Energy — July 2026

Fusion startup Commonwealth Fusion raises $1B more

Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised another $1 billion, bringing its total funding to $4 billion, as it races to build a working fusion plant.

5 states offer to host US nuclear waste for a deal

Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho want federal help building new reactors in exchange.

Indiana Gov. Braun moves to save coal for AI centers

An executive order tells regulators to revisit deals that would close coal plants early.

Hybrid car sales jump as EV tax credit disappears

EIA data show hybrids gaining ground in Q2 2026 while pure electric vehicle sales stayed soft after Washington's EV tax credit expired.

Trump clears Saudi Arabia for US nuclear technology

The deal could let Saudi Arabia enrich its own nuclear fuel, a step normally reserved for a country's most trusted nuclear partners.

Qnetic wants to store solar power in giant flywheels

Qnetic is building a testing facility in Shanghai to validate a flywheel battery it plans to manufacture in Sacramento.

Trump officials admit clean-energy cuts were political

A court filing shows officials canceled $7.6B in clean-energy grants based solely on how each state voted in 2024.

Trump's data-center power pledge adds utilities, states

23 governors and major utilities joined a White House pledge meant to keep AI data centers' electricity costs off household bills.

Europe could unlock 25GW of clean power using old dams

A new Ember report says pairing solar and wind with existing hydropower plants could add 25 gigawatts without new grid connections.

German fusion firm builds a $150M laser lab in Colorado

Marvel Fusion's $150M laser facility, built with Colorado State University, just reached a real construction milestone.

Pacific Fusion's new machine survived 3,000 test pulses

Sirius handles only the electricity side, not the actual fusion fuel — but it stayed reliable across thousands of test pulses.

China just switched on a 150-meter gravity battery

Instead of lithium, this tower in Rudong stores wind power by lifting 35-ton blocks, then drops them to make electricity on demand.

Realta Fusion lit a lightbulb straight from its reactor — no steam

The Wisconsin startup says it drew electricity directly from particles leaking out of its fusion device, skipping the steam turbine every power plant relies on.