Carbon capture, solar panel recycling, and clean energy generation
In 2024, technologies to combat climate change soared above the clouds in electricity-generating kites, traveled the oceans sequestering carbon, and permeated the earth to power agritech in a new way. If these don't ring a bell, fret not! We've gathered our top 10 climate tech stories of the past year here for you to explore. Climate tech is a rapidly advancing interdisciplinary field—we here at IEEE Spectrum are excited to see what stories about these technologies we'll be writing about for you in 2025. Stuart Bradford Those breathtaking views of the aurora borealis this year were a harbinger of dangerous electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) from solar storms. EMPs can destroy electronic systems and overload power grids, causing blackouts. They aren't just generated by solar activity; human attackers could also generate EMPs, for example by detonating a nuclear weapon high in the atmosphere. Fortunately, researchers like Yilu Liu , who's at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, are working on the problem. In a Q&A with IEEE Spectrum IEEE Spectrum , she explains the dangers of EMPs and how her lab is working on designing buildings that protect sensitive equipment inside. Kitepower In remote or inaccessible locations, where a wind turbine just isn't feasible, there is a new option for renewable energy generation: Kites. Kitepower , based in the Netherlands, is working to implement an electricity-generating kite system, called the Hawk . As the wind pulls on their kites' ground tether, it generates a force that is converted into electrical power. The 60-square-meter kites can fly as high as 350 meters (over twice the height of a wind turbine) to catch stronger and steadier winds. The kites come with a 400-kilowatt-hour battery, and the entire system fits into a standard shipping container. Kitepower hopes to send the Hawk to remote communities that currently rely on diesel generators, providing them with a cleaner source of power that takes up much less space…