drones might help offshore wind developers find a cost effective way around the century-old law.
"Air Company makes its SAF using a proprietary system that involves capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and combining the CO2 with hydrogen to create paraffins — colorless, oily liquids that it says can be dropped into conventional jet engines. Companies such as Twelve and LanzaTech are also vying to repurpose CO2 into sustainable jet fuels."
"The announcement comes as LEGO Group works to achieve a series of sustainability commitments, including its goal to make its products from more sustainable materials, or those produced using renewable or recycled resources and generating little or no waste, by 2032, as well as its targets to reach net zero emissions across the value chain by 2050 and to reduce carbon emissions by 37% by 2032, on a 2019 basis."
