"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.'"

"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."

"The contract announced by BWXT on Monday will mark the start of a 'deployment phase,' essentially kicking off an exploration of options for the centrifuge pilot plant’s deployment. The engineering study aims 'to inform the acquisition approach for a pilot plant that will demonstrate the DUE centrifuge performance, reliability, and life-cycle costs for the NNSA. Fluor will be the engineering, procurement, and construction service provider for the activity,' BWXT said."

"Prescribed or controlled burns — fighting fire with fire — have long been used by indigenous groups to manage wildfire risk. Clearing excess vegetation reduces a forest’s fuel load, making it less likely a blaze will break out or spread quickly. But it’s a manpower-intensive process. BurnBot’s June burn covered an area the size of an American football field using a five-member crew; Chiverton says the same job sans robot would have needed 10 people."

"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."

"Silicon carbide can survive temperatures hotter than molten lava but can be brittle in its pure form, historically limiting its use as a structural material. GA-EMS solved this problem by incorporating silicon carbide fibre into the cladding. The fibre reinforces the material similar to the way steel rebar is used to reinforce concrete."