This document summarizes 5 emerging blue-sky energy technologies that could help address issues with current energy sources: 1. Plasmonic Solar from Caltech and FOM Institute, which could improve solar cell efficiency. 2. Software-defined Solar Thermal from eSolar, using software to optimize solar thermal plants. 3. Artificial Photosynthesis from MIT, mimicking natural photosynthesis to produce energy from water and sunlight. 4. Liquid Batteries from MIT, using liquid metal batteries for grid-scale energy storage. 5. Superconducting DC Transmission from Tres Amigas Company, using superconductors to transmit solar and wind power over large distances with low

1. 5 Blue-sky Energy Technologies MIT Enterprise Forum Tel Aviv, May 5, 2012

2. Technology Review Published by MIT since 1899; Editorial mission: “To describe emerging technologies and analyze their impact;” 2.6 million readers.

3. Carbon is the product.

4. The stuff we like—light, heat, combustion—are just byproducts.

5. We’ll never get clean, efficient energy by burning hydrocarbons.

6. “We’re bathed in these quantum particles that rain down on us from the sun, each of them carrying 2 volts of energy.”—Paul Alivisatos

7. 1366 watts/m2 per year

8. Solar energy accounts for just 1% of US electricity.

9. The reason is mostly cost.

10. Exelon Solar CityChicago’s South Side Conrad, please put Exelon Solar City before it was built here.

11. Exelon Solar City Conrad, please put Exelon Solar City after its constuction, here.

12. Exelon Solar City The nation’s largest urban solar farm, with 32, 292 solar panels over 41 acres. But the stimulus bill paid for 80% of its $60 million cost; It will never be profitable: $6 a watt to build; And it will generate only 10 megawatts, or power for around 1,500 homes.

13. All solar power is subsidized.

14. We don’t know how to build cheap, efficient photovoltaic cells.

15. Even if we could generate cheap solar power, we don’t know how to store it or transmit it.

16. We need some breakthroughs.

17. No. 1: Plasmonic Solar

18. Plasmonic Solar

19. Plasmonic Solar Harry Atwater, Caltech (haa@caltech.edu); Albert Polman, Center for Nanophotonics, FOM Institute, Amsterdam (polman@amolf.nl).

20. No. 2: Software-defined Solar Thermal

21. Software-defined Solar Thermal

22. Software-defined Solar Thermal Conrad, put the picture of Bill Gross from the March/April Q&A here, please. Bill Gross, eSolar (bill@idealab).

23. No. 3: Artificial Photosynthesis

24. Artificial Photosynthesis

25. Artificial Photosynthesis Conrad, please put in the Nocera portrait photo from Nov/Dec ‘08 cover story. Dan Nocera, MIT (nocera@mit.edu).

26. No. 4: Liquid Batteries

28. Liquid Batteries Don Sadoway, MIT (dsadoway@mit.edu).

29. No. 5: Superconducting DC Transmission

30. Tres Amigas Superstation

31. Superconducting DC Transmission Phil Harris, Tres Amigas Company (engineering@tresamigasllc.com)

32. Bonus! Traveling Wave Reactor

33. Traveling Wave Reactor Intellectual Ventures (TerraPowerInfo@intven.com)

34. “If you gave me just one wish for the next 50 years, I would pick that the energy technology that’s half the cost with no CO2 gets invented.”—Bill Gates

35. Write to me at jpontin@mit.edu or jason.pontin@technologyreview.com; Follow me @jason_pontin. Thanks