China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) announced the country now hosts the world’s largest EV charging network: 20.092 million facilities supporting over 40 million vehicles. The network doubled in just 18 months, with expressway coverage exceeding 98%.
UNSW Sydney engineers, led by Scientia Professor Xiaojing Hao, have set a world record with a 10.7% efficient antimony chalcogenide solar cell. This breakthrough, published in Nature Energy, solves a key chemical problem and positions the material as a top candidate for future tandem solar panels and transparent solar windows.
Fifteen years after Fukushima, operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) is restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant—the world’s largest nuclear facility. The move faces fierce opposition from 420,000 locals who distrust safety pledges and evacuation plans.
University of Illinois scientists have solved a 50-year-old puzzle in metallurgy, providing the first quantitative explanation for why magnetic fields strengthen steel during heat treatment. Professor Dallas Trinkle’s team used atomic modeling to reveal how magnetic order controls carbon diffusion.
China Three Gorges Corp. has installed the world’s first 20-megawatt offshore wind turbine off Fujian Province. The colossal unit, with a 300-meter rotor, can power 44,000 homes and symbolizes China’s strategic shift into deep-water, high-capacity renewable energy projects.
US tech giant Meta has signed landmark nuclear energy agreements with Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo, backing up to 6.6 GW of clean power by 2035. From extending the life of existing reactors to funding next-generation designs, the deals underline how nuclear energy is becoming essential to powering Meta’s rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.
A Japanese consortium led by TODA Corporation has launched the nation’s first commercial floating wind farm near Nagasaki. The Goto project uses a world-first hybrid steel-concrete spar design to operate in deep water, serving as a critical pilot for Japan’s goal of 10 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
A consortium led by the China Electric Power Research Institute has created a protection system that isolates grid faults and restores power in just 0.1 seconds. Deployed in China and 12 other nations, the tech is vital for stabilizing grids flooded with renewable energy, reported Science and Technology Daily.
At CES 2026, ESOX Group revealed defense applications for Donut Lab’s solid-state batteries, promising 400 Wh/kg energy density, operation from -30°C to 100°C+, and 100,000 charge cycles. CEO Dan Walmsley says the tech is key to resilient supply chains for allied military drones and UGVs.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $900 million to Orano to support its $5 billion Project IKE, a new uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Set to begin production in 2031, the facility is a direct response to the ban on Russian nuclear fuel imports and is critical for powering America’s planned nuclear energy expansion.
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