What if it works?

Asegun Henry, an innovator and professor at MIT, says that energy storage is arguably the single most important technological problem we have to solve. He is developing and commercializing a new type of battery based on thermal energy conversion instead of the conventional electro-chemical reaction—a battery that’s been dubbed, “sun in a box.” He shares what it takes for a new technology to compet...

We rely on our energy systems to allow us to do work, travel, process information, and support all sorts of economic activity. MIT Professor Jessika Trancik helps us zoom out for a big picture view of how energy systems are shaped and where there is opportunity to innovate. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller.   Tran...

MIT professor and entrepreneur Ariel Furst is used to people underestimating what biology can do. But she is proving that DNA and microbes can help us decarbonize energy: DNA can be harnessed to transform carbon into useful products and in her words, “microbes are the coolest,”—they can be engineered for use in all kinds of recycling. Furst shares how sometimes the simple (and even microscopic) so...

As an economist, Namrata Kala has considered how incentivization can alter human behavior and help policies succeed. She leverages this expertise to help us examine how the world's most populous country, India, is thinking about clean energy and the implications of electrification on its energy demand. She also explores how economics, as well as U.S. policy shifts, might affect their trajectory. W...

As a clean energy source, hydrogen has shown to have a lot of potential. But when generated using fossil fuels, hydrogen production can have a large environmental impact—even if the energy source itself doesn’t generate emissions. So, what if we can get readily available hydrogen from the ground instead? Brad Hager, a professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences at MIT, explores the pot...

We talk a lot about decarbonizing cars, planes, and electricity, but about the hidden processes that are used to produce the steel in our buildings or the chemicals fertilizing our food? Yogi Surendranath, a chemist and chemical engineer at MIT, explores the surprisingly carbon-intensive processes behind so much of the things making up our world and considers ways to remove fossil fuels from the e...

2023 Nobel Prize winner Moungi Bawendi, a professor of chemistry at MIT, has thought a lot about how to reimagine clean energy technologies. His early work with quantum dots led to more energy-efficient lighting, televisions, and solar cells. Bawendi helps explain the energy of light and shares how we can transform that light into electricity with energy-efficiency in mind. What if it works? is a...

For years, the running joke was that fusion energy is always 30 years away, but today we are actually closer than ever. Dennis Whyte, a leader in fusion research, shares how MIT’s fusion program has started the move from the lab to market, and explains how unlocking commercial fusion could be a gamechanger for our energy system. What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This...

Nuclear power has been the topic of controversy over the years, despite its current contribution of nearly 20% of the electricity generated in the United States. Jacopo Buongiorno, a nuclear scientist at MIT, argues that you can't get to a robust clean energy portfolio without nuclear and we have learned a lot more about making nuclear power safer. He provides a run-down of the benefits and risks...

The Earth’s biological systems cannot keep up with the sheer scale of carbon that is being dumped into the atmosphere from human industrial systems, transportation, and more. So how can we remove it? Howard Herzog, a senior research engineer at the MIT Energy Initiative, lays out some of the cutting-edge ways to take carbon out of our world and helps us understand the challenges these technologies...

All of our cars, planes, buildings, batteries are made of stuff—stuff that, when mined and manufactured, is responsible for over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. MIT materials scientist Elsa Olivetti explains the environmental impact of materials and why it is critical that we make thoughtful choices at every stage of their lifecycle—from design to manufacturing to recycling—that furthe...

Methane is the only greenhouse gas that will change the rate of warming in our lifetimes, according to MIT Professor Desirée Plata. So, why aren’t we talking about it more? Plata explains methane’s role in climate change and shares how she, perhaps counterintuitively, is accelerating the rate at which methane converts to carbon dioxide to help combat climate change. What if it works? is a producti...

Large parts of the world don’t have access to energy. So how do we encourage cleaner sources when for many people that's not the real priority? According to Amos Winter, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, the key is to find solutions that allow people to do what they want but are by default better for the environment. He highlights the importance of understanding people’s lives when dev...

Larry Susskind, a professor of urban and environmental planning at MIT, often finds himself in the role of mediator between renewable energy project developers and the communities affected. And he says there is one big thing stopping these projects in their tracks: a lack of representation of local interest. Susskind helps us understand the challenges during this last mile to renewable energy impl...

While the carbon tax has received a lot of negative publicity in the United States over the decades, more and more countries have been implementing carbon pricing schemes of their own. It raises the question, could carbon pricing be the cost of decarbonization? Economist Catherine Wolfram delves into economic policy and the many creative economic incentives to reduce carbon emissions, gives us a l...

​​President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal key climate and energy legislation enacted under the Biden administration. What should we expect over the next four years and what will this mean for climate and energy policy beyond those? As the rest of the world continues to move forward in the energy transition, where does that leave the United States? MIT professor and economist Chris Knittel...

Susan Solomon is a scientist known for her pioneering work explaining the hole in the ozone layer. And she believes that just as we solved that crucial environmental problem, we can also solve the great challenge of global temperature rise. She shares her three Ps for achieving success—when a problem becomes personal and perceivable, steering practical solutions—and reveals the tremendous power th...

The energy transition is happening—but why is it taking so long? We need to replace fossil fuels, but there is no one silver bullet. MIT Energy Initiative Director William Green explains why shifting to cleaner energy sources has been happening so slowly and how this process can move faster, and shares what university researchers, industry leaders, and policy makers are doing to accelerate the tra...

Climate anxiety is real—and if you are feeling it, you aren’t alone. Hosts Rob Stoner and Kara Miller are demystifying our current energy landscape, sharing what can be done and what solutions are already underway as we combat the climate crisis and eliminate the harmful emissions stemming from our global energy systems.   What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative.   Transcrip...

What is the role of government and policy in decarbonizing our energy systems? As the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz helps us understand what its role has been so far and what the government’s role can and should be in the future.   What if it works? is a production of the MIT Energy Initiative. This episode was hosted by Rob Stoner and Kara Miller.   Transcript and show notes at en...

Join us for a new podcast from the MIT Energy Initiative that talks with energy experts about the science, technology, and policies that can transform our energy systems and give us a more sustainable future. Coming October 23rd.