Tim De Chant

Trump’s critical mineral reserve is an admission that the future is electric | TechCrunch The administration's $12 billion stockpile of critical minerals is aimed at blunting China's influence. But it also revels the direction of the global economy.

Time to read some tea leaves: Project Vault, the critical minerals reserve, is a tacit or subconscious acknowledgement from the Trump administration that the future is electric. techcrunch.com/2026/02/05/t...

Bye-bye, corporate conglomerates. Hello personal conglomerates. | TechCrunch Elon Musk's reported merging of SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla harkens back to the heyday of General Electric — or maybe the robber barons of the Gilded Age.

What if our thinking about Elon Musk is all wrong? What if he isn't the next Henry Ford, but the 21st century's Jack Welch or John D. Rockefeller? techcrunch.com/2026/02/01/b...

Tesla’s energy storage business is growing faster than any other part of the company | TechCrunch Energy storage products like the Megapack, Megablock, and Powerwall drove

Energy storage is Tesla's fasting growing business, and that's unlikely to change in 2026. techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/t...

Struggling fusion power company General Fusion to go public via $1B reverse merger | TechCrunch General Fusion's merger with an acquisition company will net the company over $300 million. Just last year, the company ran into trouble raising money from other investors.

Another fusion power startup is going public via reverse merger. This time, it's General Fusion, another decades-old company that has struggled to raise money recently. techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/s...

Trump administration wants tech companies to buy $15B of power plants they may not use | TechCrunch In an attempt to alleviate rising electricity prices, the White House wants grid operator PJM to hold an auction for new generating capacity, and it wants tech companies to bid.

Today in power: White House wants PJM to host an auction it doesn't want to host for tech companies to bid on power plants they may not use. techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/t...

Exclusive: Bill Gates-backed Type One Energy raises $87M ahead of $250M Series B | TechCrunch Type One Energy has raised more than $160 million from investors to date. The new funding will help the company further refine its stellarator technology.

Fusion startup Type One Energy has raised nearly $90 million in SAFE notes in advance of a $250 million Series B. New scoop from me @techcrunch.com. techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/b...

Ammobia says it has reinvented a century-old technology | TechCrunch The startup has a new take on the Haber-Bosch process used to make ammonia. If Ammobia can deliver, it could change industries, from power generation to maritime shipping.

We've been making ammonia — mostly for fertilizer — the same way for over 100 years. But Ammobia wants to change that. The startup says it has tweaked the Haber-Bosch process to make it cheaper and friendlier to the climate. techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/a...

Trump’s EPA plans to ignore health affects of air pollution | TechCrunch The Trump administration is planning to stop assigning value to human life when analyzing the costs and benefits of air pollution controls.

The Trump administration plans to set the health benefits of air pollution controls to $0. techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/t...

Almost certainly fossil fuels. SAF supplies are scarce and expensive.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems installs reactor magnet, lands deal with Nvidia | TechCrunch The fusion power frontrunner said that construction on its Sparc reactor was proceeding as planned. Meanwhile, it's building a digital twin to help dial it in.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems has installed the first magnet in Sparc, its demonstration reactor that it hopes to turn on in 2027. All magnets should be in place by the end of the summer, CEO Bob Mumgaard said. techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/c...

Trump admin halts 6 GW of offshore wind leases again | TechCrunch The move is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to delay the construction of 6 gigawatts of offshore wind near a hotspot of data center development.

Is offshore wind a challenge for radar? Yes. Have people been working for over a decade to minimize the problems? Also yes. Are they insurmountable? No. techcrunch.com/2025/12/22/t...

Trump Media is merging with fusion power company TAE Technologies in $6B+ deal | TechCrunch The merger would broaden Trump Media’s holdings into the nascent fusion power space while data centers clamor for more electricity amid the ongoing AI boom.

it's a good sign if your media company randomly merges with a fusion company, right techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/t...

Yes, they'll have a lithium blanket to absorb neutrons and breed tritium.

Trump Media is merging with fusion power company TAE Technologies in $6B+ deal | TechCrunch The merger would broaden Trump Media’s holdings into the nascent fusion power space while data centers clamor for more electricity amid the ongoing AI boom.

Trump Media, parent of Truth Social, is merging with TAE Technologies, a nearly 30-year-old fusion power company. Might be the most unexpected headline I've helped write this year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/t...

Nuclear startup Last Energy raises $100M for its steel-encased micro reactor | TechCrunch Last Energy will use the funds to build its 5 megawatt pilot reactor in Texas, which it hopes to turn on next year.

It's a good time to be a nuclear power startup. Last Energy told me it recently raised $100 million to build an 8 MW pilot reactor by the end of next year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/n...

Exclusive: Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant | TechCrunch Thea Energy says that its planar-coil fusion power plant could be cheaper and easier to build thanks to AI-powered control software.

