Climate reporter at TechCrunch, lecturer at MIT. Previously at KSJ@MIT, NOVA, and Chicago Tribune. https://de-chant.com/timhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mkobithh5k2qZap Energy thinks developing a fusion power plant will be faster if it takes a detour into fission first. Smart move or worrying sign? I'm curious to hear your thoughts. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/29/fusion-power-startup-zap-energy-pulls-a-partial-pivot-adding-nuclear-fission-to-the-mix/29 Apr 2026 23:39 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkobithh5k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mkinyenz5s2iRemember when renewables were expensive compared with fossil fuels? Me too, me too. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/27/data-center-demand-drives-66-surge-in-natural-gas-power-plant-costs/27 Apr 2026 18:07 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkinyenz5s2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mkfveiojmc27Fusion power is a long game, so why are venture capitalists so excited about it? @rebeccabellan.bsky.social and I had the good fortune to talk with @rachelslaybaugh.bsky.social about "fusion euphoria" and how it might shape the coming decade. https://techcrunch.com/podcast/fusion-doesnt-have-a-normal-startup-timeline-and-investors-are-fine-with-that/26 Apr 2026 15:41 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfveiojmc27https://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mkfv3zvhf227Could the IPO window for climate tech startups finally be opening? It might be, but only for startups focusing on a specific industry. (I'll let you guess which one that is.) https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/25/the-climate-tech-ipo-window-could-finally-be-cracking-open/26 Apr 2026 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfv3zvhf227https://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mjuebvohq22xSome cracks are beginning to form in the fusion industry. When should startups go public? Should they pursue revenue before they switch on a power plant? Will those difference moderate or will they widen into outright rifts? We may find out sooner than later. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/19/cracks-are-starting-to-form-on-fusion-energys-funding-boom/19 Apr 2026 16:20 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjuebvohq22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mimijckqis2eAll of a sudden big tech is bullish on natural gas. Google, Meta, Microsoft — they all seem to have been struck by fossil fuel FOMO. They may come to regret that. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/03/ai-energy-microsoft-meta-google-natural-gas-mining-fomo/03 Apr 2026 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimijckqis2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mhgmzms4ts2e"We got a loan" sounds like *yawn* but actually signals something important is happening in the geothermal world. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/geothermal-startup-fervo-catapults-itself-over-the-valley-of-death/19 Mar 2026 18:29 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgmzms4ts2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mh2bhasbvc2jPlenty of commentators saying that Honda is making the right move by killing EVs and focusing on hybrids. Short term, that might work out. But the company is killing its long-term prospects in the automotive industry by giving up on two key technologies. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/14/honda-is-killing-its-evs-and-any-chance-of-competing-in-the-future/14 Mar 2026 20:30 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh2bhasbvc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mgpkzkge5k2rHey look! Another solid-state transformer startup emerged today. The four I've covered in the last few months have raised over $330 million, suggesting that it's not a question of "if" the technology ends up in data centers but "when." https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/hyperscale-power-is-the-latest-startup-to-challenge-140-year-old-transformer-tech/10 Mar 2026 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgpkzkge5k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mgnfoq7rec22The Chevy Bolt's low price tag might seem like the headline news, but more important is how GM was able to make it happen — and how other automakers could cut costs in their own EVs. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/gm-figured-out-how-to-navigate-ev-uncertainty-with-the-chevy-bolt/09 Mar 2026 17:41 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgnfoq7rec22https://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mgmys4pvi22qFor a subcompact EV — the kind of car most automakers think people don't want to buy — the Chevy Bolt has a lot of fans. That helps explain why GM brought it back for a limited time, but it's not the only reason. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/09/the-2027-chevy-bolt-is-the-mcrib-of-the-automotive-world/09 Mar 2026 13:50 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgmys4pvi22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mfmxzulvck2nPHEVs are like communism — good in theory, but in practice, they haven't lived up to their promise. Why? Most owners don't plug them in, according to a new study. As a bridge to full EVs and as a way to cut emissions, they've failed. It's time to pull the plug. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/24/its-time-to-pull-the-plug-on-plug-in-hybrids/24 Feb 2026 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfmxzulvck2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3me4slolmsc2oTime 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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/05/trumps-critical-mineral-reserve-is-an-admission-that-the-future-is-electric/05 Feb 2026 16:26 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3me4slolmsc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mdvhjjajpc2xWhat 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? https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/01/bye-bye-corporate-conglomerates-hello-personal-conglomerates/02 Feb 2026 18:19 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdvhjjajpc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mdl2jhmf5c2tEnergy storage is Tesla's fasting growing business, and that's unlikely to change in 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/teslas-energy-storage-business-is-growing-faster-than-any-other-part-of-the-company/29 Jan 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdl2jhmf5c2thttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mczq73igvk2lAnother 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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/struggling-fusion-power-company-general-fusion-to-go-public-via-1b-reverse-merger/22 Jan 2026 17:40 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczq73igvk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mckvg7wxss2mToday 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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/16/trump-administration-wants-tech-companies-to-buy-15b-of-power-plants-they-may-not-use/16 Jan 2026 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mckvg7wxss2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mcfqbnbehk25Fusion 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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/bill-gates-backed-type-one-energy-raises-87m-ahead-of-250m-series-b/14 Jan 2026 18:48 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcfqbnbehk25https://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mcdh3qgz5c2sWe'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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/13/ammobia-says-it-has-reinvented-a-century-old-technology/13 Jan 2026 20:59 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcdh3qgz5c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mcarffqwfs2aThe Trump administration plans to set the health benefits of air pollution controls to $0. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/trumps-epa-plans-to-ignore-health-affects-of-air-pollution/12 Jan 2026 19:25 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcarffqwfs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mbrnqasnzc25Commonwealth 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. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/commonwealth-fusion-systems-installs-reactor-magnet-lands-deal-with-nvidia/06 Jan 2026 19:10 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbrnqasnzc25https://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mam5e3yw3c2kIs 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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/22/trump-admin-halts-6-gw-of-offshore-wind-leases-again/22 Dec 2025 21:08 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mam5e3yw3c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3mabhgnppps2lTrump 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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/18/trump-media-is-merging-with-fusion-power-company-tae-technologies-in-6b-deal/18 Dec 2025 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3mabhgnppps2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3ma4uiq4xns2iIt'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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/nuclear-startup-last-energy-raises-100m-for-its-steel-encased-micro-reactor/16 Dec 2025 19:20 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma4uiq4xns2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3ma4ugqdap22iThea 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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/15/thea-energy-previews-helios-its-pixel-inspired-fusion-power-plant/16 Dec 2025 19:18 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma4ugqdap22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3ma4ub5j5bk2iIf 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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/16/everbloom-built-an-ai-to-turn-chicken-feathers-into-cashmere/16 Dec 2025 19:15 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma4ub5j5bk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/dechant.bsky.social/post/3m7n2l3pvu22tFervo 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. https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/google-invests-in-fervos-462m-round-to-unlock-even-more-geothermal-energy/10 Dec 2025 12:26 +0000at://did:plc:i7hxd7m5p6lc7kpjyo4mo22f/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7n2l3pvu22t