Thea Energy gave me a sneak peek at its design for a commercial-scale fusion power plant. It's unlike any other device out there, and the startup hopes to flip the switch on its commercial-scale device in the early 2030s. techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/t...

Exclusive: Everbloom built an AI to turn chicken feathers into cashmere | TechCrunch Everbloom has also developed a chemical process to transform waste fibers and feathers into upcycled materials that resemble everything from polyester to cashmere.

If you've ever donned a cashmere sweater, you know why the fiber is so desirable. But it's expensive and unsustainably produced, which is why Everbloom developed a way to turn waste keratin into fibers that resemble cashmere and more. techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/e...

Honestly I think their biggest hurdle will be manufacturing. So many pivots depend on scaling up manufacturing. Which ask many startup founders in climate tech, it isn't easy.

Boom argues that supersonic conditions more closely mimic those on the ground (hot temps, mainly). We'll see!

Google invests in Fervo’s $462M round to unlock even more geothermal energy | TechCrunch Fervo Energy's Series E round will help the company build additional phases of its Cape Station power plant while beginning development on new sites.

Fervo received a $462 million vote of confidence from Google and others for its approach to enhanced geothermal, which is on target to generate 100 MW of electricity next year. techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/g...

Boom Supersonic raises $300M to build natural gas turbines for Crusoe data centers | TechCrunch Crusoe will pay Boom $1.25 billion for more than a gigawatt of generating capacity with deliveries of the turbines starting in 2027.

Boom Supersonic is hoping that data centers it make the first supersonic airliner since the Concorde. The aerospace startup said today that it's developing a version of its turbine for power plant duty, and it's selling the first batch to data center developer Crusoe. techcrunch.com/2025/12/09/b...

Data center energy demand forecasted to soar nearly 300% through 2035 | TechCrunch New planned data centers promise to consume even more energy than expected. Meanwhile, a grid monitor is blaming such growth for high electricity prices.

Data centers are expected to draw 2.7x more electricity by 2035, driven in large part by massive data centers catering to the AI boom. techcrunch.com/2025/12/01/d...

Exclusive: This startup wants to build a fusion reactor — on a boat | TechCrunch Startups are still racing to build the world's first commercial fusion power plant on land, but Maritime Fusion thinks the path will be easier out at sea.

Maritime Fusion thinks fusion power might have a better chance of making a profit if the first reactors are deployed on boats, not on the grid. techcrunch.com/2025/11/24/t...

X-energy rides nuclear wave, raises $700M Series D | TechCrunch The small modular reactor startup is capitalizing on surging interest from tech companies and data center developers.

X-energy is capitalizing on surging interest in nuclear power from tech companies and data center developers, raising a hefty $700 million Series D to bring its small modular reactor to market within the decade. techcrunch.com/2025/11/24/x...

Rising data center electricity use risks blackouts during winter storms | TechCrunch Data centers are driving record electricity demand, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation is warning that a severe winter storm could push the grid over the edge.

Large parts of the U.S. are at risk of blackouts this winter as data centers help drive electricity demand skyward. techcrunch.com/2025/11/19/r...

Trump DOE gives Microsoft partner $1B loan to restart Three Mile Island reactor | TechCrunch Constellation Energy will use the loan to refurbish a reactor it idled in 2019. Microsoft has agreed to buy the power once the facility reopens in 2028.

Constellation Energy will get a $1 billion loan from the Department of Energy to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island. Microsoft has agreed to buy all the power from the facility for 20 years, likely at a premium. techcrunch.com/2025/11/18/t...

Tesla might finally bring CarPlay to its EVs | TechCrunch The addition of CarPlay would mark a significant change for Tesla, which has so far shunned phone mirroring in its vehicles.

Hell hath frozen over? techcrunch.com/2025/11/13/t...

Exclusive: Sam Atlman-backed Exowatt wants to power AI data centers with billions of hot rocks | TechCrunch The solar-thermal startup wants to deliver electricity for as little as one cent per kWh. But first it has to scale production to 1 million units per year.

Exowatt thinks it has a way to make concentrated solar power not just profitable, but one of the lowest cost sources of 24/7 power available. The startup wasn't looking for more money, but data center fever meant that investors came knocking anyway. techcrunch.com/2025/11/13/s...

Data centers now attract more investment than than finding new oil supplies | TechCrunch In a shift, the world will spend $40 billion more on new data centers this year than it will on finding new sources of oil.

In a sign of the times, data centers will attract more investment this year than new oil supplies. And over the next decade, the majority of power for new data centers will come from renewables, not natural gas. techcrunch.com/2025/11/12/d...

Millions to receive free electricity in 2026 thanks to Australia’s solar boom | TechCrunch Australia now has so much solar power that the government will require utilities to sell customers free electricity for three hours per day.

As households around the world struggle with rising energy costs, Australia will give millions of people free electricity for 3 hours every day starting next year, all thanks to cheap solar power. techcrunch.com/2025/11/05/m...